How CBRE Leads Climate Action Through Property Management

Buildings are significant contributors to global CO₂ emissions due to their extensive energy consumption for heating, cooling and powering devices.

As the global leader in property management, managing around seven billion square feet globally — including facilities management — CBRE is stepping up its commitments to enhance sustainability.

Currently, it is actively advancing these commitments.

CBRE's Climate Transition Strategy provides a detailed plan to reduce climate impact, aiming for net zero emissions by 2040.

Robert Bernard, Chief Sustainability Officer at CBRE, says: “As a global leader in commercial real estate, we are uniquely positioned to lead by example in reducing our climate impact.

“We know minimising GHG emissions—particularly across the supply chain—can be complex, which is why we’ve outlined the actions we’ll take in our Climate Transition Strategy to reach our net zero goal by 2040.

“While our roadmap includes ambitious targets, we remain committed to driving progress in the CRE industry.”

CBRE's Climate Transition Strategy

In the framework of the Climate Transition Strategy, CBRE confronts its primary challenge — Scope 3 emissions, which constitute a substantial 99.5% of its total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

This strategy lays out ambitious new climate objectives for 2030 aimed at significantly reducing its environmental footprint. The commitments include slashing Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 50% and decreasing emissions per square foot from client-managed properties and facilities by 55%.

Each pathway outlined includes specific actions that CBRE will implement not only within its operations but also in its management of client properties.

This systematic approach signals a rigorous alignment of CBRE’s operations with global sustainability benchmarks and underpins its transition towards a low carbon economy.

Notably, the strategy includes investment in robust financial-grade GHG emissions accounting, strategic partnerships and the acquisition of the renewable energy advisory and brokerage group from NRG Energy.

“Only a small number of global companies have reached this milestone of having both a validated net zero target and a published transition plan to get there,” Robert says.

“We developed our plan in part to show our clients and suppliers what is possible and what actions will drive progress. 

“Their success in reducing emissions is our success. By simplifying complexity, we are helping accelerate sustainability for ourselves, our clients and the industry at scale.”

Tracking CBRE's sustainability progress

Since 2019, CBRE has managed to cut its total Scope 1, 2, and 3 GHG emissions by 18%.

Furthermore, the company is on a fast track to achieve its 2030 goals for Scope 1 and 2 emissions reduction, potentially meeting these targets by as early as 2026, ahead of schedule.

This progress is mainly due to the optimisation of its corporate office portfolio and a significant rise in the procurement of renewable energy.

With the end goal set for 2025, CBRE commits to powering its corporate operations entirely with renewable energy.

By 2035, the firm plans to electrify 100% of its fleet.

Notably, since 2019, CBRE has reduced electricity usage in its offices by 12% and natural gas consumption by 9%.

In 2023 alone, 23% of its utilised energy hailed from renewable sources, marking an increase from 16% in the previous year.

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