DECARBONISATION – ACHIEVING NET ZERO IN PHASES BY 2030 AND 2050

The net-zero commitment has remained as our green building and energy management priority since the Company’s pledge to the WorldGBC Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment in February 2021; and the renewal of our carbon reduction targets by SBTi in December 2021. In the pursuit of a low carbon future, we remain focused on driving green building innovations whilst creating value for our business and stakeholders. At COP27, the Company joined over 50 global companies in making a joint Action Declaration on Climate Policy Engagement. Through this, we reaffirmed our approach towards taking climate action by aligning with the Paris Agreement whilst working with our industry partners, trade associations and policymakers.

During COP28, the Company announced that we were the first corporate to secure the OCBC 1.5°C sustainability-linked loan, a three-year £200 million (approximately S$338.2 million) revolving credit facility that is pegged to annual decarbonisation targets. It aims to mobilise capital to drive action to attain our SBTi-validated carbon reduction targets.

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Net Zero Commitment CDL’s Commitment Action Taken Achievements

WorldGBC Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment
Scope of CDL’s Net Zero Carbon Commitment

New developments and 13 Singapore assets (as of February 2021)

  • 247,016 m2 total floor area
  • 15,044 tCO2e portfolio carbon emissions
  • 16,922 average kgCO2e/m2 Whole Life Carbon Footprint
  • 415 employees
 The following targets have been set and endorsed by our senior management to take our green building ambitions to the next level:

  • To achieve net-zero carbon with whole-life cycle approach for wholly-owned and directly managed buildings in Singapore by 2030
  • To achieve maximum reduction of embodied carbon in new developments, compensating for any remaining residual operational and upfront embodied emissions via offsetting for new developments by 2030 and for all buildings to be net-zero carbon by 2050
 In 2022, the Company updated our 2030 targets upon SBTi’s successful validation of our carbon reduction targets in 2021.

Operationalised revised Future Value 2030 Sustainability Blueprint (FV2030) interim 2023 annual targets in Q2 2023, endorsed by management.

The FV2030 targets have incorporated more stringent SBTi-validated targets based on a 1.5°C warmer scenario, which are integrated with the Company’s carbon reduction pathways mapped under our WorldGBC Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment.

In 2023, the Company submitted our interim progress to WorldGBC.

 One of over 50 global corporations to commit to greater action in strengthening climate policy engagement, in line with the Paris Agreement at COP27.
By 2030, against a 2016 base year, we will:

  • Reduce Scope 1 and 2 (GHG) emissions by 63% per square metre (per m2) leased area
  • Reduce Scope 3[1] GHG emissions from purchased goods and services by 41% per m2 gross floor area (GFA)
  • Reduce absolute Scope 3 GHG emissions from investments[2] by 58.8%, including hotels managed by CDL’s wholly-owned hotel subsidiary, Millennium & Copthorne Hotels Limited (M&C)
 2021: Renewed SBTi-validated targets aligned with a 1.5°C warmer scenario
2019: One of 87 pioneering signatories to the Business Ambition for 1.5°C campaign led by UNGC, SBTi, and We Mean Business coalition
2018: First real estate company in Singapore to set SBTi-validated targets based on a 2°C warmer scenario

  • Achieve net zero emissions by 2050
  • 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution: Reduce 2030 emissions to 60 MtCO2e after peaking emissions earlier3

  • The Singapore Green Building Master Plan aims to deliver three key targets of “80-80-80 in 2030”
  • As of end 2023, 57.9% of Singapore’s buildings have been greened (by GFA)4
 The following targets have been set and endorsed by our senior management, to take our green building ambitions to the next level:

80% of Singapore’s buildings (by GFA) to be green by 2030

  • To achieve BCA Green Mark certification for 100% of the Company’s owned and managed buildings by 2030

80% of new developments to be SLE from 2030

  • To achieve SLE buildings for 80% of the Company’s owned and managed buildings by 2030

80% improvement in energy efficiency (from 2005 levels) for best-in-class green buildings by 2030

  • Asset enhancements with smart and low carbon technologies towards BCA SLE building certification
  • To continue investing 2-5% of the construction cost of new developments in green and healthy design and features, which have been incorporated as standard provision to maintain the Company’s leadership in green buildings
  • Introduced the CDL Smart, Sustainable and Super Low Carbon (3S) Green Building Framework in 2020.
  • Updated the 3S Green Building Framework in 2021 to include embodied carbon management. This aligns with the WorldGBC’s whole life carbon vision in the expanded Net Zero Carbon Commitment.
  • Aligned with refreshed Green Mark 2021 standards.
  • In Q2 2023, we concluded a Whole Life Carbon Assessment (WLCA) in Singapore using five existing Group assets across different typologies – residential, retail, hotel and mixed development.5 This allowed us to understand the carbon footprint of an asset at different stages of their life cycle – from construction, maintenance to operations.
 Green Mark: The Company has amassed a portfolio of 123 BCA Green Mark certifications for our developments and office interiors. This makes us one of the leading private developers with the most BCA Green Mark Platinum awards since the launch of this scheme in 2005.

BCA Green Mark Super Low Energy Awards

In 2023, the Company achieved:

  • Three BCA Green Mark Platinum SLE awards for our corporate headquarters Republic Plaza, and our residential developments, Tembusu Grand and Lumina Grand. Additionally, both residential developments were awarded the BCA Whole Life Carbon Badge
  • One BCA Green Mark GoldPLUS for our residential development, The Myst

 

[1] SBTi only requires companies’ Scope 3 targets to cover 66% of their Scope 3 emissions. For the Company, category 1 (purchased goods and services) and category 15 (investments) have reduction targets as these categories cover more than 80% of our Scope 3 emissions
[2] Investment refers to the Group’s six key subsidiaries: CBM Pte Ltd, CDL Hospitality Trusts (considered as associate of the Group from 2023 onwards), City Serviced Offices, Le Grove Serviced Residences, Tower Club Singapore, hotels owned and managed by M&C
2 Singapore Commits to Achieve Net-zero Emissions by 2050 and to a Revised 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution; Public Sector and Jurong Lake District to Lead, NCCS Singapore
3 Media Release: Initiatives to Support Transformation in the Built Environment Sector
4 The Company achieved three SLE awards in 2023 for Republic Plaza, Tembusu Grand, and Lumina Grand
5 Comprises residential, retail, office and hotel

 

3S Green Building Framework

Introduced in 2020, the CDL Smart, Sustainable and Super Low Carbon (3S) Green Building Framework is a key enabler founded on two critical drivers – innovation and digitalisation – to support CDL’s business growth and transition to net zero operation. This holistic framework is aligned with the BCA Super Low Energy (SLE) buildings requirements, as well as international standards for advancing health and well-being in buildings. In 2021, the 3S Green Building Framework was updated to include embodied carbon management. This aims to align with the WorldGBC’s whole life carbon vision in the expanded Net Zero Carbon Commitment.5

5 Advancing Net Zero. World Green Building Council, 29 November 2021.