Knowledge Hub

Picture this – despite around 43% of the installed power capacity of India being renewable, coal-based thermal power still contributes to almost 75% of its power generation. However, the country is making rapid strides towards achieving its ambitious goal of meeting 50% of its energy requirements from renewable energy by 2030.

The policy push has been strong, taking cues from which prominent real estate developers have begun to take meaningful steps towards attaining their ESG goals. Renewable energy, more often than not, is the first step towards achieving ESG compliance.

Through CBRE India’s first report on renewable energy, we have tried to answer the below questions and more:

• What is the current state of renewable energy across India?
• What are the policy measures that central and state governments are providing to boost the adoption of renewable energy in the country?
• What are the common challenges that corporate occupiers face in adopting renewable energy and how can they overcome them?
• What are the different renewable energy options available to corporates and how can they access those?
• How are leading office developers in India aligned with sustainable power?
• How can corporates achieve their renewable energy goals?

This report was originally published in https://www.cbre.com/insights/reports/sustainable-energy-powering-india-s-offices

It has become clear over the last decade that environmental, social and governance risks are financial risks. What does that look like for the year ahead? The 2024 edition of MSCI’s Sustainability and Climate Trends to Watch (formerly ESG and Climate Trends to Watch) brings together the key questions that our global research team are asking, and offers thoughtful analyses and useful insights to help assess and navigate the investment landscape that lies ahead.

This report was originally published in https://www.msci.com/research-and-insights/2024-sustainability-climate-trends-to-watch

Climate risk has rapidly emerged as a critical consideration for real estate investors, owners and occupiers.

Managing climate risk starts with pinpointing climate-related hazards, reporting these risks, and finally embedding climate risk management into your organizational processes.

This guide is a companion to help you better identify and mitigate physical climate risks. It may seem like a big task, but we help outline simple steps.

As the world continues to transition, companies are asking themselves how they can contribute, lower the effects of climate change, and bring meaningful value into the lives and communities in which they operate. Here at KIC we build and manage logistics centers, and we ask ourselves those questions during our entire process. From finding the correct building site, to the construction of the logistics center, all the way down to finding the best tenants and managing the property. Here is how energy generation and energy management are being used in our facilities to help bring about a low carbon future.

Energy Generation (PPA Application)

Construction and retrofitting buildings with more energy efficient features is becoming a common practice and an important factor to tenants. Logistics facilities can be power hungry structures especially those with cold storage and large rooftops. Therefore, it is important for builders and management companies to continue to apply new energy technology.

Solar energy and power purchase agreements (PPA) are perfect examples of how a logistics facility can implement new energy technology to help lower its carbon dioxide emissions. With a power purchase agreement (PPA), a third party installs a solar power generation system on the roof of the logistics building and supplies the generated electricity to the tenants. This allows the tenants to use green energy, lowers their electricity rates compared to conventional electricity and provides them with power even in the event of a disaster.

Energy Management

In addition to energy generation technology, energy management is also a very important factor in lowering electricity consumption and the overall carbon footprint of the facility.  Energy management increases efficiency and limits the waste of power. For example, saving energy by switching to LED lights. LEDs consume less power and have a longer life span. The power consumption of LED is about 20% of incandescent bulbs, 30% of fluorescent bulbs and 25% of mercury lamps. It significantly reduces the electricity bill and lasts about 10 years. As a result, fewer electric lights are thrown away and labor cost of switching light bulbs is reduced.

Conclusion

Overall, energy generation and energy management are important to tenants and investors. Simple solutions such as switching to LED lights are available as well as more complicated ones such as solar power rooftops and large capacity rechargeable batteries. As we continue forward, it is important to keep in mind that green energy solutions are already making their way into logistics real estate.

Katsuyuki Victor Mineta

Founder & CEO
KIC Holdings