QuadReal Property Group is stepping up its decarbonization pace with a new pledge to achieve a 50 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in its directly managed portfolio over the next seven to eight years. That’s intended as a key milestone in pursuit of net-zero emissions in its Canadian office holdings by 2040 and across its entire global portfolio by 2050.
“Our pathway to net zero includes very specific interim targets to help inform next steps at the property level and will be applied to all the real estate we manage,” reports Jamie Gray-Donald, QuadReal’s senior vice president, sustainability, environment, health and safety. “We are also committed to being transparent in our approach and measurement tools so we can help lead the real estate industry in the transition to a net-zero economy.”
The firm, which is the real estate arm of the British Columbia Investment Management Corporation, will begin with carbon audits tied to a target to have property-level transition plans in place for its global portfolio by 2025. It’s expected the major share of emission reductions to 2030 will come from a combination of electrification of fossil-fuel burning building systems and building efficiency upgrades, with carbon credits and offsets applied to cover a maximum of 10 per cent of baseline emissions.
The carbon audits will align with scopes one, two and three of the greenhouse gas protocols, accounting for direct, indirect and embodied emissions. Tracked emissions will include all tenant utilities and embodied carbon from new development and refurbishment projects.
“Expanding our carbon reduction targets to net zero across our entire portfolio will allow us to meet and exceed our fiduciary responsibility to all our stakeholders and clients, and help lead the market in innovation and execution,” says Lucie Fletcher, managing director of QuadReal’s global portfolio, which currently holds more than $67 billion in assets under management.
In Canada, QuadReal owns and manages nearly 39 million square feet of office, retail and industrial space and more than 12,000 units of multifamily housing.
