08 Sep 2023
Powering and empowering: Frasers Property’s shift towards renewable energy
Real estate accounts for as much as 40% of global carbon emissions and 70% of a city’s emissions. As a multinational real estate company, we play an important role in enabling and accelerating the transition towards a sustainable built environment.
Targeting to be a net-zero carbon company by 2050 across all three emission scopes, Frasers Property has continued making progress on many fronts in sustainability across our international footprint.
Themed #BuildingTheTransition, World Green Building Week 2023 focuses on how the built environment can facilitate this transition across three key areas: energy transition, regenerative transition and just transition.
Recognising that significant amounts of waste and emissions are generated across the property lifecycle, we have taken steps to implement a broad variety of initiatives to reduce our carbon footprint for a sustainable built environment.
This endeavour includes a combination of energy-efficient assets, good energy management, renewable energy sources, waste reduction and efficient water management. These efforts are part of our ‘Consuming Responsibly’ pillar, one of three alongside ‘Acting Progressively’ and ‘Focusing on People’ underpinning our Sustainability Framework.
To intensify its decarbonisation efforts, the real estate sector has in recent years made concerted efforts in energy transition with an increased reliance on renewable energy sources, which includes a prominent focus on solar power.
Our Sustainable Journey
We launched five Group sustainability goals in FY21 to prioritise and steer ESG efforts across our portfolio, including a goal to attain net-zero carbon emissions across our value chain by 2050. Our net-zero journey involves energy management, comprising energy saving efforts and renewable energy reliance.
In FY22, we generated around 16.6 GWh of solar energy across various properties in Singapore, Australia, Europe, the UK and our global hospitality portfolio. In addition, we further procured 64.5 GWh of green energy for our commercial and retail properties in Australia, business parks in the UK and hospitality properties.
By incorporating technologies such as LED lighting, efficient heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems, and district cooling systems, we are taking steps to optimise natural resources and reduce our demand for energy and water.
Powering the way to cleaner energy
In Singapore, we have embarked on a net-zero carbon study and are looking to commit to science-based targets that will be validated by 2024.
Among our public-private partnerships aimed at accelerating climate action across our communities, Frasers Property signed up as Champion in the Green Nation Pledge, an initiative supported by Singapore’s Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment, as part of broader efforts to reduce the nation’s carbon footprint. We embarked on our net zero carbon study our business unit in Singapore and are looking to commit to Science Based Targets, to be validated by 2024.
Initial achievements included ensuring 12 Frasers Property malls have electric vehicle charging stations by the end of 2022, obtaining BCA Green Mark certification for 90% of our Singapore retail and commercial portfolio by gross floor area, and implementing ISO 14001 and ISO 50001 Environmental and Energy Management Systems across all our retail and commercial properties.
Tiong Bahru Plaza, part of our retail portfolio in Singapore, is certified Building Construction Authority (BCA)’s Green Mark Platinum. The mall also houses a solar photovoltaic PV capacity of 114.6 kilowatt-peak.
Mega mixed-use development One Bangkok in Thailand utilises low carbon emitting CPAC Low Heat Concrete. Electric-powered mixer trucks were deployed during its construction phase. In a partnership with SCG and CPAC, electric-powered mixer trucks were deployed during One Bangkok’s construction phase. Compared to their diesel-powered counterparts, electric-powered mixer trucks not only help reduce the amount of dust up to 45g per trip, but also cuts down on greenhouse gas emissions up to 26.5 tons of carbon dioxide per year per vehicle. This equates to growing 2,800 trees per year per vehicle.
Nestled in the charming Tiong Bahru estate in Singapore, the bustling Tiong Bahru Plaza holds a Green Mark Platinum from the Building and Construction Authority.
Located in the heart of Bangkok, One Bangkok is Thailand’s largest private-sector property development set to transform the city’s skyline and raise the country’s stature as an attractive destination for residents, businesses, investors and visitors.
The Rowe, a 163,500 square foot office development in Whitechapel, UK, runs on 100% renewable electricity, resulting in a carbon emission reduction of 45% compared to a standard office building. The development also boasts BREEAM ‘Excellent’ New Construction certification, WELL ‘platinum’ rating, targeting SmartScore ‘platinum’ rating and WiredScore ‘platinum’ rating. The Rowe utilises the SmartSpaces app, a cutting-edge tech platform that interfaces with the building management system monitoring consumption to meet energy saving targets, creating a sustainable workplace.
In 2022, Frasers Property secured a GBP 100 million five-year green loan that would be used to finance the Rowe’s development. This marked Frasers Property’s first green development loan in the UK.
In Australia, Capri by Fraser, Brisbane is the first Queensland hotel to be Climate Active Neutral (CNC) certified through the NABERS Pathway, which only allows properties with 4-star NABERS Energy Rating or above to proceed with a CNC assessment.
These attained standards reflect increasing traveller demand for sustainable accommodation and also the ramped-up focus on sustainability by corporate travel tenders when partnering hotels and serviced accommodation providers.
Transformed from a school of creativity to pioneering offices for business, The Rowe in UK sets a new benchmark for contemporary office space, powered by technology, design and sustainability.
Capri by Fraser, Brisbane, has embarked on various decarbonisation initiatives to reduce more than half its total carbon emissions and raise its sustainability standards.
Frasers Property’s Premium Estate 4Ten Epping is fitted with a 900kW rooftop solar PV installation, which supplies power to tenant Mazda’s 37,235 square metre facility, making it 100% powered by carbon neutral energy. This was made possible by Real Utilities, a wholly owned entity of Frasers Property Australia that provides cheaper, greener, simpler energy.
Across our footprint, Frasers Property recognises the important role our increased reliance on renewable energy sources plays in our decarbonisation journey. We continue applying our sustainability commitments and responsible practices across our footprint, value chain, and property lifecycle, tapping on partnerships and innovation to scale up our decarbonisation efforts.
To learn more about our sustainability initiatives, please visit https://www.frasersproperty.com/who-we-are/sustainability.
4Ten Epping in Victoria, Australia taps into transport services such as the Principal Public Transport Network and Bicycle Network to provide more sustainable commute options for its tenants and occupiers.