Promoting a low carbon transformation in the property sector with Sino-Ocean Group

Promoting a low carbon transformation in the property sector with Sino-Ocean Group
Challenge   

How can a holding group select an encompassing and realistic decarbonisation path?  

Low carbon has become a new focus for real estate development in recent years. As a result, Sino-Ocean Group launched its ‘2050 Net Zero Emissions Plan’ in 2022 to support China’s dual carbon goals and build more sustainable cities and communities.    

The Group’s primary business includes residential and real estate development, property services, and construction services covering all company activity. Decarbonisation at a Group level will require high collaboration among different departments.   

Sino-Ocean Group wanted to take practical steps to ensure they could reach its Net Zero emissions by 2050 commitment. The Group sought to balance climate action with strategic development, assessing the cost, practicality, and feasibility of different carbon reduction pathways. In doing so, Sino-Ocean hoped to select the most effective path for the Group.  

 

Dual carbon goal

In 2020, China announced two climate goals, also known as dual carbon goals. These include a peak of carbon emissions before 2030 and the country’s ambition to become carbon neutral by 2060.

Solution

Mapping out step-by-step and hierarchical decarbonisation pathways and their associated costs

To help Sino-Ocean Group promote carbon reductions across its Group and drive a low carbon transformation, we:

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Conducted industry benchmark analysis in the real estate sector using the climate leadership analysis framework. Leveraging The Carbon Trust's self-developed climate leadership framework provided Ocean Group with a valuable comparative analysis. 

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Measured Sino-Ocean's full value chain footprint for the baseline year of 2020. We developed a bespoke tool to help the Group better account for its Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions going forward.

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Compared, modelled, and analysed different carbon reduction pathways and targets based on emissions projections, policy constraints as well as the existing and planned emission reduction measures of each Sino-Ocean unit.

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Outlined how the Group can progress towards its Net Zero emissions target by proposing carbon reduction targets and implementation pathways for the short, medium and long term for each of the Sino-Ocean Group's units.

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Explored how the Group can strengthen its existing carbon management system. This was done through reference to Sino-Ocean's external disclosure materials and by conducting strategic interviews. 

Impact

A path towards dual carbon leadership 

During the comprehensive planning and mapping of Sino-Ocean's Net Zero pathway, the Carbon Trust helped to model scenarios, identify carbon reduction opportunities, and break down targets into practical actions.

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A clear step-by-step guide on how the Group can cut its emissions with a greater understanding of the investment needed into further decarbonisation. 

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Sino-Ocean was able to stand out in the industry. In 2022, Caijing magazine and Carbon Investment Union jointly released the ‘Real Estate Industry Dual Carbon Leadership Rankings’ where Ocean Group achieved the highest level — an ‘excellence’ rating — due to its performance in dual carbon leadership. 

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An opportunity for Sino-Ocean to accelerate its decarbonisation efforts. Sino-Ocean now has a clear Scope 3 emission reduction target, aiming to achieve Net Zero emissions across its entire value chain by 2050.

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Since then, Sino-Ocean has worked to drive climate action among its suppliers.

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Planning a feasible pathway and establishing a management system around a long-term climate target is to some extent more challenging than setting targets. It requires a more refined and in-depth experience. We are very grateful to the Carbon Trust for the technical support we have received from Sino-Ocean in our work to drive our dual carbon targets.

Yutian Wang
Director of Sustainability, Sino-Ocean Group