Hibernia REIT plc announces the publication of “Transforming Dublin Responsibly”, their Sustainability Statement of Intent. This replaces their existing Sustainability Strategy, setting long-term targets for the business and simplifying their objectives into three pillars, which are:
- Become a net zero carbon and climate resilient business by 2030
- Provide spaces that prioritise the environment, health and wellbeing
- Create long-term positive social impact through our operations
Hibernia have made strong progress on sustainability over the past number of years, with milestones reached including: reducing the greenhouse gas intensity of the managed space within our office buildings by 25% on a like-for-like basis from 2016 to 2019; delivering several new office buildings to LEED Platinum or LEED Gold standard; receiving a four star rating for the first time in the GRESB 2020 survey; receiving a B- score in our first CDP climate change response in 2020; and recruiting a full-time Sustainability Manager to lead their efforts in the area.
Their Sustainability Statement of Intent builds on what they have achieved so far. As part of the commitment they:
- Will reduce overall carbon emissions by 30% and operational carbon emissions by 40% by 2030, against their 2019 baseline
- Will publish a Net Zero Carbon Pathway in the coming months giving further information on how they intend to achieve their target by 2030
- Have signed up to the World Green Building Council (“WGBC”) Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment, becoming the first listed Irish property company to do so
- Will fully align their disclosures with the recommendations of the Task Force for Climate-related Financial Disclosure (“TCFD”) by 2022
Their full Sustainability Statement of Intent is available at https://www.hiberniareit.com/sustainability.
Kevin Nowlan, Chief Executive Officer of Hibernia, said:
“Sustainability is at the centre of our strategy to provide the best buildings for tenants, and our ambition is to be the most sustainable property company in Ireland. Our Sustainability Statement of Intent commits us to becoming a net zero carbon business by 2030 and will ensure our resilience to climate change, while contributing to Ireland’s efforts to reach net zero carbon by 2050.”
Pat Barry, Chief Executive Officer of the Irish Green Building Council, said:
“Reducing the environmental impact of buildings across their entire life cycle is critical in addressing climate change. I welcome Hibernia’s commitment to achieving net zero by 2030, and more specifically their ambition to reduce embodied carbon in future developments and increase on-site renewable energy production. I truly hope this will inspire others in the industry.”