Net Zero Reality: Navigating the Gap Between Commitment and Delivery

There is no doubt that real estate is entering a challenging period of transition to net zero, where we need to re-engineer the way we value, finance, design, construct, refurbish, and operate our buildings. Failure to respond to this challenge will result in buildings that do not meet tightening government regulations, occupier demand for sustainable, comfortable and healthy workplaces and owners seeking low carbon investments. 80% of buildings with us today are estimated to still be in use in 2050 and in most cases extending the lifespan of existing buildings offers a lower carbon pathway than new build. This presents a great opportunity to transition most of the …

Some great graphics in report by BranchPattern highlighting average embodied carbon intensity and cumulative emissions over 60 yearlife span of core & shell industrial buildings in the United States. BranchPattern - Embodied Carbon in  U.S. Industrial Real Estate Report Report reflects on observations from 26 Whole Building Life Cycle Assessments (WBLCAs) ... in summary, to reduce, we must measure! Adoption of Environmental Product Disclosures (EPDs) for construction materials and eventual capture / storage of CO2 within built environment highlight ways Industry can decarbonise across lifecycle and build better buildings. What do you beli…

Are there standardised methods around which could help to compare the environmental aspects at a very early stage of a location analysis (stay vs. go / build vs. buy vs. refurbishment)? What often is compared are the energy consumption / carbon footprint data per annum, being it available data for existing buildings in use or estimate data for new developments. But the impact of construction is yet to include in such comparison. Is it worthwhile to dismantle an existing building if it is not energy efficient? What is the return on investment for the new development not from a financial but an environmental aspect?

Interested to share ideas on measuring / managing CRE emissions data and decarbonising / transitioning portfolio to net zero. Are you currently tracking emissions against stated carbon reduction / net-zero ambitions ? Can you reach 2030 / 2050 goals without offsetting your carbon emissions ? Is anyone planning to reduce thier emissions legacy ?

I am researching carbon accounting metrics used by corporate occupiers to measure / monitor the performance of their buildings .. have you adopted a standard environmental metrics to support your credible net zero pathway ? ... interested to learn collective thoughts on ways to enhance carbon transparency and crunch the carbon numbers!