QuadReal Property Group, the real estate investment arm of the British Columbia Investment Management Corp., is unveiling an updated strategic pathway to decarbonize its portfolio by 2050.
“Sustainability has always been a key component of QuadReal’s investment and management strategies and is becoming more and more of a precondition for the long-term financial feasibility of our programs,” said Lucy Fletcher, managing director of global portfolio management at QuadReal, in a press release.
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The new strategy, which includes a series of milestones for the investment organization’s global portfolio, aims to align with carbon reduction goals set by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and considers scope 1, 2 and 3 carbon emissions. The strategic pathway also mandates the use of carbon audits rather than the energy audits currently used by the BCI.
It also include the creation of net-zero plans for all portfolio properties by 2025 and a reduction in the total portfolio’s carbon output by 50 per cent of its 2016 baseline levels in 2030. By 2040, the strategic pathway calls for QuadReal’s offices to achieve net-zero emissions and for its international portfolio’s carbon emissions to be cut to 50 per cent of baseline levels.
Efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of properties will involve replacing fossil fuels with low-carbon electrical alternatives, according to the press release, which also noted buildings will be upgraded to allow for energy to be used more efficiently, with QuadReal anticipating these improvements will reduce emissions by 40 per cent. It also committed to using carbon offsets to cover a maximum of 10 per cent of its baseline emissions.
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