Greenman launch a NET Zero plan for Greenman OPEN

The Board of Greenman Investments acting in its capacity as the Investment manager (AIFM) to Greenman OPEN (“OPEN”), the largest food retail-focused investment fund in Germany, recently approved the NET Zero plan which when complete will reduce the portfolio’s NET Carbon emissions to ZERO (the “Net Zero Pathway”). This Net Zero Pathway is planned to be delivered over three phases:

• Phase 1 – ongoing and ending in 2025 – where the portfolio’s Carbon Emissions are planned to be reduced by c. 2,600 tonnes/year;
• Phase 2 – from 2026 to 2035 – where the portfolio’s Carbon Emissions are planned to be reduced by c. 5,800 tonnes/year; and,
• Phase 3 – from 2036 to 2050 – where the portfolio’s Carbon Emissions are planned to be reduced by c. 2,500 tonnes/year.

Key elements to the Net Zero Pathway include:

• Buildings and building systems improvements focused on reducing energy consumption to a max of 161KWh/m2 let area for all existing grocer occupied properties;
• Systems improvements to reduce refrigerated based unrecovered heat loss emissions to below 14KWh/m2 let area for all existing grocer occupied properties;
• Reduction gas related carbon emissions to Zero by the replacement of existing systems with alternative systems powered by renewable energy;
• Install photovoltaic solar panels on all suitable roof and car port parking spaces generating over 10GWh/year across the portfolio by 2050;
• Install Hyper Chargers (fast car charging stations) in the car parks of all suitable locations with the capacity to charge c. 6m EVs per year (c.245/location/day).

A core pillar of the NET ZERO Pathway is Greenman’s commitment to not demolish any of OPEN’s existing buildings, instead when it becomes evident that a particular property cannot meet Greenman’s emissions target it gets converted to other uses more closely aligned with the Net Zero pathway.

Expanding upon Greenman’s 5 by 25 commitments, where at least 5% of OPEN’s revenue in 2025 will be from no rental activities, will also be an objective of the Net Zero Pathway. Greenman estimate that a very high percentage of all equity contributed to the Net Zero Pathway will result either: directly in additional income; have a directly positive impact on OPEN’s NAV or indirectly via other value addition mechanisms.

Commenting on the Net Zero Pathway, Johnnie Wilkinson, Greenman’s CEO, said: “As food is a fundamental need our ambitious yet well considered plan has the potential to make a lasting and positive impact upon the communities in which OPEN’s properties are located and to the c. 280,000 people who visit these stores daily and ensure that OPEN’s portfolio becomes fully Paris Agreement aligned. A core principle of the European Green deal is the “decoupling economic growth from resource use” and we believe that GMO’s Net Zero pathway will not only achieve this, but it will also provide a route map for owners and occupiers of the same asset type”.

Read the full report here.