In a busy day for companies and organisations announcing carbon reduction participation, three organisations trumpeted details of environmental improvement initiatives and reports on Wednesday.
Skanska, the construction and development giant, said it had joined the CEO Alliance for Europe’s Recovery, Reform, and Resilience to accelerate climate change and efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
Said Anders Danielsson, president, and CEO of Skanska, ‘The built environment accounts for about 40% of global energy-related carbon emissions. This means that the industry I represent has a great deal of responsibility to reduce these.’
Skanska said it had adopted a climate target under the Science Based Target initiative and aimed to reduce its own emissions by 70% from 2015 to 2030. The company is to achieve net zero emissions by 2045, it added.
Meanwhile, CBRE Investment Management released its report on upgrading European commercial real estate to meet future ESG standards.
With 60-75% of non-residential real estate stock across Europe in need of refurbishment to comply with EPC B standards, the report has found that banks alone cannot provide the required financing, meaning that non-bank lenders will be required to support the funding need.
Thirdly, EY, the global advisor, said it had joined the Alliance to End Plastic Waste alongside 90 other companies.
The updates came a day after the Urban Land Institute (ULI) said five new companies had committed to aligning with the ULI 'Greenprint Center’s Net Zero by 2025' goal. The ULI said on Tuesday that the five who signed last week were ACRE, The Green Cities Company, Hang Lung Properties, MetLife Investment Management, and Pembroke, which between them own and operate over 90 mln ft2 of property.
