Equivalent to ULI’s original Net Zero Carbon Operations by 2050 Goal. Aligners to this track will pursue net zero operational carbon by 2050 in spaces under landlord operational control.

This track includes:

• Operational Carbon
• Landlord Spaces

This track aligns with:

• ULI Greenprint’s original Net Zero by 2050 Goal
• ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 228-2023 (minus the Standard’s inclusion of refrigerant emissions)
• Portfolios that meet the U.S. federal government’s definition of a net zero building will align with this track. However, portfolios aligning with this track will not meet the federal definition.

Aligned ULI Greenprint Members

• BXP
• Bridge Industrial
• Brookfield Properties
• CIM Group
• CP Group
• City Developments Limited (CDL)
• Clarion Partners
• Elme Communities
• Hang Lung
• Heitman
• Kilroy Realty Corporation
• LaSalle Investment Management
• Metlife Investment Management
• Morgan Creek Ventures
• NEO
• Pembroke
• PGIM
• Rudin Management Company
• SL Green
• The Green Cities Company
• Unico Properties
• WPT Capital Advisors

Aligners to this track will pursue net zero operational carbon by 2050 at the whole-building level, in both landlord and tenant spaces.

This track includes:

• Operational Carbon
• Landlord Spaces
• Tenant Spaces

This track aligns with:

• ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 228-2023 (minus the Standard’s inclusion of refrigerant emissions)
• Assets that meet the US federal government’s national definition of a zero emissions building are aligned with this track. However, assets aligned with this track may or may not meet the federal definition.

Aligned ULI Greenprint Members

• CommonWealth Partners
• Hudson Pacific Properties (HPP)
• Jamestown
• Nuveen
• Paramount Group
• PIMCO Prime Real Estate
• Prologis
• Tishman Speyer
• The Tower Companies
• Vornado

Aligners to this track will pursue net zero operational carbon and embodied carbon at the whole-building level, in both landlord- and tenant-controlled spaces. Portfolios/funds that align with this track will likely meet the US federal government’s national definition of a zero emissions building if carbon offsets are used only to account for residual emissions from embodied carbon, and will exceed the boundaries set by the national definition through achieving net zero for embodied carbon. If the scope of the national definition expands in the future to include embodied carbon, Track 3 Aligners will be well-positioned to remain in alignment with the national definition.

This track includes:

• Operational Carbon
• Embodied Carbon
• Landlord Spaces
• Tenant Spaces
• No on-site fossil fuel emissions are permitted in buildings/portfolios aligning to this track.
  

This track aligns with:

• The UK Better Buildings Partnership’s Climate Commitment (minus the Commitment’s inclusion of climate resilience)
• World Green Building Council’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment (note emissions from tenant spaces are not included in this Commitment, but the timeline for achievement is 2030 rather than 2050)
• ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 228-2023 (minus the Standard’s inclusion of refrigerant emissions, but exceeding the Standard through inclusion of embodied carbon)

Aligned ULI Greenprint Members

• Lendlease Americas

When ULI Greenprint was founded in 2009, the initial member companies set a goal of reducing their collective carbon emissions by 50% by 2030. The ULI Greenprint community has grown to more than 130 companies and achieved that goal in 2022 based on cumulative year-over-year emissions reductions. ULI Greenprint continues to collect asset-level environmental performance data from its members annually to report collective progress on decarbonization.

ULI launched its Net Zero Carbon Operations by 2050 Goal (now Track 1) in 2020 to incentivize the decarbonization of its members’ buildings. The goal was designed to meaningfully reduce the built environment’s impact on climate change beyond existing efforts, and it is in line with the Paris Agreement and findings from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report to limit global warming to 1.5⁰ C.

The Net Zero Carbon Operations by 2050 Goal (now Track 1) was market-leading when it was created but as the industry has progressed toward net zero, ULI Greenprint members requested options that covered embodied carbon and tenant emissions (which can represent a large part of a building’s emissions profile). Accordingly, after consultation with aligned members and peer organizations with similar climate commitments, ULI Greenprint expanded its original goal to offer additional tracks for companies to expand the boundaries of their net zero commitment. See more details below:

Operational Boundaries:

Based on GHG reporting frameworks, companies aligning to the ULI Greenprint Net Zero by 2050 Goal at minimum include all energy consumption and fuel use under their operational control (Track 1). Where tenants/residents are in control of their own meter, those Scope 3 emissions do not fall under Track 1 of the ULI Greenprint Net Zero Goal. Companies aligned to the Goal can choose to define and report out on their own goals beyond Scope 1 and 2 emissions under operational control by aligning with Tracks 2 or 3.

Acquisitions and Dispositions:

New buildings have 24 months before they are included in the portfolio’s net zero commitment. Sold buildings are part of a ULI Greenprint member’s net zero goal through the sale date.

Achieving a Net Zero Goal with a Growing Real Estate Portfolio:

ULI Greenprint recognizes that achieving carbon emissions reductions is difficult as portfolios acquire new assets that may perform better or worse on carbon. However, no matter the changes in portfolio size over time, ULI Greenprint members are expected to bring their portfolio to net zero carbon by 2050 within the boundaries of Track 1, 2, or 3.

Greening of the Utility Grid:

Utility-provided power may transition to 100% carbon free by 2050, especially in progressive cities. This is expedited by encouraging energy efficiency in buildings to align with industry-standard energy intensities.

All ULI Greenprint members commit their best faith effort to report asset-level building performance data annually. This data is shared with ULI Greenprint for analysis and inclusion in the State of Green report to track the community’s collective decarbonization progress. Net Zero Aligners report a few additional portfolio-wide metrics for inclusion in the State of Green report to demonstrate their collective improvements in carbon emissions and increased investment in on-site and off-site renewable energy and carbon offsets. ULI Greenprint encourages members to share their pathway to net zero carbon and their own interim targets.