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Despite being responsible for significant emissions, real estate companies are still struggling to understand, and therefore achieve, net zero carbon targets, according to JLL.
Despite many large companies making climate commitments and governments legislating to cut emissions, the real estate sector is still grappling with measures to limit its environmental impact, according to JLL’s Anthony Clark and Connor McCauley, who spoke on the topic “Why real estate is confused about sustainability” in a recent podcast.
One of the main issues is a lack of understanding around basic concepts and principles, said Mr Clark, who is a senior director of tenant representation for JLL in NSW.
“A lot of people don’t understand the difference between carbon neutral and net zero carbon,” he began.
“Becoming carbon neutral is about measuring your emissions and then finding ways to offset them. But net zero means truly reducing carbon emissions.”
Measuring carbon emissions and input is also a consistent challenge for the real estate industry.
“You can’t manage what you don’t measure,” said Mr McCauley, JLL’s head of sustainability for ANZ.
“Shared, accurate data between landlord and tenant is the key to net zero solutions, but currently lacking.”
Cost is oftentimes of concern here, with many companies viewing carbon solutions as expensive, including technology. But, running a simple audit as a first step can be revealing — and extremely useful.
Mr McCauley pointed out that “while energy prices and waste collection costs have gone up, the cost of an audit hasn’t. It’s a small investment that helps you see where savings can be made.”
On the other hand, not carrying out an audit can be costly in itself, he continued.
For example, waste contractors are still emptying commercial bins based on contracts drawn up pre-pandemic when offices were busier.
“People are working from home and there hasn’t been as much waste, yet the same number of bins are still being collected and businesses are paying the same price — sometimes for an empty bin,” he said.
The advent of remote work post-COVID-19 comes with its own set of issues, with Mr Clark warning that businesses may not realise that the emissions generated by their employees working from home still contribute to their overall emissions.
“It starts to add up very quickly,” Mr Clark conceded.
All up, the discussion has highlighted the need for more education and awareness around net zero carbon targets — and how companies can actually achieve them.
Since the real estate industry is responsible for a significant portion of global emissions, Mr Clark and Mr McCauley stressed that it is crucial that managers are equipped with the knowledge and tools to make meaningful progress towards a more sustainable future.
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