Chapter 3
Planet
UK&I Annual ESG Report 2022
5 Minute Read
Aim: To be a net zero business by 2030 and an exemplar to our employees, suppliers and clients
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Our Progress
We are proud to see an overall emissions reduction across all three scopes compared to our 2019 baseline.
To support reductions in Scopes 1 and 2, we have installed smart meters across our offices, helping us to better manage the energy use in the offices we occupy. We also moved into our Oxford Dutch Barn which runs on 100% renewable energy through an air source heat pump, helping reduce emissions in these scopes.
Our Scope 3 emissions have reduced as we have increased the procurement of renewable electricity for our clients, and have reduced gas usage across assets under management. Despite the significant reductions in emissions from our offices and that of our clients, we have seen increases in some emission categories.
To ensure our reporting is in line with best practice, our data categorisation and methodology has been updated, which has resulted in the re-baselining of some of our carbon emissions where the changes resulted in material differences. Updated methodology has also meant that the quality of data has improved.
Our Approach
Improve the operational energy and resource efficiency of our offices and reduce the environmental footprint of our business activities
Occupy climate-resilient buildings that can passively respond to climate change
Advocate sustainability to our employees and suppliers and provide leading client advisory services across the entire property life cycle
Scope 1 and 2
Our ambition: Achieve year-on-year reduction in absolute emissions across Scope 1 and 2 to achieve our net zero target by 2025.
Our progress: We have seen a reduction in our Scope 1 and 2 emissions from our baseline year. We look forward to seeing this reduce further as we better manage the energy use of our buildings through the use of smart meters.
Location-based:
Market-based:
Renewables
Our ambition: achieve 100% renewable electricity by 2025.
Our progress: We are proud to be nearing our target with 96% of electricity in our UK offices coming from renewable sources. This is an increase of 6% compared to our baseline year 2019.
96%
Renewable electricity
Water usage
Our ambition: Achieve year-on-year reduction in water usage.
Our progress: The rise in our water usage this year compared to 2019 is due to the increase in our office floor space. Having shower facilities on-site to support colleagues to use active travel on their commute or to make use of on-site exercise facilities has also impacted the water use.
4%
Increase in water usage from our baseline year
Water usage (m3)
Scope 3
Our ambition: Achieve year-on-year reduction in Scope 3 emissions to achieve our net zero target by 2030. Our progress: We continue to see a reduction in our Scope 3 emissions. This is largely due to greater procurement of renewable electricity and a reduction in gas procurement on behalf of our clients for properties we manage (Use of Sold Products). 100% of the electricity procured by CBRE for our Assets Under Management (AUMs) is from REGO backed renewable tariffs.
Our employee commuting and business mileage emissions have increased as colleagues return to the office and client sites more regularly following reduced COVID-19 restrictions. Improvements in data quality, including a new employee commuting survey, also impact these figures.
We have seen a large decrease in emissions from our supply chain, partly due to changes in carbon emissions factors used for data calculations this year.
Scope 3 emissions
Our ambition: Assist in the development and implementation of our clients’ zero emissions pathways for all assets under our management. Progress will be tracked against relevant industry benchmarks for the asset class.
Our progress: Our ESG property management team review, challenge and improve the performance of the assets we manage through our ESG platform Deepki. All office assets have been benchmarked against the REEB benchmark and CRREM, and we will continue to expand this across all asset classes.
100%
Electricity procured by CBRE for our AUMs is from REGO backed renewable tariffs
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