GPT only uses carbon offsets to compensate for residual emissions that can’t be feasibly eliminated from its corporate operations, operating buildings and developments.
Residual emissions that are not currently feasible to eliminate are generated mostly from gas for heating, refrigerants, and waste to landfill. Reasons they cannot be eliminated include technology, infrastructure gaps, existing equipment lifecycle and cost. GPT’s offset program currently accounts for approximately 10 per cent of inherent operational emissions. This will reduce over time as we complete the carbon neutral certification of our portfolio and eliminate further emissions by electrifying assets, improving recycling, and reducing emissions from refrigerants by transitioning to low and no greenhouse warming potential refrigerants.
After extensive reviews of programs that addressed GPT’s offset criteria, a partnership was established in 2019 with Greenfleet, a not-for-profit organisation with 25 years of experience in establishing native biodiverse forests that remove carbon from the atmosphere as they grow.
Greenfleet’s reforestation projects are protected on title for 100 years, use transparent processes, are assured by EY, and focus on biodiversity and co-benefits of ecosystem services to improve waterways. It is evident from site visits by GPT, that Greenfleet’s projects are real, additional and achieve multiple co-benefits for the environment and Traditional Owners.
Through GPT’s ‘Restoring Country for Climate’ project in partnership with Greenfleet, we are supporting the restoration of 1100 hectares in the Noosa Hinterland, an important natural habitat for endangered koalas and other animal species. The project is being delivered on lands where a pine forest plantation was previously harvested, leaving a degraded landscape.
As part of this project, and in strong alignment with GPT’s Reconciliation Action Plan, Greenfleet is also partnering with local Traditional Owners, the Kabi Kabi People’s Aboriginal Corporation, bringing resources and jobs to their community.
GPT’s agreement with Greenfleet provides certainty of supply, quality, and cost of offsets for approximately five years. This in turn allows GPT to commit to targets, such as upfront embodied carbon neutral developments, with confidence.
GPT is a strong advocate for independent validation of carbon neutral status and has certified its achievements with the Australian Government’s Climate Active program since 2011. Climate Active currently does not currently recognise the Greenfleet Australian reforestation projects within its list of accepted offsets and as a result, in order to achieve Climate Active certification, GPT follows a dual offsetting approach. This ensures that our offset program is of the highest integrity, creating tangible carbon and biodiversity benefits that are necessary to compensate for emissions and ecosystem damage.
To the extent that Climate Active update their rules to recognise new Australian biodiverse forest restoration projects, GPT will revisit this dual retirement process.
Photo credit: Ruth Huckstepp for Noosa Landcare