The ULI Greenprint Center for Building Performance revealed in May that six new real estate leaders, representing more than 1,700 buildings, have announced plans to reduce the operational carbon emissions of their collective portfolio under operational control to net zero by the year 2050. This is in addition to 11 ULI Greenprint members that already publicly aligned with this goal last fall.
The new members publicly aligning with this goal are Allianz Real Estate, Boston Properties (by 2025), Morgan Creek Ventures, PGIM Real Estate, Rudin Management Company, and Savanna. Together, these real estate companies represent buildings covering over 391 million square feet (36 million sq m) and over $300 billion in assets under management (AUM).
“Real estate leadership on environmental, social, and governance [ESG] is critical as the industry moves to decarbonize building operations,” says Marta Schantz, senior vice president of the ULI Greenprint Center for Building Performance. “By addressing the area under operational control with the ULI Greenprint Net Zero goal, these firms are tackling carbon emissions across their portfolios in a deeply meaningful and measurable way.”
ULI Greenprint members are dedicated to reducing carbon and increasing energy efficiency in their real estate portfolios as part of their business strategy. To date, members have improved energy efficiency and reduced year-over-year greenhouse gas emissions by over 34 percent and are on track to meet ULI Greenprint’s original goal of 50 percent reduction by 2030 (with a 2009 baseline).
This new net zero carbon goal is designed to meaningfully reduce the built environment’s impact on climate change beyond existing efforts. It encourages portfolio-wide carbon reductions across spaces under operational control via deep energy efficiency improvements, on-site renewable energy, green utility power and building electrification, off-site renewables, renewable energy credits, and offsets. The goal is in line with the Paris Agreement and findings from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report to limit global warming.
In total, 17 companies that are now aligned with the net zero carbon goal by 2050 represent over $570 billion in assets under management (AUM), over 709 million square feet (65 million sq m), and over 3,300 properties across 20 countries. Companies that previously made the commitment include the following: City Developments Limited (CDL); CommonWealth Partners; Heitman; Hudson Pacific Properties; Jamestown LP; Kilroy Realty Corporation; LaSalle Investment Management; MultiGreen; NEO; Nuveen Real Estate; and the Tower Companies.
