Grosvenor Britain & Ireland is to invest £90m retrofitting and future-proofing its historic London estate as part of its journey to reach net zero carbon by 2030.
The estate manages more than 2,500 units in Mayfair and Belgravia, most of which are within a conservation area.
The investment forms path of its Pathway to Net Zero, a programme it is publishing as part of the Better Buildings Partnership climate commitment.
Grosvenor’s pathway shows how it will seek to reduce its energy use and greenhouse gas emissions from its existing London estate in Mayfair and Belgravia by more than 70%, cut its embodied carbon in construction projects to a maximum of 500kg of CO2e per sq m from 2025 and develop buildings that are operationally net zero.
It will also seek to reduce carbon emissions from its supply chain. By 2030, Grosvenor wants least 40% of its suppliers by emissions to have set a science-based target and procure their energy from renewable sources. It also wants all supplier vehicles serving its London estate to be electric by 2025.
Chief executive James Raynor said: “Climate change is the single biggest risk to our business and society. To build climate resilience and future-proof our portfolio we must fundamentally transform how we operate, develop and manage places. Today’s announcement signals a new level of ambition to climate action, setting out how we will become a net zero business in the next 10 years.”
Tor Burrows, executive director of sustainability and innovation, added: “Emissions from the built environment in Westminster are double the UK average. In committing £90m to the decarbonisation of our properties in Mayfair and Belgravia we will improve the resilience of our portfolio and the places in which we work. By 2030 we will have invested over £115m in energy efficiency and retrofit programmes on our estate.”
Grosvenor’s carbon footprint last year was 59,100 tonnes. It expects this to fall by more than 50% to at least 28,600 tonnes by 2030, with any remaining carbon offset. Since 2015, the estate has reduced Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 29% and like-for-like energy consumption by 14% across the business.
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