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Mideast businesses set sights on net zero future, says report

ABU DHABI, June 22, 2021

With climate crisis spurring a global green reawakening and businesses in the Middle East alive to the climate challenge, sustainability is all set to take centre stage in the region as the majority of the businesses plan for net zero future, according to property expert Knight Frank.
 
Without a major shift towards sustainable buildings, companies that have set a 2030 net zero carbon target may struggle to achieve their objectives, stated Knight Frank in its second edition of its (Y)OUR SPACE report.
 
It draws on responses from almost 400 businesses around the world, representing a combined headcount in excess of 10 million, providing unique insight into the workplace strategies and real estate needs of global companies, has found that without a major shift towards sustainable buildings, companies that have set a 2030 net zero carbon target may struggle to achieve their objectives.
 
Faisal Durrani, Head of Middle East research at Knight Frank, said: "The climate crisis has spawned a global green reawakening and businesses in the Middle East are alive to the climate challenge."
 
"Three-quarters of businesses in the Middle East sample of the (Y)our Space global survey, which represent 7,800 staff, say that their real estate choices in the future will be influenced by their net zero targets; however the vast majority say that less than 25% of their global portfolios are green or sustainable," he noted.
 
Durrani said: "The message to landlords is loud and clear: green credentials of buildings will become a key battleground in post-Covid economy, particularly as office footprints are likely to be revised downward as more businesses adopt hybrid working methods, factoring for greater remote working."
 
According to him, the UAE is currently home to 869 green-rated buildings, the 14th highest national concentration globally and only country in the region in the top 30. 
 
The US leads the league table with almost 81,000 green buildings and a city level, London ranks first with 3,000 environmentally accredited buildings. 
 
Next in the region comes Qatar ranking 32nd with 140 green-rated buildings, while Saudi Arabia (54th place) has 38 green-rated buildings. Kuwait and Oman have 12 green-accredited buildings each and rank 69th and 70th, respectively. 
 
"The biggest challenge for businesses today is creating a safe and Covid-secure work environment, but one that also goes beyond being an email factory," stated Durrani. 
 
"Offices need to offer opportunities for true collaboration and being ‘greener’ will be a key differentiator as businesses adapt their occupational strategies to encourage more staff back into the workplace," he added. 
 
The Knight Frank report shows a growing desire for global businesses to be sustainable, with 40% of firms having set a net zero carbon target and, of those, 77% are aiming to achieve this by 2030. 
 
Yet despite real estate accounting for as much as 40% of global carbon emissions, and with growing pressure from the increasingly robust environmental, social and governance (ESG) agendas of investors, over 87% of firms said that less than half of their current global real estate portfolios are either ‘green’ or ‘sustainable’. 
 
This suggests a real disconnect between real estate and wider corporate thinking on sustainability, it stated. 
 
Almost 60% of global respondents said that there is only a partial recognition from their wider business that occupying and utilising real estate differently will impact their ability to achieve net zero carbon and wider sustainability targets, with a further 15% arguing that there is no recognition at all, he added.-TradeArabia News Service



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