The Canary Wharf Group (CWG) has reduced its emissions by 8.5% in the last three years following a drive to lower its energy consumption and the adoption of 100% renewable electricity across its property portfolio.
According to CWG’s latest Sustainability Report for 2015, the Group has reduced its energy consumption by 1,750MWh since 2012 with total annual emissions falling to 42,698tCO2e last year.
Despite this overall progress, the group experienced a significant jump in both areas between 2014 and the following year after CWG added Crossrail and 25 Churchill Place to its portfolio. Despite the impact of these additions, consumption per occupant and visitor across comparable office and retail buildings fell 6% and 9% respectively, while emissions from infrastructure and car parks fell by almost a third.
Throughout last year, the developer carried out a major upgrade to lighting, installing LED lights in the Jubilee Place and Cabot Place malls. Together with a similar installation in the Canada Place mall in 2014, this replacement programme is expected to save over 3.7GWh per year, marking a 65% reduction in energy use.
CWG is also incorporating other energy efficient systems into its develops alongside on-site renewable energy generation capabilities, such as the solar PV installation at 25/30 Churchill Place which produced 15.5MWh in the final four months of 2015.
In addition, CWG also adopted 100% renewable electricity across its operations and achieved group wide ISO 50001 certification for energy management in October.
Sir George Iacobescu CBE, chief executive and chairman of CWG, said: “Our purpose is to create inspiring, resilient places that have a positive impact. We want the spaces we create to be home to vibrant, diverse and thriving mixed-use communities, places in which to live and relax as well as work.
“We aim to create landmarks that express the values upon which our business is built, hoping to be recognised as leaders in the community and in our industry.”
CWG’s report is the latest example of large scale property developers and owners seeking to reduce their environmental impact across their portfolios. In June, Land Securities announced that it had cut its total energy consumption by 3% and had adopted 100% green energy across its commercial properties, using several solar and CHP installations to bolster its environmental credentials.
