Regent Street landlord Crown Estate raises bar on carbon neutrality

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
Dec 4, 2020

The Crown Estate wants to go ultra green. One of London retail’s biggest landlords said this week it’s committed to eliminating its carbon footprint by 2030. That includes the emissions generated by customers using its properties.

The company manages a lot of land and property, including $13 billion worth of properties in large parts of London’s West End and 17 retail parks and shopping centres around Britain. It said that it would reduce emissions from directly-managed assets to net zero within a decade. That’s up from a previous target of an 80% reduction.

The plan includes exploring options such as green leases that could require tenants to buy renewable electricity. It could even mean providing electric vehicle charging points and cycle facilities for commuters.

It will also rethink how it develops properties. It would refurbish old buildings rather than demolish and replace them, reducing emissions associated with construction.

Also owning large expanses of rural and agricultural land, including Windsor Great Park, it plans to re-wild or plant forests on its land to help meet its new net-zero emissions goal.

Dan Labbad, chief executive of the Crown Estate, told The Times newspaper: “We have a responsibility to do more than grow the financial returns we generate for the nation.

“We also have a responsibility to help the nation meet the wider challenges it faces head-on, including stepping up with purpose and pace to address the environmental crisis”.