We have been collecting and calculating our greenhouse gas emissions for three years and we have continued to improve on our data collection and emissions analysis processes. In the last financial year, for the first time, our Greenhouse Gas (GHG) inventory has been verified for both Sirius Facilities GmbH and BizSpace Ltd in line with international best practise by Achilles, a global data validation company that provides assurance services for GHG emissions data.
The Achilles Carbon Reduction programme is an Accredited Greenhouse Gas Certification Scheme. Since 2008, Achilles has delivered the Carbon Reduce Certification Scheme (formerly known as CEMARS) under licence from Toitū Envirocare. The programme meets and exceeds best practise for GHG measurement, management, and reporting, and is aligned to the WRI GHG accounting protocol, compliant with Science Based Targets and is accredited to ISO 14065 and ISO/IEC 17065. These changes and improvements to our measurement and verification mean that a direct comparison to our previous years’ emissions reports is not particularly meaningful, however, where possible comparative data is provided. Going forward, our greenhouse gas emissions reporting will continue to improve, which will support our decarbonisation ambitions and our evolving net zero pathway.
Sirius Facilities GmbH – Germany
As we have reported in previous years, due to the timing of our utility invoicing and other data collection and in order to provide a complete year’s analysis, our emissions calculations are based on the last full year of available data. The data used for the basis of calculating emissions for the leased assets (Scope 3) and for our Scope 1 and 2 for our offices based on our business parks is from 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022. As we highlight in our Annual Report and Accounts 2023, this period brings a further 10 business parks into our German portfolio (from 67 to 77) and this has had a marked impact on our emissions. The data attributed to Scope 1 for our Berlin office is from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021. We continue to work with our utility providers etc to bring our emissions data in line with our financial calendar.
Summary – Scope emissions
This is the annual GHG emissions inventory and management report for Sirius Facilities GmbH covering the reporting period 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023.
Our total emissions for the 2022/2023 financial year come to 86,110.60 MTC0-e compared to 42,920.28 MTC0-e for the year to March 2022. As we have stated and as the table highlights, over 99% of our emissions are in Scope 3 and this is the key area of difference. The significant increase in our Scope 3 emissions year-on-year can be explained by three factors. Firstly, through the Toitū audit process we now report using a location-based methodology, as opposed to the market-based approach used in the past. Secondly, the number of sites has increased from 67 to 77. Finally, given that our Scope 3 data effectively reflects the previous year we are also seeing an increase in emissions which can be attributed to an increase in our tenants’ activities as Germany came out of COVID-19. Going forward, as we continue to improve on our emissions calculations and as part of our decarbonisation plans leading to a net zero pathway, this will be a core area of concentration for us, regarding both data analysis as well as developing our plans and targets.
Decarbonisation commitments
We are committed to managing and reducing our emissions in Germany and are developing our GHG emissions reduction targets and plans, which have been reviewed and are in line with Toitū Carbon Reduce programme requirements. We are in the process of identifying our Scope 1, 2 and 3 reduction targets and aim to add these into the next year’s Annual Report and Accounts. Looking ahead, as highlighted in our 2023 Annual Report, Sirius Facilities GmbH is currently focused on the following projects:
In addition to the above, as we have stated in our Annual Report, during September 2022, we moved our head office in Berlin to a leased building with gold standard DGNB certification. We have also acquired certified offsets through Achilles for our Scope 1 and 2 emissions and will soon receive a Carbon Reduce Certification Statement for the first time.
Scope of measured inventory
An operational control consolidation approach was used to account for emissions. Since the Sirius Facilities GmbH is providing services and utilities to its customers and has full control about procurement, the decision has been to use an operational control approach.
Boundaries
The boundary for Sirius Facilities GmbH only includes the German operating entities which own and or operate the sites located in Germany. Excluded emissions do not exceed 5% of the total footprint within the organisation boundary stated.
BizSpace Ltd – United Kingdom
This is our first full year of ownership of BizSpace and as part of our work to integrate its operations as much as possible with those in Germany, we have worked throughout the financial year 2022/2023 to bring the same methodology to the emissions data collection process. We have no prior year comparators for BizSpace as the emissions analysis reported last year was for the period 1 December 2021 to 31 March 2022, representing the period from acquisition.
Summary – Scope emissions
This is the annual GHG emissions inventory and management report for BizSpace Ltd covering the measurement period 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023.
We are also committed to managing and reducing our emissions in the UK, though these plans are at an earlier stage than in Germany due to the recent acquisition of the assets. As reported, we have undertaken an analysis of the possible actions to achieve the UK Government EPC target of “B” by 2030. This work continues and, in the future, will be linked to a decarbonisation plan to achieve net zero emissions.
Looking ahead, BizSpace is currently focused on the following projects:
Scope of measured inventory
An operational control consolidation approach was used to account for emissions. Since BizSpace is providing services and utilities to its customers and has full control about procurement the decision is on an operational control approach.
Boundaries
No business units are excluded from the BizSpace organisational boundary. Excluded emissions do not exceed 5% of the total footprint within the organisation boundary stated.