Real estate logistics provider Prologis has committed to reaching net-zero emissions by 2040 across its entire supply chain, including scope 1 (direct), scope 2 (indirect) and scope 3 (supply chain) emissions.
Wednesday’s announcement came with the release of the San Francisco-based company’s 2021-22 environmental, social and governance report.
“Prologis has always been ambitious in our sustainability efforts and our new net-zero goal is no exception,” Hamid Moghadam, co-founder, CEO and chairman, said in the report. “We’re proud of the support we’re providing our customers in achieving their sustainability goals. Prologis continues to be an industry leader in finding innovative ways to decarbonize our operations.”
The company submitted its net-zero emissions target to the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi) for validation.
Along with its net-zero by 2040 target, Prologis has environmental goals to:
- Reach net-zero emissions from operations (scope 1 and 2) by 2030.
- Achieve 100% carbon neutral construction by 2025.
- Install 100% LED lighting in all warehouses and office spaces by 2025.
- Deploy 1 gigawatt of solar energy and supporting battery storage by 2025.
Prologis surpassed 325 gigawatts of solar power in April 2022 globally, making the company the “third-largest on-site producer of solar energy in the U.S.,” said Susan Uthayakumar, chief energy and sustainability officer at Prologis.
The report said 57% of the company’s 1 billion square feet of warehouse and office space is currently lit by LED lighting. There are also 200 electric vehicle charging stations among Prologis’ many locations.
“We are putting our 1 billion-square-foot portfolio to good use for our customers every day,” Uthayakumar said in a release. “Prologis is working with our customers to develop and implement advanced energy and climate solutions. These actions will enable us to deliver on our commitment to net-zero 10 years ahead of the target set by the Paris Accord.”
More specific emission-reduction targets
Some companies use the terms “carbon neutral” and “net-zero emissions” interchangeably. It’s generally accepted that a company can achieve carbon neutrality by purchasing enough carbon offsets even if it makes no attempts to reduce its carbon footprint. But the SBTi’s net-zero emissions standard has rigorous requirements in line with the Paris Agreement’s pathway for limiting average global temperature rise to below 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Prologis said its scope 1 and scope 2 emissions have been carbon neutral since 2019.
The company has been using motion-detecting LED lighting, carbon offsets, renewable energy credits, solar power and wind turbines to reduce and offset its scope 1 and 2 emissions, Prologis told FreightWaves.
But to reach net-zero operational emissions by 2030 in accordance with the SBTi, the company will have to reduce those emissions by at least 90% compared to the baseline year of 2016 before offsetting the rest.
On the path to net-zero for scope 1 and 2 emissions, Prologis set an interim target to reduce them by 21% by 2025, using 2016 as the baseline year. The company has also reduced scope 3 emissions by 38% compared to 2016, according to the report.
Many companies have set net-zero emissions targets for 2040 or 2050. However, it is less common to see companies set short- and medium-term targets with realistic pathways and strategies to reach those long-term goals.
Click here for more FreightWaves articles by Alyssa Sporrer.
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