CBRE Investment Management said it plans to develop solar projects in its direct logistics portfolio, which now spans 17 countries worldwide and encompasses more than 600 assets, 200 million sq. ft. and $30.2 billion AUM.
As part of a sustainability initiative, CBRE Investment Management is working closely with Altus Power, a premier commercial-scale clean electrification company, in the U.S. and Europe to establish solutions that are focused on decarbonization and resiliency, including the development and installation of solar power generation, battery storage and electric-vehicle charging systems.
“We are focused on deploying onsite solar projects across our logistics assets where viable in order to advance our sustainability goals and support the transition to clean energy,” said Chuck Leitner, chief executive officer of CBRE Investment Management.
“We look forward to expanding our relationship with Altus Power across core markets in the U.S. and Europe as we scale to make our portfolio more resilient, profitable and sustainable,” he added.
Earlier this year, CBRE Investment Management announced its first agreement with Altus Power to build and operate a portfolio of rooftop community solar projects on logistics facilities that are managed by CBRE Investment Management in Maryland. These projects, which provide renewable energy to residential customers and CBRE Investment Management logistics tenants, are expected to produce savings for approximately 5,700 residential customers in Maryland.
CBRE Investment Management’s enhanced focus on clean electrification comes two years after the business adopted its logistics investor-developer-operator model that focuses on delivery across all aspects of an asset’s lifecycle, from investment through to the user experience. In line with this, the firm created a global sector-specific logistics team in June 2021 to enhance and better align its expertise across the sector. Since then, CBRE Investment Management’s direct logistics assets under management have increased by more than 34% from $22.5 billion to $30.2 billion, while the firm’s full real assets portfolio now stands at a record high of $146.9 billion.
Earlier this year, Trammell Crow Company, another CBRE subsidiary, announced a strategic partnership to bring Altus Power’s clean energy solutions to 35 million sq. ft. of industrial assets in the company’s U.S. real estate development pipeline.