Brookfield Properties announced today that its more than 70-million-square-foot U.S. office portfolio – one of the largest office portfolios in the U.S. – will be powered by zero emissions electricity by 2026, with more than 65% of its office space, including all New York and Washington, D.C. office properties transitioning to zero emissions electricity by 2024.

According to Brookfield, the transition will make the company the largest U.S. commercial real estate user of zero emissions electricity by a wide margin. The company added that it expects to achieve the equivalent of avoiding over 260,000 metric tons of CO2 annually by entering into contracts for approximately 600,000 MWh of electricity from zero emissions sources.

Buildings are a key source of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and also one of the hardest to replace, given their long-term nature. Brookfield said that it expects the transition to zero emissions electricity to reduce direct emissions from its U.S. office portfolio by around 80%, and enable office tenants to eliminate Scope 2 carbon emissions associated with their electricity consumption.

Brookfield outlined its plans for energy sourcing, with the company procuring 49% of the electricity for the portfolio from hydropower, 33% from solar and wind and 18% from nuclear, and with more than 85% of power coming from new plants enabled by the company’s commitment or bundled Purchase Power Agreements (PPAs) under which Brookfield directly buys electricity and receives Energy Attribute Certificates such as RECs or EFECs.

Ben Brown, Managing Partner at Brookfield Real Estate, said:

“Instead of taking incremental steps or waiting for others to act, we are completely transforming how we power office buildings throughout the United States. Not only will it significantly advance our goal of transitioning our entire portfolio to net zero carbon, but also we are confident that both the increased demand for zero emissions electricity it will create and the industry precedence it will set will be a game-changer for how state-of-the-art office buildings are powered throughout the country.”