Different Guidelines, Different Definitions : Why We Need a Standardised Net Zero Carbon Certification Scheme for Real Estate Investors
o limit global warming to 1.5°C, the world needs to be carbon neutral by 2050. Real estate investors are racing to capture the business opportunities and mitigate risks in the transition towards a zero-carbon economy. To date, 128 asset managers, representing approximately $43 trillion in assets under management (AUM), are committed to the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative and supporting the goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 or sooner.
Achieving carbon neutrality has become increasingly important in recent decades due to global community concerns over climate change. The destructive impacts of emissions, particularly carbon dioxide (CO2), on climate change are widely accepted.
According to the European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC), in 2021, buildings will be responsible for 25% of the European greenhouse emissions and for 40% of the European energy consumption. We must roll up our sleeves and work together to ensure a liveable future.
The newly released Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), indicates that climate action is becoming increasingly urgent to avoid the most damaging impacts of climate change. Businesses play an important role in addressing climate change by reducing what are often significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from their operations and value chain.
The Race Against Time: Decarbonizing the Commercial Real Estate Industry
aces another looming threat: a climate that’s warming even faster than we previously realized. A startling new report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned of more extreme weather events to come as the temperature continues to rise.
Environmental management and sustainability reporting have become crucial for companies, investors, and governments around the world as countries strive to achieve the Paris Agreement target of net-zero emissions by 2050.
Governments are developing national strategies to address this issue, which include emissions trading schemes, voluntary initiatives, carbon or energy taxes, as well as regulations and standards on energy efficiency and emissions. In turn, companies must discern their position on GHG emissions as they work toward carbon neutrality in order to comply with these new restrictions.
Decarbonization at Scale: The Portfolio-Level Net Zero Carbon OPR
As more companies realize the need to decarbonize their real estate portfolios in the face of increasing climate risk and rising investor expectations, guidance on how to transition to Net Zero Carbon (NZC) on the portfolio level is crucial. While most owners and developers are familiar with the typical Owner’s Project Requirements (OPR) to deliver on individual project goals, development teams will need to start by creating a portfolio-level OPR and expand its lens beyond basic OPR strategies to specifically focus on NZC to decarbonize at scale.
If the world is to reach net zero emissions by 2050, electricity networks will need to be carbon-free in advanced economies by 2035 and globally by 2040. This will require rapid scaling of renewable energy investments, tripling to around USD $4 trillion per annum by end of this decade, plus the meeting of hundreds of other milestones set out by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in its recent ‘Net Zero by 2050’ report.
EPC Grades or Actual Energy Use? Grappling with Net-Zero Chalk and Cheese
Radical improvements in the energy efficiency of existing buildings are needed if we are to reach net zero. But should their performance be assessed by their EPC grade or actual operational energy use? Both are the answer, but these are chalk and cheese, so property owners and investors must learn to deal with two very different agendas.
