Tritax Big Box REIT : Working Together to Raise Net Zero Carbon Understanding

logistics property:

net zero building in action

Sharing best practice in zero carbon construction for the logistics sector

December 2020

01 Logistics Property: Net Zero Building in Action

Logistics Property: Net Zero Building in Action

the conversation around carbon

is changing...

and it's about time.

In this report you'll find two different and bold approaches to reducing, mitigating and tackling embodied carbon in logistics property development. It's a matter of global importance, which needs addressing now by all businesses.

Coming together, Prologis UK and Tritax Big Box REIT want to share their ideas on net zero carbon construction and provide relatable, actionable and transparent examples for other logistics property developers to incorporate into their own sustainability agendas.

02 Logistics Property: Net Zero Building in Action

Logistics Property: Net Zero Building in Action

Simon Cox

First Vice President and

UK Sustainability Officer,

Prologis UK

Helen Drury

Sustainability Lead,

Tritax Big Box REIT

Supporters

Foreword

In the past, businesses have adopted a compliance-led approach to sustainability or have taken steps to minimise their environmental impact only where there has been a direct commercial return. Too often, this approach led to sustainability concerns being sidelined, or even simply forgotten.

Today, most businesses and organisations are far more likely to have a detailed understanding of their carbon footprint and have plans in place to reduce or mitigate it over time. They know that their actions and decisions can directly influence climate change and the wellbeing of communities close to their operations and around the world. They want to do the right thing and know that their organisations, as well as the planet, will benefit as a result.

'Decarbonisation programmes' and 'whole-life carbon assessments' are now becoming the 'new norm' at many boardroom meetings, as businesses across industry sectors strive to meet the UK Government's target to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

As logistics property developers, with a commitment to support the delivery of UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), both Prologis UK and Tritax Big Box REIT have been taking action independently to reduce their carbon footprints. Through a process of innovation spanning more than a decade, each has found a way to create net zero carbon logistics buildings that is in line with guidance published by the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) in 2019, and meets the needs of customers and society.

With the built environment responsible for a significant proportion of global carbon emissions, we are both affected by, and responsible for, the impact our buildings have on climate change. As a significant contributor to the UK economy, which has been further highlighted during the Covid-19 pandemic, the logistics sector as a whole has an important role to play as an environmental and social custodian, as well as delivering a green recovery post-Covid-19. With consumer demand rising and strong supply chains becoming increasingly important to maintaining our way of life, logistics companies and property developers have a growing responsibility to ensure that their buildings contribute in a positive way towards wider sustainability goals.

In support of the UN's Decade of Action, which is aiming to bring forward the delivery of its SDGs to 2030, this report explores two distinct pathways to net zero carbon development, with the aim of encouraging other property developers and logistics companies to consider their own long-term sustainability strategies.

The time to act is now.

03 Logistics Property: Net Zero Building in Action

1. Net Zero1Constrcution: Where are we now?

net zero construction: where are we now?

Building on commitments made in the 2008 Climate Change Act to reduce emissions by 80% by 2050, the UK Government has

recently raised the stakes even higher. The

pledge to reduce emissions by 68% by 2030, and to be completely net zero carbon by 2050, in recognition of the Paris Agreement, reflects the radical action that is needed to halt irreversible climate change. Responding to this agenda, much work has been done, across many industry sectors, to define net zero and provide blueprints for organisations and individuals to follow. It's time to stop talking and start doing.

The UK Government's recently-announced10-point plan to accelerate progress to net zero carbon, supporting the delivery of objectives set out in the Paris Climate Change Agreement, has encouraged all industries to refocus on their environmental commitments. The push for legislation and more industry standards, led by the UK Business Council for Sustainable Development (UKBCSD), is also gathering impetus.

In the logistics property sector, Prologis UK and Tritax Big Box REIT have been working for over ten years to address the global issue of climate change by reducing their carbon footprints. While both have delivered exciting and measurable results, which adhere to the UKGBC's Net Zero Carbon Buildings Framework Definition, they have taken different routes based on their own business models and approaches to development.

By standing together to share their expertise of sustainable development, Prologis UK and Tritax Big Box REIT have set a new benchmark for net zero carbon logistics property development in the UK. They want to encourage others in the sector (and beyond) to take action to reduce their carbon footprints.

They also aim to demonstrate the importance of the UKGBC's Framework Definition in helping to define the carbon reduction challenge for the wider construction industry and setting out a path to net zero carbon that is clear and easy to follow.

04 Logistics Property: Net Zero Building in Action