Decarbonization

We are at the beginning of a decade that represents a crossroads for our planet for the environmental and social issues arising from climate change. For this reason, COIMA has decided to work to make all buildings under management, and future investments aligned with the objectives of containing global warming within 1.5°C. We work to safeguard the assets of our investors by investing in climate mitigation of the portfolio and the resilience of real estate products.

Stefano Corbella

Sustainabilty Officer, Segretario Sustainable Innovation Committee, COIMA

The carbon footprint of the real estate sector

The real estate sector and its supply chain (starting from building materials, through to the involvement of the tenants who occupy properties) have a important roles to play within the conversation on climate change, as well as being a primary channel for the development of specific actions to combat the rise in the global average temperature.
COIMA is committed to studying and responding to the challenge that climate change represents for its portfolio, and to identifying the most effective strategies to mitigate it. One fundamental aspect for the achievement of environmental and social goals is the collection, governance and processing of data, and transparency in reporting.

COIMA’s response to the challenges of the scenario


Decarbonisation in property development

The growing importance of environmental performance in terms of the decarbonisation goals set by the European Union is particularly significant for projects currently under development.
Buildings’ lifecycle emissions include those related both to the materials used for their construction and to energy consumption during both construction and operation.
The construction of a new building emits about 1,000 kg CO2e/m² during the construction period (2-3 years), two thirds of which derive from the materials used for building the structures, meaning concrete and steel1.
Buildings with poor emissions performances are subject to a transition risk which becomes considerable for new projects, both renovations and new builds.

COIMA has launched a process of analysis, research and development to identify new construction materials and methods to limit the adverse environmental impact of its new constructions. In particular, always bearing in mind that its development strategy is mainly concerned with the requalification of existing buildings, where this is not possible new buildings adopt the best possible technologies, to limit their impact.
All new-generation projects will undergo in-depth analysis to measure buildings’ future performance against the EU’s decarbonisation goals.
A thorough study was made of the emissions generated by the assets of the COIMA SGR Investment Funds during 2020. This study collected buildings’ environmental data both for the emissions generated by the direct management operations (Scopes 1 and 2) and those generated by tenants (Scope 3).
The analysis then provided input for developing a plan for the decarbonisation of the Investment Funds, to be applied in the coming years.

1 LETI Embodied Carbon Primer, January 2020 (www.leti.london)