Leading UK commercial property owners are progressing well towards meeting the government target of cutting emissions by 80% by 2050, according to research from JLL.
However, those who have not been making reductions will need to cut emissions by at least 3.5% per year in order to comply with government requirements, the company added.
The research is based on the performance of 700 retail and office properties across the UK in the Real Estate Environmental Benchmark (REEB) dataset, co-created by JLL and the Better Buildings Partnership (BBP). Benchmark participants reduced their emissions by 27% between 2008 and 2013, an average of 6% per year.
While most participants remain on track, they will still need to deliver reductions of 2.9% from now until 2050 in order to meet targets.
Matthew Tippett, director of upstream services at JLL, said: “The commercial property sector needs to measure and monitor its energy consumption, benchmark performance against best practice and set meaningful targets in line with the government’s aim. The REEB initiative not only helps us understand how and where we can make savings most effectively, but also what progress is being made.
The government in turn must support the sector by establishing a clear direction for long-term energy policy, developing appropriate financial incentives and setting firm commitments on decarbonisation. It is clear that meeting the UK’s carbon reduction target by 2050 will be challenging but we believe that through further collaboration we will be in a far better position to achieve it.”
