Low Carbon

In 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned that global warming must not exceed 1.5°C to avoid the catastrophic impacts of climate change. As an owner, manager and developer of buildings, we have a significant part to play in tackling this challenge.

Championing low-carbon growth is one of our three Responsible SEGRO strategic priorities. We have had our carbon footprint data externally assured annually since 2014. The carbon reduction targets we set in 2021 were approved under the international Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi). The SBTi methodology identifies pathways for companies to reduce the emissions within their value chains to align with 1.5°C pathways.

The two largest contributors to our carbon emissions are energy use in our spaces (our ‘corporate and customer’ carbon emissions) and the energy connected to the materials that we use in our construction and refurbishment projects (our ‘embodied’ carbon emissions). Together these accounted for 86 per cent of our emissions in 2024. 

• We have ambitious science-based net-zero targets for reducing our corporate and customer and embodied carbon intensity.
• All employees’ variable remuneration is linked to SEGRO’s performance on metrics linked to embodied carbon intensity and visibility of customers’ energy consumption data.
• Our urban portfolio is located on the edge of major European cities which makes reaching the city centre possible via electric vehicles. Our newer inner-city assets facilitate delivery by means such as cargo bicycles. A number of our urban estates are located close to canals and waterways which customers are starting to use in innovative ways as part of their distribution networks. Two of the UK big box parks that we have developed in the Midlands have strategic rail freight interchange terminals which allow our customers to transport goods by rail rather than more carbon-intensive HGVs.
• We factor a building’s sustainability into our investment decisions, not only for potential acquisitions but also for deciding whether to dispose of or refurbish assets. We have also assessed our portfolio under different climate scenarios and identified adaptations that need to be made.
• We will continue to adapt our investment process when deciding on allocating new capital to acquiring assets and new developments, to ensure that we take into account the newest information available to us.