Redefine Properties, SA’s second-largest listed property group with assets of R92bn, has more than doubled its energy savings across its portfolio, beating its environmental, social and corporate governance targets set by King 4 regulations that govern company behaviour in the country.
Property companies are under increasing pressure to cut electricity and water use, as they are among some of the biggest users of energy in corporate SA. Only a handful of listed property stocks have set up off-the-grid strategies for their portfolios.
Redefine and its rival, Growthpoint Properties, have invested heavily in energy-saving technologies over the past few years.
Redefine, which has exposure to SA, Polish, UK and German property markets, released its environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) report for 2018 on Monday, saying it had achieved a combined energy reduction through optimisation and renewable energy projects of 27,061MWh, which can power 2,000 houses, almost twice the reduction achieved in 2017.
CEO Andrew Konig said ESG had become a critical aspect of Redefine’s operations.
"Embedding ESG thinking into every aspect of our organisation is not the right way to do business, it’s the only way," said Konig.
"To achieve sustainability, ESG factors have to be integrated into business strategy. Operating in a long-term asset class, we make strategic choices with lasting impacts, so the sustained impacts make embedding sustainability into every aspect of our daily activities vital to our business," said Konig.
The company has developed sustainable development goals (SDGs) it said were relevant in terms of potential impact and opportunity to its business, that would "make a contribution to ending poverty, protecting the planet and ensuring that all people enjoy peace and prosperity."
The four SDGs are categorised as (1) industry, innovation and infrastructure, (2) decent work and economic growth, (3) sustainable cities and communities and (4) climate action.
One of the company’s major goals is to manage energy and water consumption and also tackle the disposal of waste.
Redefine has embraced photovoltaic (PV) technology, which uses solar cells to convert energy from the sun. It had installed this technology at 23 of its properties.
Redefine added that about 5% of its domestic portfolio is now solar powered.
In addition to the financial returns from the installation of solar PV plants, this energy can also drastically cut carbon emissions, Ilse Swanepoel, head of utilities at Redefine, said.
"Our total solar PV installed capacity to date equates to an indicative carbon saving of 33,000 tCO2e [tons of carbon dioxide equivalent]," she said.
In 2018, 3,054,878 kilolitres of water was withdrawn by the Redefine group while in 2017 it was 3,664,166 kilo litres.
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