Glossary & framework library

Operational carbon

Sustainability & ESG

Reference

The emissions from running a building over its life, e.g. energy use.

Related terms

  • Physical climate risk

    The exposure of an asset to physical climate hazards such as extreme heat, flooding, water stress, and coastal erosion, particularly material for low-lying Gul…

  • Renewable energy

    Power from sources that naturally replenish, chiefly solar for Gulf real estate; on-site PV and green power purchase agreements are central to regional net-zer…

  • Retrofit

    Upgrading an existing building to improve energy efficiency or performance.

  • Stranded asset

    A property that loses value because it fails to meet evolving regulatory or market standards.

  • Transition risk

    The financial risk to property from the shift to a low-carbon economy, including tighter regulation, carbon pricing, and shifting tenant demand that can strand…

  • Whole-life carbon

    The total carbon emitted across a building's life, combining embodied carbon from construction and materials with operational carbon from use; the metric behin…

  • Brown discount

    The reduction in value or rent that energy-inefficient, non-compliant buildings suffer relative to green stock, the flip side of the green premium and a growin…

  • Carbon offset

    A credit representing a tonne of CO2 avoided or removed elsewhere, bought to compensate for a building's residual emissions; credible only when additional and…