Swire Properties

Swire Properties’ headquarter is based in Hong Kong. Half of its portfolio, a mix of retail and office properties, is located in China, and the other half is in Hong Kong. Of the almost 30 million sqft of GFA attributable to the Group, 20% is under development.

Embodied carbon: Why it matters

Embodied carbon emissions, categorized by GHG Protocol as Category 1 and 2 under Scope 3 emissions, are associated with building materials and construction processes. WBCSD has shared that as buildings become more efficient, embodied carbon can account for more than 50% of a new project’s whole-life footprint. Developing buildings with significantly less embodied carbon is one of the key drivers of overall net-zero targets.

Even though the topic is relatively new compared to initiatives aimed at reducing operational carbon, the market is catching up with it. SBTi, with its recent pilot pathway for embodied carbon, is actively working to officially incorporate embodied carbon reduction as part of the decarbonization strategy.

Swire Properties: Completed an embodied carbon assessment and formed a strategy for the recently-built asset, Two Taikoo Place.

In its latest Sustainable Development Report 2022, Swire Properties shared a complete decarbonization strategy for a redevelopment project. The execution of this strategy consists of two parts:

  • A complete cradle-to-site carbon footprint calculation showing the total upfront emissions, broken down by material types.
  • Guidelines for decarbonization across both the redevelopment and operation phases.
Breakdown of Two Taikoo Place upfront embodied carbon emissions

Sources

For more details, see Swire Properties, Sustainable Development Report 2022

Questions about this best practices?

Do you have any questions about this best practices? Or do you want to know more about GREEN? We currently represents assets under management of approximately € 3 trillion, representing both asset managers and asset owners. Please contact Maaike Hof, co-CEO of GREEN to learn more about this not-for-profit collaborative engagement initiative for institutional investors, focusing on reducing climate risk in the real estate industry.