Landlords are increasingly incorporating charging infrastructure into their buildings as part of plans to make their portfolios more sustainable.
Take one of Australia’s largest landlords, Lendlease, which is installing at least 80 electric car chargers in its properties including popular shopping complexes in NSW, Queensland and Western Australia.
In the U.S., industrial developer Clarion Partners, has established more than 348 EV chargers across its properties as of December 2022.
The charging projects come as EVs account for 14% of new car purchases globally, according to the Australian Electric Vehicle Council. China leads the way with EVs making up 28% of car sales in 2022, while Australia is lagging with only 4%.
In the United States, new EV sales made up 7.1% of total sales in the U.S. to January 2023, according to a report by Inside EVs.
However, with EVs clearly on the ascendency, the property industry is looking to stay ahead of the curve.
“Buildings are the green petrol stations and power stations of our future,” says Renae Gasmier, head of Sustainability Consulting – Australia, JLL.
“By building EV charging infrastructure, we’re not only meeting growing demand, but also creating a whole new source of power-grid support because the grid can also draw or store power from EV batteries.”
A sustainable win-win
Providing car charging stations isn’t just going to help countries toward their sustainability targets. Buildings deemed ‘green’ drive higher occupancies, rents, tenant retention and asset values, according to a 2022 JLL survey of investors and occupiers.
Another stimulus for more charging stations is the growing number of government tenants stipulating EV charging in leases as they plan to replace their fleets with electric cars over the coming years. The Australian government announced last August its intention for its cars to comprise 75% EVs across both new leases and purchases by 2025.
“We’ve seen an appetite and a noticeable gear shift from government agencies as they are preparing themselves for the electrification of their fleets.”
Shifting to EV fleets is one of the most significant moves companies can make toward a net zero future, Gasmier says.
“Fleet vehicles make up around 17% of the total number of cars on the road in Australia but they’re responsible for 42% of road transport emissions. So, if fleets make the first move to decarbonise, it will have real effect for everyone.”
Legislation has a major role in helping accelerate the shift to electric.
Australia’s recently announced National Electric Vehicle Strategy introduces the country’s first vehicle fuel efficiency standard, which will encourage manufacturers to supply more EVs into the country and therefore provide consumers with greater choice.
Gasmier points out that it will also support the integration of EVs more broadly by supporting initiatives such as battery recycling, infrastructure planning and charging inclusions in apartment building design.
And in the northern hemisphere, the European parliament passed a law in February this year which effectively bans the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in the European Union from 2035.
In the U.S., federal government is investing $7.5 billion in charging infrastructure, $10 bn on clean transportation, and more than $7 bn in EV battery components.
A role for industrial real estate
A report from the Australian Electric Vehicle Council notes that less than 0.5% of all cars on Australian road are EVs. However, to reach the International Energy Agency’s target of net zero emissions by 2050, the number must be close to 100% by then.
Industrial real estate occupiers and owner-occupiers could be the most influential in achieving this, Gasmier says.
“Many third-party logistics and other distribution companies are looking to electrify their fleets. That said, there are a lot more considerations in industrial compared to elsewhere, such as ensuring you’ve got enough power supply capacity, battery storage and the availability of fast charging.
“Industrial real estate is also the critical infrastructure that surrounds supply chains, and supply chains are within many organisations’ scope 3 emission reductions.”
Simply installing chargers into buildings could be considered short-sighted, Gasmier says.
“There are new business models and technology emerging and organisations need to consider this to take full advantage of the future value.
“There are also considerations around load management systems, peak charging times and power capacity.”
“We encourage people to have a strategy as to how they’re going to transition their fleets. Think about the people coming into their building – whether that’s employees or customers or tenants. How do you ensure that you’re ready to meet their needs when that uptake of EVs has grown to scale,” Gasmier says.
Contact JLL for support with your sustainability goals, including EV advice.
