TH Real Estate Pledges to Reduce Global Portfolio Energy Use
The commitment responded to and modeled its own goals for sustainable real estate after those established at the 21st annual Conference of Parties (COP21) held in Paris in September 2015.
By Anca Gagiuc
Tomorrow’s World
New York—TH Real Estate, an affiliate of Nuveen, the investment management business of TIAA, announced its commitment to reduce the energy intensity of its 134-million-square-foot, $68 billion global equity portfolio.Energy intensity is measured by the asset’s use of kilowatts per hour, per square foot. Based on a 2015 guideline, the goal is to reduce by 30 percent by 2030.
TH Real Estate’s engagement was inspired by the ambitious goals for sustainable real estate established at the 21st annual Conference of Parties (COP21) that took place in Paris in September 2015. This pledge follows the target set in 2007 to reduce US energy consumption 20 percent by 2020, a goal that has been achieved ahead of schedule.
It is estimated that real estate is responsible for roughly 40 percent of global carbon emissions, which arise from onsite fuel usage such a gas for boilers as well as from the use of electricity and other sources of energy.
“This target is in line with current industry interpretations of climate change science, and means that our business is playing its part in the global movement to limit global warming to 2 degrees and strive towards 1.5 degrees, as agreed in the Paris Accord. Over time, we will continue to review our targets to ensure they meet global best practice,” said Abigail Dean, TH Real Estate’s head of sustainability. “Our sustainability efforts have been a focus of our platform since its creation and are an integral part of the Tomorrow’s World investment philosophy which sits at the core of our investment process and operations.”
Image courtesy of TH Real Estate
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