Sustainability Transformation

Energy & Sustainability Integrated Solutions

As demonstrated by our science-based targets, corporate commitments and the amount of real estate we manage on behalf of our clients, we play a significant role in helping to limit the rise in global temperatures. Facilities management is core to sustainability, and with our mix of on-site teams, subject matter experts and supply chain partners, we improve the efficiency and sustainability of building operations.

CBRE's Science Based Targets

• CBRE commits to net zero carbon emissions by 2040. Learn more
• 79% reduction in emissions per square foot in facilities CBRE manages for occupiers by 2035 
• 67% reduction in emissions per square foot in facilities CBRE manages for investors by 2035 
• 100% renewable electricity by 2035, including transitioning our vehicle fleet to electric vehicles

Our approach

Our aim is to reduce the total cost of ownership of our clients’ portfolios and their journey to net-zero as a transition programme implemented across the integrated facilities management operating model, requiring strong coordination, collaboration and systems working across the value chain within a robust governance structure.

Our programme

Our methodology brings together talent, capabilities, and experience as a global property occupier, investor and manager to achieve carbon neutrality commitments, improve portfolio resiliency and reduce asset life-cycle costs, while mitigating risk and friction within company operations as these changes are deployed.

Increase my real estate’s sustainability

The next step after your organisation formulates its ESG targets is to create and implement a strategy. The question is what that strategy is. There are endless options – installing heat pumps, to developing a sustainable facility purchasing policy. Our consultants will help you choose by working with you to create an implementable sustainability plan that will have the most impact on your organisation – and will pay for itself in the long run, for instance, with higher returns.

• Broad expertise in sustainability-related issues
• Skilled specialists in BREEAM, LEED and WELL certification
• Concrete and implementable advice that fits within your strategy
• Custom-made solutions with practical support

From goals to results

CBRE helps you with the art of translating your sustainability goals into concrete actions at a building level. That means we examine your portfolio closely and ask the right questions – what locations offer the most gains, and what measures can we implement to achieve this in the most efficient way possible? We also weigh up different interests, such as what is important for your stakeholders, like investors and tenants and ensuring their desires are represented in your strategy. By working from a broad perspective to increasingly concrete plans, we can make your sustainability strategy manageable – and therefore implementable. We also help you integrate sustainability into your financing proposition, so that you can achieve more favourable outcomes.

Close to all sustainability certifications

BREEAM, LEED and WELL certification are not only ways to show what buildings are sustainable and healthy – they also form a guideline that you can apply to improve buildings in the most targeted ways possible. Our teams have accredited experts in all relevant sustainability and wellness certifications. That enables us to benchmark your real estate carefully and devise concrete sustainability scenarios for you. That way, we help you to become more sustainable and aligned with a streamlined plan, and obtain the certifications that are important for your portfolio.

A collective effort

It is high on CBRE’s agenda to ensure that real estate is more sustainable. We have set ourselves a target of reducing CO2 emissions in the Netherlands by 25% from commercial real estate. To achieve that, we use The Real Impact, which is our toolkit for real estate sustainability. All CBRE teams are also working on their sustainability goals based on their own expertise. 

That means we make it easy for our colleagues to connect with your issues. We would be pleased to utilise our organization-wide knowledge to make your sustainability strategy successful – from the Capital Markets team with experience with pan-European impact funds, to our appraisers who can determine the sustainability value of buildings and our Design Studio who designs circular interiors.

Sustainable & healthier workplaces

As a rental agency, real estate may not be your core business. Even then, it may be effective to include real estate within your sustainability strategy. Sustainable real estate is often better for the well-being of employees and other residents. Our consultants will work with you to develop an implementable sustainability strategy that aligns with your needs.

• Broad expertise in sustainability-related issues
• Concrete, implementable advice that fits within your strategy
• Custom-made solutions with practical support

We simplify your issues

There are several ways to make locations more sustainable. That can be achieved through building upgrades, opting for an interior designed with circular principles and reducing your waste flows – just to name a few. We help you answer the question about what interventions would be most useful for your organization. We map out how your locations are doing on sustainability measures, have an impact how you can prioritize them. That way we ensure that select the right one from a maze of options to suit your strategic needs.

Practical support in all scenarios

Various scenarios can be yielded from our sustainability analysis. You may have the most to gain if you move business units; or your current locations have potential, and you need to talk to the owner. We can assist you in both ways – by sending out a well-informed broker for you, or by leading the negotiations with the owner. There is a lot you can also do yourself, such as opting for circular interiors, or by making your processes more sustainable. Our experts will offer practical and implementable advice aligned with your strategy.

Sustainable and healthier workplaces

A sustainable workplace is often healthier for users than a traditional office. That is because fewer harmful substances may be emitted in the interior, or even because the company restaurant removes heavily processed food from the menu. Sustainability and well-being are often interconnected. Furthermore, we also have broad knowledge in the area of healthy workplaces and can advise you on how to obtain WELL certification and provide practical support for setting up a healthy workplace.

What is TRIP?

The real estate industry is one of the biggest contributors of greenhouse gas emissions and therefore has a leading role in the transition to a sustainable future.

We believe that CBRE and its partners can and will move the real estate sector towards a sustainable future. The projects we work on shape the future of commercial real estate and are therefore crucial in achieving climate objectives. We commit to realize 25% of the CO2 reductions for commercial real estate from the climate agreement with you, before 2030.

Therefore we are going to do the following: