Aldar Properties (Aldar) has joined the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi)’s Expert Advisory Group, making it the first Middle Eastern company to advise SBTi on a science-based net-zero target setting for real estate and construction companies around the world.

SBTi is a partnership between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

More than 3,000 companies worldwide are working with SBTi to reduce emissions and support the Paris Agreement’s goals to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit warming to 1.5 degree Celsius. SBTi seeks to help companies reduce emissions in the real economy by encouraging science-based targeting.

Senior Aldar executives will actively participate and share their expertise with SBTi’s Expert Advisory Group, aiding in the creation of consistent science-based target principles, definitions and metrics that will be used as a benchmark for real estate and construction companies around the world. The methodologies developed by the buildings project advisory group will be approved by CDP, UNGC, WRI and WWF before being made available to all SBTi stakeholders at no additional cost to support their alignment with the Paris Agreement goals.

The Expert Advisory Group also contributes to developing technical papers and engages in activities designed to promote the adoption of science-based targets. Apart from institutions and companies, the advisory boards of SBTi are made up of a diverse group of academics, consultancies, and non-profit and multinational organisations.

Greg Fewer, Group Chief Financial and Sustainability Officer at Aldar, said, "We are delighted to have been invited to join SBTi’s Expert Advisory Group, a demonstration of Aldar’s commitment to sustainability and a recognition of the pioneering role we have played in setting ESG standards in the region. The need to put into place reliable and unified reporting standards and measures is becoming more urgent as investors, lenders and rating agencies request a higher degree of access to non-financial corporate metrics. Real estate and construction companies around the world have an opportunity to take a leading role in combatting climate change, and the work we will do with partners at SBTi will support the world’s path to net zero."

Aldar’s sustainability strategy aims to enhance the company’s business practices and ensure that the company continues to play a positive role in developing the economy, protecting the environment and improving the lives of people and communities where it operates. The strategy is aligned to national and international sustainability frameworks, including Abu Dhabi’s Economic Vision 2030, the UAE Net Zero by 2050 strategic initiative, Ghadan 21 and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.