Australia’s property sector is building momentum towards net zero emissions.
Sector-wide adoption of a net zero ambition is critical to achieving Paris-aligned targets.
The property sector’s influence on Australia’s emissions is extensive. In this report, Climateworks and the Monash Sustainability Development Institute show almost half of Australia’s largest listed property companies have made commitments to reduce emissions that closely align with the Paris Climate Agreement.
The report examines all property companies listed in the ASX 200 and all of those required to report their emissions under the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act. It is the first in a series focusing on key sectors of the Australian economy as part of the Net Zero Momentum Tracker initiative. It is designed to bring together and evaluate climate action commitments in order to help the property sector build momentum towards net zero emissions.
By making these public commitments to reduce emissions, the property sector can help build momentum towards achieving this goal across the entire Australian economy.
Climateworks CEO, Anna Skarbek
Examining 21 companies within Australia’s property sector* the report found that:
- Almost half of Australia’s largest listed property companies have made commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that closely align with the Paris Climate Agreement.
- 29% of these companies have pledged to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 for their owned and managed assets. These companies represent 36% of total ASX200 property sector market capitalisation.
- A further 14% of these companies have made climate commitments that align with a pathway to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 but have not yet explicitly pledged to achieve this goal.
- 9.5% of these companies are not undertaking any emissions reduction activities.
- There is a missing piece of the puzzle. None of the property companies examined have a net zero target that addresses all of their emissions. For example, emissions from co-owned assets and tenants are often excluded.
*Property companies listed in the ASX200 and those required to report their emissions under the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 (NGER Act).
There is encouraging appetite to move towards net zero emissions across key players in the property sector. Momentum into the future can be measured by the depth of commitments, both in the scope of the commitments made and in ensuring targets are met through setting a clear strategy to get there.
