Physical

Overview

The Physical capital relates to the community and commercial buildings as well as green, grey and blue infrastructure that we retain and manage.

Carbon footprint

Carbon reduction has been a consistent measure for our business, focusing on operational carbon from the space we own or occupy as well as from our own direct activities. It represents the part of our carbon footprint over which we have absolute control and for which we have full responsibility. 

However our operational Scope 1 and 2 emissions will only account for 4% of our business as usual carbon footprint over the years 2021–2035 with the remaining 96% being Scope 3 emissions resulting directly and indirectly from infrastructure and buildings commissioned by Urban&Civic. 

In 2021, we set the following Net Zero objectives, and developed the initial ‘Map to Net Zero’ plan to achieve them, to act as a catalyst for the business to reduce its carbon emissions: 

• Net Zero by 2030 for Scope 1 and 2 emissions, by keeping cumulative absolute emissions well within the carbon budget for the 1.5 degree scenario of Science Based Targets (SBTs).
• Net Zero by 2040 for Scope 3 emissions resulting directly and indirectly from infrastructure and buildings commissioned by Urban&Civic. Cumulative absolute Scope 3 emissions to remain within the carbon budget for the 1.5 degree scenario of Science Based Targets (SBTs).

We have since been gathering a breadth of empirical carbon data from across our supply chain and undertaking a review of how these objectives could be realised. Decarbonisation of electricity supplied by the UK national grid strongly affects the achievement of these objectives together with the changing landscape of industry standards and frameworks governing how Net Zero should be measured and assessed. 

In light of our analysis to date, we have had to adapt our objectives to remain flexible in response to the external factors described as follows: 

• introduce intensity based 2030 “interim” SBTi (Science Based Targets initiative) aligned targets for all scopes to ensure we remain on the right pathway towards achieving Net Zero (subject to grid decarbonisation); 
• continue to work towards the Net Zero timescales set originally but recognise these are challenging because there are influencing factors beyond our control, and subsequent commercial considerations; 
• align with the requirements of the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) to 2030 but without making a formal commitment, pursuing formal target validation or being required to publicly disclose annual performance; 
• undertake further analysis on Scope 3 opportunities and impacts beyond 2030 before committing to a date for achieving Net Zero; and
• undertake further work to satisfy ourselves that we stand a good chance of meeting, both technically and commercially, the science-based carbon reductions required before making a commitment under the SBTi.

Our targets for 2025 remain unchanged and we continue to measure ourselves against them. 

Our map towards Net Zero

Targets

2025 targets:

• Achieve an annual reduction of 7% in absolute Scope 1 and 2 emissions as per SECR reporting (tonnes CO₂e). This equates to a 28 per cent reduction compared to 2020/2021 data.
• Achieve a reduction of 19% under a 1.5 degree scenario in Scope 3 emissions compared to business as usual  encompassing whole life capital and operational carbon for all directly instructed infrastructure and buildings delivered in the year.
• Develop a complete inventory for all Scope 3 emissions for the year 2022/2023 to establish the actual Scope 3 baseline across all the work of Urban&Civic.

Performance 

In 2023/24, we decreased our operational Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 43% against a 2021 baseline, thereby exceeding our 2025 target of 28%. The key reason for this was the transformer shutdown at Alconbury Weald, significantly reducing electricity losses. There was also a reduction in gas usage at Middlehaven and a decline in transport emissions due to the replacement of company vehicles with efficient alternatives. To ensure we continue this downward trend, we have included a number of carbon reduction actions in the 2024/25 business plans for all Strategic Sites and identified actions for future years to achieve Net Zero. These actions align with the energy saving opportunities identified in our ESOS (Energy Saving Opportunity Scheme) Phase 3 compliance report and include the following:

• Adopt more energy efficient behaviours in our occupied spaces.
• Replace building services with more energy efficient equipment at end-of-life.
• Phase out gas and other fossil fuel uses.
• Install renewable energy systems where viable to do so.

This year, we have continued to measure our Scope 3 carbon footprint through engagement with our supply chain. The data collection produced a footprint of 11,356 tonnes CO₂, broadly 14 times higher than our Scope 1 and 2 emissions of 806 tonnes CO₂. 97.6% of our Scope 3 emissions were Category 2 'capital goods' emissions (i.e. upfront carbon in buildings and infrastructure completed or under construction), with the remainder comprising employee commuting and business travel. Against the 2025 target of achieving a 19% reduction against Business as Usual emissions for Scope 3, Urban&Civic are currently performing at a 12% reduction and therefore are below target. 

Resilience

Resilience is core to the continual success of Urban&Civic’s developments and we are determined that our projects are delivered and managed robustly for the long term.  We are focusing on the role of the water cycle in our developments and have been working with statutory water authorities, consultants and our housebuilder partners to confirm our direction of travel towards minimisation of water consumption and maximising the efficiency of our whole water cycles.  

Target

2025 target:

• Limit water consumption on all new properties to a maximum of 90 litres per person per day (l/p/d) by 2025.

Performance

For 2023/24, we managed to obtain water consumption data from all of our sites with occupied homes. The methods associated with this have varied but progress has again been made against last year. For a number of sites, the consumption data was provided in water flow per second, which has then been scaled up to a litres per day figure taking into account the number of residents in homes and how many water outlets there are throughout the development. For other sites, a simple consumption figure per household was provided by the respective water companies. Consumption at most sites exceeded the target of 90 litres of water consumed per person per day. The overall site average was 120 l/p/d.

These results are valuable in showing us where and how to improve the water efficiency of our sites together with our housebuilder partners and also identifying the issues in obtaining the performance data needed to credibly assess this metric. In 2024/25, we will continue working with the water companies to access a broader dataset that is more representative of performance and support their water efficiency engagement campaigns with residents where relevant. We will also work closely with housebuilders to implement more water efficient appliances and technologies, and engage with residents on effective ways to reduce water consumption in their homes.

Connectivity

As Master Developer, we are in a unique position to provide access to and promote sustainable transport. It is a critical aspect of the pathway to net zero, and we see this as the biggest opportunity to positively contribute to reducing emissions in our direct influence.

Target

2025 target: 

Construct 95% of occupied buildings within 200m of a high-quality cycle way as specified by SUSTRANS (this includes lighting and intermittent segregation detail in the case of hybrid cycle/footpaths, protective barriers from cars, etc.).

Performance

Average performance in 2023/24 has stayed at 100% for the sites where buildings have been delivered, currently exceeding the 2025 target of 95%.