Friday 10 January 2020
11 buildings become the first in the UK to achieve net zero carbon status
For the first time in the UK, 11 properties have been certified as meeting UK Green Building Council’s net zero carbon criteria. They include Liverpool Waters’ Princes Dock, MediaCityUK’s The Vic, The Alex, Quay West and the Digital World Centre in Salford, The Venus in TraffordCity in Manchester and Liverpool Waters’ Princes Dock as well as 16 Robertson Street in Glasgow.
The properties are all managed by Peel L&P – their head office in the Trafford Centre in Manchester was also verified as net zero.
Peel L&P says the most important action it took was reducing energy demand. Last year it invested £859,000 in 66 energy efficiency projects in the offices to reduce carbon emissions from energy use by 13%.
Any remaining emissions from the newly verified buildings will be offset through a Verified Carbon Standard tree-planting project in the North West of the UK to absorb the same amount of carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere.
The announcement of net zero status for the buildings in Salford and Manchester was welcomed by the Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham: “In our Five-Year Environment Plan we’ve set out our commitment to make Greater Manchester carbon-neutral by 2038. Achieving that will require significant cuts to carbon emissions from homes and workplaces – responsible for about two thirds of emissions across our city-region – with both the public and private sectors playing a vital role.”
Peel L&P says its work to reduce carbon emissions is part of the company’s first five-year sustainability plan which supports the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals (UN SDGs) to help create a fair and sustainable planet by 2030.
Peel L&P’s Sustainability Director Jo Holden, said:“The region has set itself ambitious targets for achieving carbon neutrality and we want to demonstrate how we are playing our part by taking action to mitigate climate change. We will re-assess these properties annually, talk to our tenants about their role in reducing carbon emissions and look to increase the number of Net Zero Carbon buildings in our portfolio.”
