The company has undertaken numerous sustainability projects to improve the performance and resilience of its properties, all while lowering operating costs for its tenants, preventing waste and reducing its carbon footprint.

“Science-based targets provide companies with a clearly defined pathway to future-proof growth by specifying how much and how quickly they need to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. We are taking strides on our sustainability journey and remain committed to meeting our targets,” says Geoff Jennett, CEO of Emira Property Fund.

Emira’s science-based targets are to reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions to 13% by 2022 from a 2015 base year, and it is well on target to achieve the pledged reductions.

Emira’s installed and planned PV farms, with over 11 000 solar panels will remove 6 472 tCO2e of carbon emissions annually

Going solar
Working towards this over the past six months, Emira installed its fourth solar PV farm. The 1,2 MWp rooftop solar farm at Wonderpark Shopping Centre.

The company has already installed solar power generation at its Epsom Downs Shopping Centre (271 kWp), Randridge Mall (1,2 MWp) and Mitchells Plain Shopping Centre (224 kWp).

Its fifth solar PV installation at Boskruin Village Shopping Centre has also been approved and is set to go live in the middle of this year. In addition, the company is exploring a 795kWp solar power installation for its Ben Fleur Shopping Centre.

Emira’s installed and planned PV farms, with over 11 000 solar panels, together have a 4 296 kWp capacity and deliver a saving of 6,763 MWh a year. This removes 6 472 tCO2e of Carbon emissions annually.

Additional initiatives
In addition, the company’s four major water efficiency projects, completed in the last six months, are saving an estimated 21.6 million litres of drinking water annually. It is also investigating three more water saving initiatives in the current financial year.

Emira’s R-22 refrigerant gas replacement programme is on track for completion in line with set targets by December 2020. The REIT has undertaken to have all air conditioning systems at its buildings replaced with more energy efficient inverter-type technology units that use a more ozone-friendly refrigerant gas.

The REIT also completed a major heating, ventilation and air conditioning replacement project at its Southern Centrum Shopping Centre in Bloemfontein, Free State. The centre’s aging centralised aircon plant was replaced with a new system that is expected to produce significant electricity savings for tenants.