Infrastructure
This Sector relates to the following sub-sectors: Electric Utilities & Power Generators, Gas Utilities & Distributors, Water Utilities & Services, Engineering & Construction Services; Real Estate; and Waste Management.
Real Estate
Each section below relates to the TPT Disclosure Framework principles of Action and Accountability. The below provides further guidance for sub-elements 4.1 and 4.3. The TPT welcomes comments on this guidance to ensure it is as useful as possible for preparers and users. The text is open for comment until Friday, 24 November. Please select the feedback form at the bottom of the page. The final text will be updated in February.
This sub-sector consists of the Home Builders, Real Estate, and Real Estate Services.
Home Builders industry entities build new homes and develop residential communities. Development efforts generally include land acquisition, site preparation, home construction and home sales. The majority of the industry focuses on the development and sale of single-family homes, which are typically part of entity-designed residential communities. A smaller segment develops town homes, condominiums, multi-family housing and mixed-use development. Many entities in the industry offer financing services to individual homebuyers.
Real Estate industry entities own, develop and operate income-producing real estate assets. Entities in this industry commonly are structured as real estate investment trusts (REITs) and operate in a wide range of real estate industry segments, including residential, retail, office, health care, industrial and hotel properties. REITs typically participate in direct real estate asset ownership, thereby providing investors with the opportunity to obtain real estate exposure without direct asset ownership and management.
Real Estate Services industry entities provide a range of services to real estate owners, tenants, investors and developers. Primary services include property management, brokerage, appraisal and information services for real estate owners. Property management services may include leasing, tenant relations, building maintenance and building security. Many entities also provide brokerage services, facilitating sales and leasing transactions. Appraisals and other advisory or information services are other specialised services commonly provided to clients.
1. Electrifying and optimising building energy requirements1,2,4,6,7,10,11
- reduce operational emissions by improving energy efficiency of buildings (e.g. water, heating, space heating/cooling, lighting, appliances, insulation, windows).
2. Adopt strategies to reduce carbon-intensive materials and processes throughout a building’s lifecycle6,10
- design with resource efficiency / maximum resource effectiveness to reduce waste and over-use;
- prioritise the use of low / near-zero GHG materials and responsible use of renewable & biogenic materials; and
- incorporate future circularity (design for deconstruction and reuse, use longer life materials).
3. Support decarbonising the power sector that buildings rely on (e.g., “greening” the grid)4,5,10,11
- install onsite renewable energy, purchase Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), or sign Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs); and participate in demand response programs.
4. Support a low / near-zero carbon value chain (e.g., raw materials, transport, manufacturing, construction)4,5,9
- create demand for low / near-zero GHG materials, technologies, and services;
- engage with projects that bolster renewable energy adoption (e.g., integrated EV charging); and
- promote the use of energy storage solutions, like batteries, to optimise renewable energy use on-site.
General:
- energy consumption per square meter per year for a portfolio of real estate properties. (kWh/m2/yr)
Homebuilders6
- number of homes that obtained a certified residential energy efficiency rating and average rating;
- percentage of installed water fixtures certified to a water efficiency standard;
- number of homes delivered certified to a third-party multi-attribute green building standard; and
- number of lots located in 100-year flood zones.
Real Estate4,6
- energy consumption data coverage as a percentage of total floor area, by property sector;
- total energy consumed by portfolio area with data coverage, percentage grid electricity and percentage renewable, by property sector;
- like-for-like percentage change in energy consumption for the portfolio area with data coverage, by property sector;
- percentage of eligible portfolio that has an energy rating and is Energy intensity is an important metric of consumption to allow comparability against benchmarks (kWh/m2/yr);
- percentage of eligible portfolio that (1) has an energy rating and is certified to a global certification standard (e.g. ENERGY STAR, LEED, BREEAM), or regional certification standard (e.g. Australia’s Green Star, Germany’s DGNB or Singapore’s Green Mark) by property sector;
- water withdrawal data coverage as a percentage of total floor area and floor area in regions with High or Extremely High Baseline Water Stress, by property sector (Percentage (%) by floor area);
- like-for-like percentage change in water withdrawn for portfolio area with data coverage, by property sector;
- percentage of new leases that contain a cost recovery clause for resource efficiency-related capital improvements and associated leased floor area, by property sector; and
- percentage of tenants that are separately metered or sub metered for grid electricity consumption and water withdrawals, by property sector (Percentage (%) by floor area); and
- area of properties located in 100-year flood zones, by property sector (m²).
Real Estate Services6
- Floor area and number of buildings under management provided with energy and sustainability services (Square metres (m²), Number.
General5,9
- carbon intensity of portfolio (KgCO2e/m²), by sector and country; and
- total GHG Emissions and Carbon intensity of portfolio (KgCO2e/M2), by business and country splitting by embodied vs operational emissions.
Homebuilders 8,10
- For construction activities
- category 1: Purchased goods and services;
- category 3: Fuel and energy related activities;
- category 4: Upstream transportation and distribution; and
- category 5: Waste generated in operations.
- For developer activities:
- category 2: Capital goods; and
- category 11: Use of sold products.
Real Estate8,11
- For owner-occupier activities:
- category 2: Capital goods
- For owner-lessor activities:
- category 2: Capital goods
- category 13: Downstream leased assets
- For tenant activities:
- category 13: Downstream leased assets
- For property managers
- Category 11: Use of sold products (or Category 13: Downstream leased assets)
Please refer to the [draft] SBTi Building Guidance for relevant Scope 3 categories sub-sectors.
Real Estate literature
- Assessing low-Carbon Transition, Building Real Estate, 2022
- Carbon Risk Real Estate Monitor, How to Manage your Net Zero Targets with CRREM, 2022
- European Public Real-estate Association, EPRA Sustainability Best Practices Recommendations Guidelines, 2017
- GRESB, The Global ESG Benchmark for Financial Markets
- International Energy Agency, Transition to Sustainable Buildings, 2013
- IFRS, [Draft] Industry-based Guidance on Implementing IFRS S2, 2022
- McKinsey & Company, Building value by decarbonizing the built environment | McKinsey, 2023
- PCAG, GRESB, CRREAM, Accounting and Reporting of GHG Emissions from Real Estate Operations, 2023
- Science Based Target Initiative, Draft SBTI Building Guidance, 2023
- ShareAction, 2021, Decarbonising Real Estate: Foundations for Success, 2021
Your feedback
The TPT welcomes comments on the Sector Summary to ensure it is as useful as possible for preparers and users. The Sector Summary was open for comment until Friday 24 November and, following consideration of the feedback received, will be updated in February. Thank you to the industry experts who provided comments.
