Grosvenor, an international property owner and developer with a 70+ year track record in North America, has officially announced the launch of its Pathway to Net Zero initiative, which is designed to help the company achieve its sustainability goals. According to certain reports, these goals happen to involve a projected 42% decrease in carbon emissions, relative to a 2021 baseline year, by 2030 and reach Net Zero by 2050. To achieve that, the stated initiative will bring numerous activities like, for instance, deploying renewable, clean energy solutions to its buildings, including solar, wind and other energy saving technologies. Next up, the effort will see Grosvenor using more green building materials and innovative technologies during construction and capital improvement projects. Aside from that, the company also plans on using ultra-energy-efficient lighting, windows, and HVAC systems to clock greater sustainability across the board. Joining the same is the company’s vision to develop programs that specifically encourage its tenants and suppliers to reduce emissions.

As for how the Grosvenor will implement the Net Zero campaign across its North American property portfolio, we begin from the company’s Brentwood Block in Burnaby, BC, an 8-acre, pedestrian-focused masterplan that will bring 3,500 carbon-free homes to Metro Vancouver next to rapid transit. Next up, there is the under-process 3300 Whitehaven, which is a nine-storey residential building with a focus on reducing embodied carbon. Markedly enough, this the project will do through its innovative post-and-beam mass timber structure. In a more concrete sense, the structural system alone would eliminate up to 7,900 metric tonnes of carbon equivalent from the building’s carbon footprint. Moving on, in San Jose, California, Grosvenor has already completed a drought-resistant landscaping project at Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. Here, it is also working to advance a substantial solar panel array installation to realize a 91 percent usage offset at two buildings, whereas the same usage offset will likely be around 55 percent for the third building.

Hold on, considering we still haven’t touched on the company’s Ace in Berkeley, California, which features 163 residences powered by electric energy. On top of that, the property offers EV charging stations, electric ranges in all kitchens and enhanced public spaces, Making its case even better is the fact that the project has achieved GreenPoint Rated Gold certification, California’s independent rating system based on healthy, energy-and resource-efficient residences.

“Good governance, alongside social and environmental responsibility, is at our core and we will continue to focus on making positive contributions to the communities where we operate. Our Net Zero Carbon Pathway supports improvements to how we work with our tenants and suppliers, including seeking out opportunities to collaborate on emissions reduction tactics – an example of how we are shifting our business operations to better support a climate solution for a greener future,” said Tanja Milosevic Associate Vice President of Sustainability at Grosvenor North America.

Grosvenor had signed the World Green Building Council’s (WGBC) Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment back in 2019, and since then, company has been reporting to the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB), an independent group that tracks ESG progress across 2,200 companies, for three years. In 2023, Grosvenor came out bearing a strong 4 Green Star rating for its Development portfolio with a score of 91, placing it 12 points above the benchmark average.