As a long-term holder of assets, Hammerson concluded some 15 years ago that we needed to take action on our environmental performance and impacts. Back then, that meant starting to ask questions about energy demand and carbon emissions and adopting BREEAM, a relatively new concept at the time.
Fast forward to 2019 and the corporate landscape has changed immeasurably. That climate change represents a risk for real estate investment is unequivocal and our investors expect us to understand what that means for our portfolios and manage it effectively.
In 2017, we were the first property company globally to launch net positive targets for carbon emissions, water demand, resource use and socioeconomic impacts by 2030. These remain the most comprehensive, challenging sustainability targets across the industry. Since we launched them, net zero carbon by 2050 has emerged as a target for the whole economy. Our sector has a big impact so we must strive for this to be the minimum we will achieve if we are to play a role commensurate with our scale in resolving climate change.
Becoming a signatory to the BBP Climate Change Commitment is an important step on this journey and the backing it has achieved at launch demonstrates the appetite for progress. Now everyone including investors, customers, suppliers, government and all its agencies need to work collectively to tackle climate change successfully.
David Atkins is chief executive of Hammerson
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