Brookfield to Power Its US Office Buildings With Zero-Emissions Electricity

(Bloomberg) -- Brookfield Properties, one of the biggest commercial landlords in the US, plans to power all of its office properties in the country with zero-emissions electricity in the coming years.

More than 65% of Brookfield’s office space will shift to zero-emissions electricity by 2024, and the rest will be completed over the next two years, the company said in a statement Wednesday. Brookfield’s moves are expected to cut the total direct carbon emissions of the company’s US office portfolio by about 80%.  

Brookfield has more than 70 million square feet (6.5 million square meters) of office properties across the US, concentrated in cities such New York, Washington, Los Angeles and Denver. Last year, the company said it plans to power a Manhattan skyscraper fully with renewable energy from upstate New York.

Brookfield will use power generated from water, solar, wind and nuclear sources to power its US office buildings.  

The effort, while helping Brookfield accomplish its own energy goals, will increase demand for renewable power and create a precedent for others in the real estate industry, according to Ben Brown, a managing partner at Brookfield Real Estate.

“Not only are we making the buildings greener, we’re incentivizing further development of renewable power generation,” Brown said. “Over the next couple years, this will go from being a ‘nice to have’ and what people would like, to just a natural requirement.”

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