Carbon Neutrality in Real Estate: Strategies for Success

Offsetting Remaining Emissions

When all on-site modes of carbon emission reductions have been exhausted, Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) and carbon offsets are alternatives to balance unavoidable emissions.⁷ Both RECs and carbon offsets help an organization reduce their carbon footprint, but they have different uses in supporting claims of carbon neutrality.

RECs seek to reduce emissions associated with purchased electricity (scope 2) by funding an existing renewable energy source and ultimately shifting more supply to renewable sources. Each REC represents the attributes of one megawatt-hour (MWh) of renewable energy and allows the purchaser to claim to use renewable energy. Some RECs are independently verified, such as those with Green-e® certification. The price of RECs tends to fluctuate cyclically each year, generally increasing during the first quarter of the year, through March—the deadline for building owners to purchase Green-e® RECs to offset their previous year’s consumption. Bundled RECs can be purchased locally for the property through Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), where available, while unbundled RECs can be purchased at a national portfolio level for all properties in the U.S. When the owner of a REC makes a claim about renewable energy based on it, that REC is “retired”—which means that building owners cannot sell the same REC to another party once they’ve claimed credit for it.8 Currently, RECs have been responding to increased demand, and REC pricing has escalated higher, with 2021 being the most volatile year on record. MIM believes that REC pricing will continue to increase, due to more owners adopting carbon neutral goals.

Carbon offsets are utilized to ‘balance’ carbon emissions (primarily scope 1 or 3) using a specific activity that will remove, reduce, or sequester emissions in another location. An offset represents a metric ton of emissions avoided. Carbon offsets can be purchased from a voluntary market and help to finance a project such as installing a new, renewable energy power plant somewhere in the world. Other examples of carbon offsets are solar cookstoves and hot water heaters for families or municipalities. Because offsets don’t reduce carbon emissions at the source, offsets have sometimes been criticized for allowing companies to continue emitting carbon (and thus in some cases polluting the air) near their facilities.

One of the primary concerns with carbon offsets involves the concept of additionality, i.e., would buying the specific offset lead to a reduction in emissions that would not have happened otherwise? It’s important to question whether the purchase actually resulted in additional carbon being sequestered versus a project that was taking place and would have sequestered the same amount of emissions whether or not your offset had been purchased. An additional concern includes the permanence of offsets purchased. To achieve true carbon neutrality, the emissions must be kept out of our atmosphere permanently. For example, utilizing carbon offsets from a tree planting project that will then be cleared decades later negates some of the effectiveness of the offset. Additionally, carbon leakage is a concept that is associated with the notion that offset projects can drive others to emit in different locations. For example, a carbon offset project that preserves forest areas could drive locals in the area to simply clear forests in another location. This results in emissions ‘leaking’ as a result of the offset project. Other concerns with offsets include double-counting and verification methods as the offset market gains traction on a global scale. To help mitigate these concerns, it is important to work with a respected offset provider and only purchase carbon offsets that meet reputable and approved third-party standards.

RECs and Offsets can be an important strategy for reaching carbon neutrality after making on-site reductions such as deceasing energy usage, installing on-site renewables, and buying renewable energy, with the goal to reduce net emissions and need fewer RECs and offsets for the same set of properties, year over year. Some assets may be able to completely eliminate their operational emissions, such as a single-story industrial or retail building, with the installation of a large rooftop solar array; while other assets, like mid-rise multi-family communities and high-rise office buildings, may only be able to cover a small percentage of their operational emissions through on-site renewables and will depend more heavily on RECs and offsets. Portfolio owners must take these differences into account and work to reduce carbon emissions both at the asset level and across the portfolio.

MIM’s MetZero™ approach, as highlighted above, purposely employs the Carbon Cascade approach that seeks to reduce energy demand as much as possible, then moves to the use of renewable energy, and finally employs the use of carbon offsets or RECs to reach carbon neutrality in select portfolios. MIM sees this approach as an effective way to take climate action and achieve attainable carbon neutrality goals, while strategically establishing resilience to the portfolio. More details on this approach can be found in this recent paper, “Investors Expect and Demand Meaningful Environmental Goals and Progress”.

The Future Journey to Carbon Neutrality

MIM believes the real estate industry must transition away from, and disrupt, ‘business as usual’ investing. Our ecological (and economic) systems are stressed and overburdened by anthropogenic activities, and real estate has a major role to play in response. Investors committing to carbon neutrality and utilizing the strategies outlined in this paper are important first steps. While many investors are making commitments to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, or in a similarly distant future, it is important that the industry focus on short-term progress and incremental goals. 

In our next report in this series, we will delve into current and future legislation related to carbon neutrality, and how regulatory changes may affect real estate investing.

Endnotes
¹ https://www.ipcc.ch/2021/08/09/ar6-wg1-20210809-pr/ 
² https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/chapter/glossary/ 
³ https://ecologi.com/articles/blog/carbon-neutral-vs-net-zero-whats-the-difference 
⁴ https://gresb.com/comprehensive-carbon-footprinting-real-estate/ 
⁵ https://www.energy.gov/eere/buildings/articles/report-delves-impacts-commercial-building-controls-energy-savings 
⁶ https://www.globalcarbonproject.org/carbonneutral/AvoidEmissions.htm 
^7 
8 https://www.urbangridsolar.com/what-is-a-rec-how-do-they-work/

Disclosures

This material is intended solely for Institutional Investors, Qualified Investors and Professional Investors. This analysis is not intended for distribution with Retail Investors.
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