Canary Wharf Raises £900M Of Debt For Green Projects To Hit Zero-Carbon Target
Canary Wharf Group has completed a bond issuance that raised £906M to refinance a portfolio of green buildings.
The company, London’s second-largest property owner with a portfolio valued at £8.6B, said that there had been strong demand for the bonds from investors.
The prospectus for the bonds said the company will select a portfolio of existing buildings and new developments that will create a “green asset pool,” and the new debt will be used to refinance these assets.
Canary Wharf, which is owned by Brookfield and the Qatar Investment Authority, has committed to becoming a net-zero-carbon company by 2030, ahead of the 2050 target put in place as part of the Paris Climate Agreement.
The pathway it has outlined on how to get there also includes the embodied carbon created in the construction of new buildings, as well as the carbon emitted during a building’s operations. This embodied carbon accounts for about 65% of its emissions, with the energy emitted by the tenants in its buildings accounting for about 30%.
With a 5M SF development program, it will need to find solutions to the problem of embodied carbon if it is to hit its goal. It said in its pathway to net-zero report that it is trying to use more low-carbon materials such as cross-laminated timber.
“The demand reflects investors’ recognition of CWG’s role as the largest sustainable developer in the UK and our commitment to be net-zero carbon by 2030,” Canary Wharf Chief Executive Shobi Khan said.
