Carbon cuts gather pace across global property assets: Savills

February 05, 2026 (MLN): Greenhouse gas emissions intensity across a global real estate portfolio fell 5.2% year-on-year in 2024, marking tangible progress toward a net-zero carbon target by 2040, according to the Sustainability Report 2024–2025 released by Savills Investment Management (Savills IM).

Measured on a like-for-like basis across 286 assets, emissions intensity declined to 91.08 kgCO₂e per square metre, down from 96.09 kgCO₂e per square metre in 2023.

The improvement was supported by a 4.1% reduction in energy intensity, driven by asset electrification, lower on-site gas consumption, and the continued decarbonisation of national electricity grids.

The report, which covers greenhouse gas emissions for the period January 1 to December 31, 2024, represents Savills IM’s most comprehensive sustainability disclosure to date, providing its clearest assessment yet of portfolio-wide climate performance.

At the same time, data transparency improved materially, strengthening the credibility of reported emissions outcomes.

Actual landlord energy data coverage increased to 95% in 2024 from 90% a year earlier, while tenant energy data coverage surged to 92% from 67%, reflecting expanded automation and improved data-sharing practices across the portfolio.

Savills IM also recorded emissions reductions across all scopes on a like-for-like basis.

Scope 1 emissions fell sharply by 28.1% year-on-year, largely due to targeted gas reduction initiatives at high-emitting assets, including properties in Poland where closer landlord-tenant collaboration helped curb gas usage.

Scope 2 emissions remained broadly stable, while Scope 3 emissions declined by 7.3%, partly reflecting lower tenant energy demand amid elevated energy prices.

As a result, total like-for-like emissions across Scopes 1, 2 and 3 declined to 99,066 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent in 2024, from 104,635 tonnes in 2023.

Alongside emissions reductions, Savills IM reported continued progress on renewable energy deployment.

On-site photovoltaic generation reached 18.8 GWh in 2024, down from 21.4 GWh in 2023, and remained well above the firm’s original 2050 target of 20 GWh, which was achieved ahead of schedule in 2023.

The year-on-year decline was attributed to data-collection challenges rather than reduced capacity, particularly in rooftop solar installations operated by third parties.

The firm said it plans to revise its renewable energy targets upward as capacity expands and reporting improves.

In 2025, Savills IM also appointed a specialist implementation partner to accelerate decarbonisation across a €2 billion European mandate, focusing on asset-level interventions aimed at lowering operating costs, enhancing resilience, meeting regulatory requirements, and protecting long-term asset value.

Costed net-zero audits have now been completed across assets representing approximately £4 billion of assets under management, or around 20% of the firm’s real estate equity portfolio, with several projects advancing into feasibility and implementation stages.

The report highlights multiple asset-level initiatives translating strategy into operational change. In Stuttgart, Germany, a 23-year-old office building is being upgraded under Savills IM’s Manage to Green programme, including hybrid heating and cooling systems, rooftop solar, enhanced ventilation, building automation, and 20 electric vehicle charging stations.

The project has already delivered a 19% improvement in LEED Operations & Maintenance Gold scores, with LEED Platinum targeted for 2026, alongside expected 60% reductions in operating costs and 54% lower carbon emissions.

In the UK, Savills IM’s Simply Affordable Homes fund, part of its commitment to invest £2 billion in inclusive housing by 2040, has raised £169 million and manages 385 homes as of September 2025.

Around 76.3% of the homes are located in areas with constrained affordability, all meet the Decent Homes Standard, and average rents are 23.7% below open-market levels.

Elsewhere, a logistics warehouse expansion in Northern Italy more than doubled site capacity to 25,000 square metres, incorporating a 1 MW solar PV system expected to meet 80% of tenant energy demand, along with advanced insulation, rainwater harvesting, and EV charging infrastructure. The development achieved LEED Gold certification in January 2025.

Savills IM is also embedding sustainability into real estate debt strategies. Through Project Dials, a London office refurbishment financed by its Pan-European Whole Loan Fund, the firm is targeting an upgrade from EPC D to EPC A, a 66% reduction in energy intensity, and certifications including BREEAM Outstanding and WELL Platinum.

The project’s embodied carbon footprint is estimated at one-third of that of a typical new-build office.

For the first time, the firm also disclosed year-on-year greenhouse gas emissions intensity across its global offices.

Notably, its Madrid office recorded a 34% reduction in emissions, driven by the removal of a fuel-based heating system, though Savills IM acknowledged that data lags remain a challenge in some markets due to delayed district heating billing.

The reporting period also saw Savills IM’s ESG team named ESG Team of the Year at the 2025 Unlock Net Zero Awards, while the firm received a B rating, the second-highest grade, in ShareAction’s Built to Last? assessment of major real estate investment managers.

Chief Executive Alex Jeffrey said the results show how sustainability is becoming embedded in investment decision-making, adding that the firm is seeing “meaningful actions and results” as ESG considerations increasingly shape portfolio resilience and long-term value.

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