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Leading CEOs pledge 50% cut in real estate emissions by 2030

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
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A group of global firms have committed to reduce their real estate emissions by 50% by 2030 and reach net-zero carbon no later than 2050, as part of a World Economic Forum initiative.

With buildings contributing 38% of all energy-related greenhouse gas emissions, leaders across all industries have a critical role to play in lowering their global real estate emissions.

“While real estate represents nearly 40% of all energy-related GHG emissions, the sector is frequently an afterthought when it comes to an organization’s decarbonization and sustainability strategies,” said Matthew Blake, Head of Financial and Monetary Systems, World Economic Forum. “Leaders across all industries have a responsibility to take action on their real estate GHG emissions to ensure progress in the fight against climate change.”

The following companies have pledged to halve their buildings-related emissions by 2030 and reach net-zero building emissions by 2050:

  • Avison Young
  • Edge
  • GPFI Group
  • Ivanhoé Cambridge
  • JLL
  • Majid Al Futtaim Properties
  • Schneider Electric
  • Signify

These firms will meet these targets by implementing the Forum’s Green Buildings Principles. Released last year, the Green Building Principles: The Action Plan for Net-Zero Carbon Buildings provides a clear sequence of steps to deliver net-zero carbon real estate portfolios:

1. Calculate a robust carbon footprint of your portfolio in the most recent representative year to inform targets

2. Set a target year for achieving net-zero carbon, by 2050 at the latest, and an interim target for reducing at least 50% of these emissions by 2030

3. Measure and record embodied carbon of new developments and major refurbishments

4. Maximize emissions reductions for all new developments and major refurbishments in the pipeline to ensure delivery of net-zero carbon (operational and embodied) by selected final target year

5. Drive energy optimization across both existing assets and new developments

6. Maximize supply of on-site renewable energy

7. Ensure 100% off-site energy is procured from renewable-backed sources, where available

8. Engage with stakeholders with whom you have influence in your value chain to reduce scope 3 emissions

9. Compensate for any residual emissions by purchasing high-quality carbon offsets

10. Engage with stakeholders to identify joint endeavours and equitably share costs and benefits of interventions

Developed in collaboration with JLL, the World Green Building Council and the Forum’s Real Estate community, the Green Building Principles can be formally adopted by firms and include an Action Plan detailing implementation.

The Action Plan provides globally applicable guidance on best practices to implement the principles for every stakeholder, from owners to occupiers to investors. Signatories will report progress annually as part of their public sustainability reporting and participate in a Practitioners Group to identify solutions around implementation.

Signatories share why they have pledged the Principles:

“More sustainable real estate is essential,” said Coen van Oostrom, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Edge. “The Principles offer a clear roadmap to help all building stakeholders tackle their emissions and deliver better buildings. The world deserves better buildings and it is entirely possible to significantly reduce the impact of both existing and new buildings.”

“It’s imperative that we address real estate related emissions,” said Christian Ulbrich, Global Chief Executive Officer and President, JLL. “Getting started is often the hardest part and the Principles offer a simple set of steps to do so. We believe it is easier to get to net zero in the built environment than for many companies to get to net zero in their core businesses and the business case is there to support action.”

“The emphasis on bringing together the world’s leading businesses and public figures to collectively address issues like climate change and driving social change is fundamental to what Avison Young stands for. ESG considerations across the board must be addressed by the real estate sector — buildings have a huge impact on our everyday lives and the planet,” said Mark E. Rose, Chairman and CEO, Avison Young. “We are thrilled to adopt the Green Building Principles and demonstrate to our peers that reaching net zero is not only possible but essential for a better built environment and more resilient and successful cities.”

“By nature, real estate requires long-term thinking and so we have a duty to invest with conviction and build a legacy for future generations,” said Nathalie Palladitcheff, President and CEO, Ivanhoé Cambridge. “We have a collective opportunity and responsibility to decarbonize the built environment and this ambitious commitment will require a transformation of practices across the whole real estate value chain.”

“The industry has traditionally looked at investments in sustainability as a trade-off with other aspects like customer experience, but it’s very clear that we need to shift our mindset,” said Ahmed Galal Ismail, CEO, Majid Al Futtaim Properties. “Sustainability is actually a trade-on and sustainable assets are more valuable. We are committed to transitioning our portfolio and proving what is possible in alignment with the Principles.”

“We have the innovation to both transform the current building stock through electrification and digitalization and develop smart, green buildings of the future,” said Philippe Delorme, Executive Vice President, European Operations, Schneider Electric. “Schneider Electric is proud to adopt the Principles and demonstrate how we can transition buildings to be healthier, more efficient and ultimately net-zero carbon.”

“We continue to be committed to the planet and addressing our real estate footprint” said Harsh Chitale, CEO, Digital Solutions Division, Signify. “The Principles are an ideal way to help every type of company address emissions from the buildings they own and/or occupy.”

“As a facility management company, we play a major role in the drive for adoption and implementation of emission reduction programs,” said Dr. MKO Balogun, Group CEO, GPFI Group. “Our role working with occupiers, owners, and developers of real estate gives us the leverage to drive that commitment, and we are glad to be joining other global leaders on this journey.”

Kana Earth unveils carbon offsetting ledger for fund managers

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
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British company Kana Earth has launched an open ledger and investment platform for the UK’s carbon offsetting market, which it claims will address many of the major obstacles holding the sector back for fund managers investing in this sector.

The company says it’s already in talks with several UK based fund managers, who collectively have over a trillion in assets under management and are interested in using the platform.

The Kana proposition will enable UK landowners with carbon offsetting projects to list and promote these on the platform at an early stage of the project development, detailing the seed capital required for the projects to start. This will provide ‘unprecedented levels of transparency’ in terms of overall goals and carbon reduction targets for the schemes, and how these will be achieved. This, the company says, will make it easier for fund managers and other professional investors to reduce their carbon footprint through buying and investing in transparent UK offset credits at an early stage of the project.

With the average Woodland project in the UK being 50ha and Peatland 200ha, these projects are normally too small for fund managers to invest in, but with the Kana Investment platform providing the technology and legal framework, fund managers will be able to invest, manage, report and insure credits to create a portfolio of UK credits thereby scaling the investment in this UK Nature sector.

Under the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) initiative, over $130 trillion of globally managed assets have been committed to achieving net zero by at least 2050. Fund managers including Invesco, Vanguard and BlackRock have signed up, aiming to achieve a net zero target across their business operations, but also across their investment portfolios.

Kana says more fund managers will increasingly look to compensate for all or part of the carbon emissions linked to their portfolio companies through the purchase of carbon offsets. It also expects to see more fund managers launch new “carbon neutral” share classes enabling investors to offset the carbon emissions attributable to their investments by paying a slightly higher management fee.

It also predicts that more active fund managers will start to re-invest part of their performance fee into a charitable pool or foundation whose goal is to back carbon offsetting projects.

Andy Creak, CEO and Co-Founder at Kana Earth Ltd said: “If the UK is to meet its carbon neutral targets, it needs to find a way to make it easier for fund managers to invest in projects in the country. However, there are significant challenges facing the UK carbon offsetting market, which is adversely affecting this goal.

“The challenges the UK carbon offsetting market needs to address include limited data availability, scarce financing, and the inability to attract private investment at scale,  inadequate risk management , and the lack of a process, technology, and legal framework to standardise how UK Nature Carbon works. There also needs to be a greater standardisation of codes in the UK carbon offsetting sector. We have developed Kana to address many of these challenges and in so doing, hopefully encourage fund managers and other  professional investors to back more UK carbon offsetting projects.”

Rising energy costs and potential blackouts – impact on employers

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By Jayne Flint, Associate in the Employment Team at Law Firm Womble Bond Dickinson

Increased energy and supply costs and the potential for blackouts this winter are forcing many organisations to consider reduced opening or manufacturing times. This article looks at the options available to employers and how to consult effectively with staff about changes to terms and conditions of employment.

Background

The National Grid has warned that from January, a series of staggered regional blackouts might be imposed from 4pm to 7pm to manage UK demand for energy.

Most businesses will be affected save for a limited number of “protected sites”, which includes hospitals, care homes, food manufacturers and other organisations that are part of critical national infrastructure.  Organisations that generate their own power will also be able to continue running during any blackouts.

Given this, it is vital to ensure that your business has a plan in place to manage the consequences of blackouts on your operations.

Options

The impact of blackouts will vary according to the size of the organisation, the nature of the work it does and the hours of work or shift patterns it operates.  Employers that already operate flexibly and have embraced remote and hybrid working will, arguably, be much better placed to cope with any  blackouts and less likely to see a significant drop in productivity levels.

This does not mean that such organisations should be complacent. It would be prudent to implement a communication plan and discuss with employees what this means in terms of their agreed working hours, whether those hours can be met through the blackouts (by, for example, varying the times of the day or week that employees work) and, if not, whether the time can be made up later or taken as holiday etc.

For many employers, the reality of managing blackouts and the negative impact this will have on productivity will be much more serious.

Organisations in the manufacturing, hospitality and retail sectors often engage staff on a fixed number of contractual hours each week.  If a decision is made to close or reduce the business during blackouts, this will in all likelihood reduce the number of staff required that week.  This may lead to discussions about a temporary reduction in hours of work, which will be a real challenge for employees who are also feeling the impact of the squeeze on their finances.

Employers need to ensure they navigate these conversations very carefully, as this will give rise to a number of legal risks. Considerations for employers include:

  • whether a temporary reduction in work will trigger the need for collective consultation under section 188 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations Consolidation Act 1992 (TULRCA). Failure to get this right can lead to the automatic payment of a protective award at the employment tribunal of up to 90 days’ pay per employee.
  • consulting with individuals effectively to try and reach agreement on the proposal for a temporary reduction in hours of work. This may well include consideration of alternative suggestions put forward by employees.  “Outside the box” thinking can be a useful mindset for employers to adapt in such scenarios.
  • whether this will technically amount to a “lay off” situation.  This arises where staff are being offered no work or pay (or shorter hours of work) for a temporary period in order to deal with a  downturn in work.  An employee’s contractual and statutory rights (such as, for example the right to guaranteed pay,) will depend on whether or not the employer has the contractual right to lay them off or put them on short-time working, and where a reduction in work legally amounts to a layoff or short term working, this can give rise to claims for constructive unfair dismissal and/or redundancy payments. Getting this wrong can therefore be very costly to the business.
  • ensuring that any decision taken by the business does not lead to claims of discrimination by anyone in the workforce with a protected characteristic on the grounds of, for example, sex, disability, race or nationality, or age.
  • whether a continuation of blackouts will lead to the risk of redundancies. If so, appropriate timeframes will need to be put in place to submit the HR1 form and manage the redundancy process in line with collective and individual consultation measures. The duty to collectively consult and submit the HR1 will be triggered once an organisation “proposes” to make 20 or more employees redundant at one establishment within a 90 day period. Failure to submit the HR1 form on time is an offence under TULRCA, which can lead to the imposition of an unlimited fine. This, along with the employment tribunal’s power to make an award of up to 90 days’ pay per employee for failure to collectively consult, is certainly a cause for focus,

It is also important to consider the wider implications on employee and industrial relations. Unions may object to the measures in an attempt to leverage better overall packages for their members, and businesses in this scenario need to be prepared for some tough conversations.

Preparing a well thought out plan and communicating openly with staff as early as possible will be key to both ensuring the legal risks are well managed and endeavouring to get staff on board with the need for the measures in advance of them being implemented.

Womble Bond Dickinson has a strong national team of employment lawyers and can support your business to manage the legal risks. If you would like a further discussion on a confidential basis about how we can help you, please do not hesitate to get in touch with your usual WBD contact or the author of this article.

Is data the key to reducing power & meeting sustainability goals?

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By Chris West (pictured), Head of Managed Service, Keysource

A growing number of customers are committing to sustainability/Net Zero targets and asking us to help them understand the journey to achieving their IT and data centre related goals. 

Know what you’ve got

Our starting point is simple – organisations need to get visibility of the utilisation of their compute in order to then optimise it.  The deployment of DCIM (Data Centre Infrastructure Management) is the critical first step to see the compute, storage and networking, where it is and crucially what the hardware is.

Recent enhancements in software technology now allow us to interrogate IT (through management interfaces and industry standard monitoring protocols such is IPMI) to understand the actual utilisation of IT and this can present a number of opportunities for optimisation which can lead to a more sustainable solution. This could for example show that current servers are under utilised and that these could be consolidated, or that a technology refresh is needed to replace equipment with new more efficient hardware. Our findings show that on average, compute is only about 16% utilised and we are regularly able to make this as high as 60% once we have the data.

Accountability

If we can start to get visibility of utilisation, we can start to drive accountability for it. With optimisation statistics on individual servers, we can start to make platform managers and business segments accountable for their compute. Couple this with information on the power draw and we can start to monetise the cost of the inefficiencies.

The next stage is to leverage this information to keep driving efficiency. Currently, it is recognised as good practice to ensure that our data centres are scalable and have good levels of resilience so they are often designed for “day 2 load”  – meaning we can accommodate the ever expanding IT should we need to.

Get dynamic

“Day 1 loads” are invariably much lower than the capacity of the infrastructure, often resulting in a “low load” operation. Low load often means that we run with a greater level of resilience than we need (N+3 instead of design N+1), so we have more M&E powered than we really need. Another function of low load is that M&E systems are often not as efficient as designed and for example might be overcooling with low return air temperatures and reduced free cooling.

The technologies used to understand IT utilisation (including intelligent BMS) can also provide us with power draw information, giving us a clear picture of our IT load. If we leverage this then we can write dynamic programs to match our operating M&E to the requirements of the IT load – shutting down M&E we don’t need.

Predictive algorithms

We can also use these technologies to react quickly to failures in M&E including predictive algorithms to identify when systems are likely to fail and also to preempt operations.

These predictive technologies can in turn also contribute to sustainability goals. We can leverage technology to understand M&E equipment run hours and adapt our planned maintenance programs to service equipment when it is needed, not simply based on a calendar year. Consider your scope 3 emissions (which include your supply chain) and the savings that could be made against unnecessary travel and the replacement of consumables you don’t yet need.

The Future

Data can play a vital role in helping us to make informed choices by collecting and leveraging data and enabling the technology to drive value and reduce power usage and carbon. However, the software won’t do this alone as it needs to be part of a broader consistent approach.

Oil and gas giants taking ‘measured’ steps for energy transition

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
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Oil and gas industry leaders are steadily incorporating transition fuels as well as low-carbon and zero-carbon energy sources into their portfolios, with the contributions of those fuels ‘pivotal’ for a successful energy transition and mitigation of carbon emissions.

GlobalData’s thematic report, “Energy Transition in Oil & Gas,” reveals that major oil companies such as BP, TotalEnergies, Shell, ExxonMobil, and Chevron have set net zero emission targets for 2050. The industry players are taking a variety of routes in their energy transition journey, including carbon capture and storage (CCS), hydrogen production, renewable power generation, electric vehicle (EV) charging, energy storage, and biofuels.

Ravindra Puranik, Oil and Gas Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Given the growing prominence of energy transition due to the increased awareness about the impact of fossil fuel emissions on climate change, the oil and gas industry will face international pressure, as the progress towards new energies becomes a particular point of scrutiny. Many governments are emphasizing the need to pursue cleaner fuels as alternative energy sources to mitigate the emissions.”

To meet their medium and long-term decarbonization targets, oil and gas players are investing in both existing and emerging technologies. Renewable power, particularly solar and wind, is one of the prominent areas where big oil companies, including BP, TotalEnergies, Shell, and Equinor are investing.

Puranik continues: “Oil and gas players are balancing their emission-intensive portfolios through the addition of renewable power projects, which could prepare them for the future market demands in the energy sector. This transition is further aided by regulatory support from major economies that have pledged to become climate neutral. In the medium term, however, emission mitigation technologies, such as CCS would help energy companies to persist with fossil fuels.”

ExxonMobil is one of the industry leaders pursuing CCS technology development and its commercial deployment. It is also investing in blue hydrogen projects that necessitate the use of CCS. On the other hand, European oil majors, such as TotalEnergies, BP, and Equinor are giving greater preference to green hydrogen, with proposed projects in Europe and Asia. Shell is investing in the growing EV market by effectively leveraging its global network of fuel retailing outlets to build EV charging infrastructure.

Puranik concludes: “The goal of this transition is to eliminate carbon emissions from the energy value chain over the long-term. Presently, oil and gas companies are taking calculated steps for energy transition but could become the dominant players over the coming years.”

World Bank passes judgement on national energy policies and regulations

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
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Two years of pandemic have highlighted the vulnerability and isolation of populations without electricity and have prompted countries to increase their focus on energy access and affordability, according to a new World Bank report on energy policies and regulations.

The 2022 edition of the RISE (Regulatory Indicators for Sustainable Energy) report shows that many countries have embedded new policies to improve their energy independence and minimize energy costs in their COVID-19 recovery plans.

“Confronted with multiple crises, now more than ever countries are recognizing the urgency of connecting their populations to sustainable, affordable and resilient energy sources,” said Riccardo Puliti, World Bank Vice President for Infrastructure. “Clear policy frameworks and planning enable governments to map out their energy strategies and to provide the predictability and transparency needed to attract investments.”

According to the bi-annual report that evaluates energy policies and regulatory frameworks across a set of indicators, the pandemic was a strong trigger: nearly half of the 140 surveyed countries in each region included new policies to minimize disruptions to electricity access, quality, and affordability in their COVID-19 recovery packages.

Many governments improved their electricity access policies, with Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean scoring the highest on this indicator. This included the two largest energy access-deficit countries—Nigeria and Ethiopia— which showed noteworthy progress thanks to policy and regulatory measures on electrification planning, frameworks for mini grids and off-grid systems, and consumer affordability of electricity.

And the number of countries with advanced mini-grids policy frameworks more than doubled between 2019-2021, reflecting how mini grids and solar home systems are now widely viewed as sufficient substitutes for grid extension. Over 40% of countries surveyed offered publicly funded financing options to secure funding for mini-grid operators. This had a positive effect on the cost of off-grid electricity, as the unsubsidized levelized cost of mini-grids fell by a third, from US$0.55 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in 2018 to US$0.38 per kWh in 2021.

Meanwhile, with renewable technologies becoming cost-competitive with traditional baseload energy sources over the last decade, many countries phased out incentives to compensate for renewable energy production. Tax reduction is now the most prevalent renewable energy fiscal incentive in place to attract large-scale corporate investments, with half of the countries surveyed offering tax reduction incentives for renewable energy projects.

Finally, the report found that energy efficiency policies were not receiving adequate attention despite unprecedented energy price hikes, with 49 countries showing little to no advances on energy efficiency policy frameworks.

Every two years, the Regulatory Indicators for Sustainable Energy or RISE report measures policy progress in 140 countries, representing over 98 percent of the world population, on renewable energy, energy efficiency, electricity access, and access to clean cooking – the four target areas of Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) on access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030.

RISE 2022: Building Resilience is the fourth edition of the report. The report is published by the World Bank with funding from the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP).

The full report, along with detailed country profiles and previous editions of the report, is available at https://rise.esmap.org/

Morriston Hospital in Wales green lights solar energy farm

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
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Morriston Hospital will become the first in Wales to develop its own full-scale solar farm, at a cost of £5.7 million. Work is expected to start early next year on the 4MW development on land at Brynwhillach Farm, linked to Morriston by a 3km private wire.

It will supply almost a quarter of Morriston’s power, cutting the electricity bill by around £500,000 a year and significantly reducing carbon emissions.

The solar farm will comprise 10,000 panels across 14 hectares of land. For comparison, the Morriston Hospital site is 18 hectares.

Swansea Bay has been awarded a total of £13.5 million for the solar farm and other energy-saving and carbon-reducing measures, repayable on an invest to save basis.

Following an extensive selection process, the health board selected Vital Energi as its partner.

Swansea Bay UHB Chair, Emma Woollett, said: “Our health board takes seriously our responsibilities to future generations by reducing our environmental impact and in particular cutting our carbon footprint.

“I’m especially delighted to see the hard work and commitment of our dedicated estates staff being rewarded in being the first health board in Wales to go green in such a pioneering yet practical way.

“Cutting our carbon footprint and cutting costs is a win-win for the health board, our patients and taxpayers.”

Swansea Bay spends around £6.9 million a year on electricity, gas water, and sewage treatment. This is expected to rise year on year, at a rate higher than inflation.

The investment in the solar farm and energy-reducing schemes will lead to a minimum guaranteed saving of more than £1.5 million a year. It will also reduce carbon emissions by around 3,000 tonnes a year.

Health board Assistant Director of Operations, Des Keighan, said the project was being delivered in two phases.

“The first phase was a range of energy conservation measures at Morriston and Singleton hospitals, and other health board premises.

“These included changing the majority of light fittings, and improving the insulation, lagging and upgrading building management systems.

“The second phase is the development of the solar farm, which will enable us to produce our own electricity.

“At peak production times this will meet the electricity demand for the entire hospital, whilst reducing our carbon emissions.

“This is in line with the Welsh Government’s commitment for the public sector to be carbon neutral by 2030.”

The energy conservation measures have been carried out throughout 2020 and will be completed early next year.

Work on the solar farm development is due to start in the early part of 2021 and should be operational by the end of the summer.

Mr Keighan added: “We will be the first health board in Wales to develop its own solar farm.

“It has been very challenging. However, with a lot of hard work from our project team, which included the Welsh Government and other key partners, we have managed to secure the development.”

Swansea Bay Chief Executive Tracy Myhill said: “As well as keeping our hospitals and facilities running 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for our clinicians to deliver patient services, this is another example of the way in which our estates teams are making a huge contribution to our patients and communities.

“I commend everyone who has made this project a reality.”

Vital Energi Account Director Phil Mottershead said: “We were delighted to be selected as the health board’s partner.

“Being able to deliver solar energy on this scale for an NHS site is an exciting opportunity.

“Combining it with other energy conservation measures makes this a highly innovative solution for the NHS.”

Office building performance review identifies 108k euro in annual energy savings

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
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Consultants from climate tech firm IES and Savills have tamed up to achieve projected annual energy costs savings of up to €108,000 and carbon savings of up to 302 tonnes of CO2 per year.

IES was commissioned by the commercial and residential property company to optimise the operational performance of a 14,000m2 office building in George’s Quay, Dublin.

IES Consulting used a monitoring-based commissioning approach and its proprietary iSCAN data analytics platform to improve energy efficiency through the correct operation of the building’s systems, which had previously been upgraded as part of a retrofit project in 2017.

The design strategy for the retrofit targeted several aims, including achieving LEED Platinum and BER A3 ratings, and reducing energy costs by 30% compared to ASHRAE 90.1-2007. The building was equipped with new energyefficient lighting and controls, weather compensation controls for heating, rainwater harvesting, solar panels, and a new mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery.

However, Savills was keen to verify that the desired energy performance was being achieved once the building was in use, with the performance gap between the design intent and actual operational performance of buildings a common issue.

While, by general standards, the building appeared to be performing well, particularly when compared against industry benchmarks such as CIBSE Guide F and TM46, a detailed review of the building’s utilities data and building management systems (BMS) revealed several areas for significant performance improvements.

For example, in one block of the building, it was discovered that the return water temperature set-point on the boilers was too high, meaning that some boilers were running when outside temperatures were relatively moderate. By implementing a quick change to the control set-point in the BMS, Savills was able to start making instant savings.

A review of the data from the outdoor air temperature sensors identified that some of these sensors were receiving direct sunlight which was causing issues with the LPHW temperature set-points, which led to the installation of a weather shield to reduce the exposure to direct sunlight and any potential negative impacts on building operation.

Air handling units, which ensure adequate fresh air is supplied to protect the wellbeing of occupants, are often one of the largest energy consumers in office buildings. With the building occupancy reduced due to the increase in remote working after COVID, IES was able to recommend adjustments that could be made via the BMS to safely reduce overall airflow in line with the number of occupants.

Within just two weeks of operational changes being implemented in early 2021, energy reductions of up to 69% were observed, although some of these savings could be attributed in part to COVID lockdowns.

The electrical usage data for the Landlord meters indicated projected annual savings of up to €94,833 and 143.54 tonnes of CO2 per year. Meanwhile, a decrease in gas usage is predicted to result in additional projected annual savings of up to €13,796 and 159.4 tonnes of CO2 per year.

Brendan Doyle, facilities manager at Savills, commented: “Working with IES on this project has allowed us to get a much better handle on our building data, helping us understand exactly how the building is operating and where we can make improvements. By making some simple operational adjustments advised by the IES team, we have already seen significant savings in both energy costs and CO2 emissions, and we hope to continue working together to further optimise the building’s performance and ensure that these savings are sustained.”

Francis Sheridan, commissioning team manager at IES, said: “Our work with Savills at George’s Quay highlights the financial impact that the performance gap can have. Savills had already done some great work to improve the energy efficiency of the building, but with a few relatively simple tweaks we were still able to deliver significant cost and carbon savings.

“To ensure the continued efficient operation of the building, and to reduce the risk of operational drift as occupancy levels change, particularly post-COVID, we have advised a six-monthly review of the building services systems and energy data.

“Improving the energy efficiency of buildings is now more important than ever in light of the energy crisis, and savings such as these could make a real difference to business viability in the coming months.”

Commercial real estate asset managers ‘accelerate energy efficiency plans’

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
By:

The majority (80%) of European commercial real estate asset managers are accelerating plans to improve energy efficiency across their property portfolios to help deal with the energy crisis and rising energy bills.

The research by Deepki, the ESG data intelligence firm, which surveyed 250 European commercial real estate asset managers in the UK, Germany, France, Spain and Italy, also highlighted the huge energy cost increases asset managers are experiencing within their portfolios.

Over half (53%) of those questioned said they had seen energy costs rise by over 51% across their commercial real estate portfolios.  Staggeringly, of these, 18% cited a massive increase of between 71% and 90% in the cost of their energy.

The need for more energy efficient commercial buildings is also highlighted by the increase in green premia – the higher pricing power of more sustainable buildings. The research reveals that over half (56%) are seeing an uplift of 11%-15% and a further 28% said they had experienced a 5%-10% value enhancement, reflecting the growing demand for more efficient buildings from occupiers and the people that use them.

At the other end of the scale, 82% expect the energy crisis to cause a dramatic increase in unoccupied buildings which do not perform well when it comes to energy efficiency. Those assets with poor energy efficiency will also be sold more quickly than originally planned, according to 81% of respondents.

Vincent Bryant, CEO and co-founder of Deepki, said: “Businesses across Europe are counting the cost of the energy crisis, and commercial real estate is no exception.  However, rather than stopping investment, the sector is taking action, either by accelerating plans to improve the energy efficiency of buildings or to divest those where the performance is particularly low.”

Deepki claims to be the only company in the world offering a fully populated ESG data intelligence platform to help commercial real estate investors, owners and managers improve the ESG performance of their real estate assets, and in the process enhance their value.

Transforming flaring gas to clean hydrogen

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By Michael Stusch, CEO, H2 Industries

Gas flaring is now recognized as a major contributor to the emission of harmful gases affecting climate change and society by creating increased incidences of cancer in communities close to flaring sites. Sadly, flaring has been around for more than 150 years since the advent of oil and gas production, occurring when crude oil is extracted underground and natural gas is brought to the surface.

Particularly prevalent in areas with limited infrastructure, this gas is burned off seemingly without regulation. In fact, some 144 billion cubic meters of gas is flared each year, enough to power the whole of sub-Saharan Africa.

The pollutants emitted are highly harmful to humans, according to a recent report by the BBC, and to the environment. Flaring emits black carbon, methane, and volatile organic compounds that pollute the air and have been linked not just to cancer, but deformities in children, lung damage, and skin problems. It contributes to over seven million deaths a year from air pollution. In addition, it is estimated that black carbon is second only to carbon dioxide in terms of its impact on global warming.

This is because it absorbs sunlight, warming the atmosphere, landing on ice and snow, and reducing its ability to reflect light. So, the big question is, what can be done? Fortunately, a solution is on the near horizon.

Overcoming energy waste

According to the World Bank, flaring is a monumental waste of a valuable natural resource that should be used for productive purposes, such as generating power, and that is what technology from H2-Industries, a global energy storage solutions company, can achieve. The company has developed a solution to convert these environmentally harmful flaring gases right at the flare of an oil production field to clean hydrogen and solid carbon. 

H2-Industries use pyrolysis technology to convert this environmentally harmful waste product into clean hydrogen. The hydrogen production process from flaring gas is CO2-emission free. Pyrolysis is when a solid (or a liquid) undergoes thermal degradation into smaller volatile molecules without interacting with oxygen or other oxidants. It is essential to understand that pyrolysis is not a phase change but a chemical process. It is a thermal degradation process that occurs under heat and degrades larger molecules into smaller ones.

The technology will be delivered in self-contained 20 or 40-foot ISO containers and can be pre-assembled in a semi-serial production and shipped for installation to the flaring site. The process provides clean hydrogen bound in liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHC). LOHC are organic compounds that can absorb and release hydrogen through chemical reactions. LOHCs can therefore be used as a storage medium for hydrogen. H2-Industries has developed and commercialized the use of LOHC to make hydrogen handling safer and cheaper. With LOHC, the volatile hydrogen gas no longer needs to be cooled or compressed in a costly and energy-intensive manner to enable economical transport.

Any process is only as economic and ecological as its primary feedstock, and in the case of H2-Industries, the critical feedstock is a waste product. One crucial requirement for the process is electricity supplied by internal power generation units that do not use fossil fuel energy sources or the grid. CO2-free electricity can be provided either by hydrogen fuel cells that transform the hydrogen produced on-site into electrical power or Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) units that recover heat from the hydrogen storage in LOHC units and wasted heat from the water gas shift process to produce power for the entire process.

The process can produce up to 100 kg of clean hydrogen and 730 kg of solid carbon from a tonne of flaring gas. A typical, medium-sized oil platform releases 13,500 tonnes of flaring gas annually, and a single H2-Industries ‘Flare to Hydrogen’ container can produce 158 tons of clean hydrogen per year. By processing 100 million tons of flaring gas per year, the amount flared in 2021, ten million tonnes of clean hydrogen can be produced. The clean hydrogen for between $2 and $3 per kg, while market price levels are between $3 and $4 for grey hydrogen and $7 for CO2-emission-free hydrogen.

Clean carbon black

The only by-product of the process is solid carbon black that can be shipped for export to any place in the world using ISO container tanks. Carbon black is mainly used to strengthen rubber in tires. But it can also act as a pigment, UV stabilizer, conductive or insulating agent in various rubber, plastic, coating applications, and other everyday use, including hoses, conveyor belts, shoes, and printing.

Carbon black is usually produced in a high-temperature reactor through a tightly controlled flame-synthesis process that uses oil, and sometimes natural gas, as feedstock. As a result, the production of carbon black, as well as the production of its feedstock, contributes significantly to global warming and environmental pollution.

The H2-Industries process captures clean carbon black, not produced from fossil fuels, but from harmful production emissions with no additional CO2 emissions. This carbon black can be sold on the world market, where the current prices are between $1.5 and $2.5 per kg.

The hydrogenation process

It is crucial that any process can cope with the varying make-up of feedstock. Flare gas composition differs from flare to flare; therefore, the pure methane (CH4) needs to be separated with membranes that remove the various blends of carbon hydrates so that only pure CH4 remains. This CH4 is then cracked in a methane pyrolysis process into clean hydrogen and solid carbon with no CO2 emissions released into the atmosphere.

With pressures between 30 – 50 bar and catalysts specially developed for this application, the LOHC can be hydrogenated; hydrogen can be chemically bound. The resulting hydrogenated LOHC+ can be handled using the known gasoline and diesel fuel infrastructure. The hydrogenation process is exothermic. The waste heat developed in this way can be used in other processes, thus increasing the overall system efficiency. To dehydrate the LOHC+ to release the hydrogen from the liquid again, the LOHC+ passes through a dehydrogenation reactor, which contains the catalyst required for this process.

In contrast to hydrogenation, dehydrogenation is an endothermic reaction. Therefore, the necessary energy must be added and can, for example, be made available within the system by using the clean hydrogen itself or provided by other external heat sources. The dehydrogenated LOHC- can now be returned to the location of the hydrogenation and ‘reloaded’ with hydrogen. The cycle is closed. The LOHC itself is not consumed but reused many times over. The service life is also increased by the possibility of purification as soon as this becomes necessary after various cycles.

According to the World Bank 2022 Global Gas Flaring Tracker, reductions in absolute flare volumes and flaring intensity have stalled in the last decade, despite early solid progress. Impressive reductions in some countries have not offset concerning increases in others. The top ten flaring countries accounted for 75 percent of all gas flaring and 50 percent of global oil production in 2021. Seven of the top ten flaring countries have held this position consistently for the last ten years: Russia, Iraq, Iran, the United States, Venezuela, Algeria, and Nigeria. The remaining three, Mexico, Libya, and China, have shown significant flaring increases in recent years.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the time is ripe for tapping into hydrogen’s much-vaunted potential contribution to a sustainable energy system. Hydrogen can be used in many more applications than those common today. Although this still accounts for a small share of total hydrogen demand, recent progress in expanding its reach has been strong, particularly in transport. It can also be used in houses, portable power, and many more applications. By utilizing LOHC technology from H2-Industries, harmful emissions from gas flaring can be avoided and turned into valuable and much-needed green hydrogen to increase the pace of the energy transition.