Pathway to Net Zero
We recognise the threat of climate change not only to the real estate, retail and leisure industries in which we operate, but more importantly to the world in which we live. The effects of climate change are already being felt across the retail and leisure industries through the impact on the global supply chain infrastructure and extreme weather events leading to business disruption. Our guests are also increasingly championing the effects of climate change and are heavily focused on reducing emissions through their purchasing habits and personal actions.
To combat climate change we committed to the Better Building Partnership (BBP) Net Zero Carbon Pathway Framework in 2020. The purpose of this framework is to aid the real estate industry in defining and publishing its own Net Zero Carbon Pathways which set out when and how net zero carbon targets will be delivered. Each of our centres has developed its own multi-year carbon reduction plan, which builds on the carbon reductions achieved to date, and outlines the pathway to achieving net zero by 2040.
From 2015 to 2019, we invested over £1 million in energy efficiency projects, which have achieved over 7,600 tCO2e of savings to date. Approximately 90% of energy saving opportunities identified through the first phase of the Energy Saving Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) have been completed. Improvements to centres have included LED lighting upgrades, plant replacement, BMS upgrades and energy efficient glass installations. These improvements have resulted in a 48% reduction in our (Scope 1 and 2) carbon footprint and the investment has been paid back in just over four years. There have been fewer energy efficiency improvements completed in 2020 due the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic; however, where it has been safe to do so, the BMS improvements and LED lighting upgrade programmes have continued across our centres.
Work to date has focussed on Scope 1 and Scope 2 for areas that are directly under our control. As part of the BBP Framework we must consider the emissions that we can positively influence, such as our retailer customers and occupiers usage (Scope 3). This presents an opportunity to partner with local stakeholders and develop our combined emission reduction strategy.
Using a straight-line trajectory, and a baseline of 2015, a 4% annual decrease in baseline carbon emissions is required each year to achieve carbon neutrality for Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2040. We have completed Phase 2 of the ESOS assessment and have identified further opportunities for each of our centres. These opportunities are detailed in an investment plan showing a £2.5 million investment over the next five years. Each of the opportunities has been provisionally identified as high, medium, or low priority based on the investment required and the potential savings.
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