Prologis highlighted net-zero goals and solar energy in its 2021 ESG report. (Courtesy Prologis)

Global industrial real estate company Prologis, Toronto-based Allied Properties Real Estate Investment Trust, and oil and gas producer Enerplus have updated their goals and achievements in the ESG spectrum in 2021.

Prologis

Prologis is a real estate investment trust and logistics firm based in San Francisco, Calif., that is the world’s largest developer, owner and operator of industrial real estate. This is the company’s 16th ESG report.

Report highlights: Net-zero goal by 2040. Carbon neutrality with Scope 1 and 2 emissions since 2019, and having decreased its Scope 3 emissions by 38 per cent from a 2016 baseline. Ranked as the third-highest corporation for installed onsite solar capacity in the U.S.

Emissions goal: Reaching net-zero by 2040 encompassing Scope 1, 2 and 3. Reduce Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 21 per cent by 2025 against a 2016 baseline. Reduce Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions by 15 per cent by 2025 from a 2016 baseline.

Scope 1 and 2: Prologis reports it reduced its Scope 1 and 2 emissions 22 per cent from 2020 to 2021, primarily due to reduced use of natural gas for heating in offices it owns. Additionally, it improved energy efficiency and purchased carbon offsets and renewable energy certificates.

The primary sources of Scope 1 emissions include fuel consumption in Prologis-owned and -leased vehicles, natural gas consumption in offices owned by Prologis and diesel fuel use for backup generators and water pumps. Its Scope 2 emissions are primarily from electricity use related to Prologis offices.

Scope 3: Account for 99.9 per cent of Prologis’ emissions. Its Scope 3 emissions declined one per cent from 2020 to 2021. The company said it has reduced Scope 3 emissions by 38 per cent from its 2016 science-based-target baseline, primarily through increased building energy efficiency.

Certifications: GRESB, ISS, Sustainalytics, Institute for Market Transformation and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Alliance.

Third-party verifiers: Dow Jones Sustainability Indices, MSCI and Sustainalytics.

DEI plans: Hiring goal that a candidate pool must be 50 per cent diverse. An annual pay equity analysis that covers gender and people of colour and includes base salary, bonuses and long-term incentives. In 2021, Prologis added new educational resources, programs and toolkits to support employee training on inclusion and diversity. In 2022, Prologis will launch a global inclusion and diversity steering committee.

ESG strategy: Installing one gigawatt of solar generation capacity on its buildings (supported by storage) by 2025. Reaching 100 per cent carbon neutral construction by 2025. Net-zero for operations by 2030.

Read the full report here.

Allied Properties Real Estate Investment Trust

Allied Properties REIT is an owner, manager and developer of urban office environments. The firm is headquartered in Toronto, Canada and owns 212 properties across seven Canadian cities with 15.4 million square feet of gross leasable area. This is Allied Properties’ third ESG report.

Report highlight: A 15.4 per cent and 12.4 per cent reduction compared to its 2019 baseline in energy and GHG emissions intensity, outperforming its 2024 targets by 6.9 per cent and six per cent, respectively. The absolute GHG emissions of its target portfolio went from 34,799 tonnes in 2019 to 30,467 tonnes in 2021. Achieved by implementing a series of energy conservation initiatives as well as reduced occupancy in its buildings due to COVID-19.

Emissions goal: Net-zero by 2050.

Scope 1 and 2: Scope 1 caused by stationary combustion. Scope 2 caused by purchased electricity and steam. Reduced GHG intensity to 2.18 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent emitted per square meter (kgCO2e/ft) compared to a 2019 baseline of 2.49 kgCO2e/ft, beating the target of 2.33 kgCO2e/ft.

Scope 3: Plans to report Scope 3 emissions with its Net Zero Carbon Plan in alignment with Science Based Targets initiative requirements.

Certifications: LEED Gold and BOMA BEST.

Third-party verifiers: ISO 14091, ISO 31000, the Public Infrastructure Engineering Vulnerability Committee Protocol, Global Reporting Initiative 2021 Universal Standards, and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board Real Estate Standard.

DEI plans: In 2021, Allied’s board of directors commenced a multi-year process of recruitment and nomination to continue to diversify the board by broadening recruitment beyond existing networks and expanding the candidate pool. It also established baseline employee diversity metrics and continued on its three-year roadmap.

ESG strategy: Designing standards with progressive performance targets or carbon budgets for all new development and redevelopment projects; creating a net-zero carbon acquisition checklist to evaluate transitioning new acquisitions to net-zero as part of its due diligence process; net-zero transition roadmap that identifies and evaluates the technical and economic viability of deep retrofits and fuel switching for its standing portfolio to achieve net-zero carbon, supplemented by estimated capital cost requirements on representative buildings and implementation timelines; renewable energy strategy to maximize the use of onsite renewable generation systems at new developments and across Allied’s standing portfolio.

Energy conservation measures like 32 LED lighting retrofit projects planned for 2022, covering over three million square feet; developing the Net Zero Carbon Plan for the standing portfolio, development and redevelopment projects; creating an energy management plan for all operational assets and formalizing a national energy management reporting protocol.

Read the full report here.

Enerplus

Enerplus is a publicly traded oil and gas exploration and production company based in Calgary. It is listed in the Toronto and New York stock exchanges. This is Enerplus’ eighth ESG report.

Report highlight: Reduced 2021 methane emissions intensity by 35 per cent compared to 2019 baseline.

Emissions goal: A 35 per cent reduction for Scope 1 and 2 carbon dioxide emissions intensity by 2030, from 33.1 kgs per barrel of oil to 21.5 kgs per barrel of oil. New mid-term and longer-term methane emissions intensity reduction targets of 30 per cent by 2025 and 50 per cent by 2030.

Scope 1 and 2: Reduced total company GHG emissions intensity by 25 per cent compared to 2019 baseline. Scope 1 emissions are direct emissions from owned and operated facilities. Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy for the company’s owned and operated facilities.

Scope 3: N/A

Certifications: For safety by 5-Star Energy.

Third-party verifiers: Reports to CDP Climate Change and CDP Water Security questionnaires.

DEI plans: No specifics mentioned.

ESG strategy: Tying its ESG performance to compensation practices. Expanded its ESG focus area management. Setting new methane intensity reduction and community engagement targets. Dedicated one per cent of capital spending to emissions reduction projects.

Read the full report here.