CityDev steps up climate change strategy amidst upcoming carbon tax in 2019

It will utilise sustainable building materials for development projects to reduce embodied carbon by 24% by 2030.

City Developments (CDL) took its climate change strategy a notch higher as it is the first real estate company in Singapore to have assessment of its carbon reduction targets by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), an announcement revealed. 

The firm’s move is in line with Singapore’s impending carbon tax in 2019 and the global transition to a low carbon economy.

Guided by its target, CDL is set to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per square metre across its Singapore operations in its corporate office and its commercial and industrial buildings by 59% from base-year 2007 by 2030.

The firm also targets to utilise sustainable building materials for development projects instead of their conventional equivalents, to reduce embodied carbon by 24% by 2030.

“Accounting for about a third of global GHG emissions, the building and construction sector has a critical role in shaping a low carbon economy,” CDL group CEO Sherman Kwek said. “To accelerate our climate action, we have adopted the science-based emissions reduction targets and climate change scenario analysis.”

In addition, CDL will also tap subsidiary Millennium & Copthorne Hotels to set a science-based emissions reduction target by 2025. The arm contributes close to 90% of emissions from CDL’s key subsidiaries.