The Carbon Risk Real Estate Monitor (CRREM) is a framework designed to help real estate owners, investors, and managers align the operational (“in use”) carbon emissions of their assets with the ambitions of the Paris agreement. CRREM publicly released decarbonization pathways that translate the ambitions of limiting global warming to 1.5°C and 2°C by the end of the century into regionally- and property-type-specific trajectories against which real estate assets and portfolios can benchmark themselves.
The “CRREM Curve”, which is plotted within the Building Decarbonization Calculator, represents the calculated carbon intensity limit (kgCO2e/m²) for a specific building over time, or what is sometimes referred to as an asset’s carbon budget. Assets with operational emissions that remain less than (below) the CRREM Curve are considered to be “Paris-Proof”, while assets with operation emissions greater than (above) the curve are considered to be “Stranded Assets”. Stranded assets are more likely to face regulatory risks, such as fines or devaluation, as global carbon reduction mandates tighten.
The CRREM curve is created through a three-step process. First, global carbon budgets are set based on climate goals to limit warming to 1.5°C or 2°C by 2100, using data from sources like the IEA's 2DS, 1.5°C FotE analysis. These budgets define the total allowable carbon emissions up to 2050. Next, the global budget is allocated to the real estate sector, breaking it down by country and building use type to establish national pathways for CO2 emissions per square meter. Lastly, these pathways are further refined for different building types (e.g., office, retail) based on energy usage and growth projections, providing tailored decarbonization targets for each sector.
The regionally- and property-type-specific CRREM curves have been extracted from the excel-based CRREM tool and uploaded within the Building Decarbonization Calculator
For more on CRREM’s methodology, click here.
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