Real estate managers ‘way off’ carbon emission reduction targets, research shows

According to research from Deepki, nearly all commercial real estate assets run by asset management professionals will miss their carbon emissions reduction targets.

Deepki, a community of experts committed to accelerating real estate’s environmental transition, conducted a survey of 250 European commercial real asset managers in the UK, Germany, France, Spain and Italy, and discovered just 5% of portfolios will meet 2030s 50% emissions reduction target.

In addition, fewer than 7% of those surveyed said their property portfolios will reach net zero by 2050.

However, optimism for hitting targets increased when looking at smaller proportions of the real estate holdings – 40% expected that between 41% and 60% of their commercial real estate assets would reduce carbon emissions by 2030 and almost a quarter said between 61% and 80% of their commercial property investments would have managed to reduce carbon emissions by 50% within the next eight years.

The housing sector can help reduce the amount of carbon dioxide that is currently polluting the air we breathe by changing the materials they build with – wood has recently been discovered to be one of the biggest contributors to CO2 emissions – and homes can be fitted with sustainable refurbishments including heat pumps and solar panels.

As well as painting a positive picture for 2030, the vision improves for 2050 targets as research found one-quarter of asset managers are expecting between 61% and 80% of their commercial estate portfolios to hit net zero by the deadline.

More than a third (35%) of respondents have also said between 41% and 60% of their property investments will be net zero by 2050.

Vincent Bryant, CEO and Co-Founder of Deepki, said: ‘We are in the midst of a climate emergency and the real estate sector is responsible for 37% of global CO₂ emissions. The pressure is on commercial real estate managers across Europe to reduce carbon emissions across their portfolios. It is essential that asset managers identify the source of their emissions, and demonstrate that they are taking effective action to meet the 2030 and 2050 targets.’

Image: Chris Robert