Waypoint
The foundations of an effective net zero journey: Developing a greater understanding of Waypoint’s carbon footprint and goals through assessment, costing and modelling.
Founded in 2013, Waypoint is an asset management and debt advisory business advising on over £1bn of capital across traditional and alternative real estate sectors. They have specialist teams in healthcare, residential, long income and convenience retail. As a group their client base encompasses institutional, private equity and family office clients.
What did the client need?
Waypoint published their net zero strategy in 2022. This great starting point caused them to consider realistic next steps. Their strategy needed to be supported by a well-reasoned and costed plan, but with so many options to take towards change, it was hard to know what to prioritise and when.
Clear goals needed to be defined, realistic deadlines had to be set and deeper insight was needed into the current performance of their portfolio against industry benchmarks and future CRREM targets.
That’s where the Verco team could help.
How did Verco support the client?
The first step towards setting ambitious but achievable goals is to collect and understand current performance data. The Verco team used their bespoke Aim for Zero model to review the energy data from four real estate funds and calculate Waypoint’s baseline footprint for 2022.
From this, they were able to model Waypoint’s carbon performance out to 2050 under a range of scenarios. The modelling process highlighted a range of potential energy and carbon savings (e.g. installing heat pumps or solar PV arrays) as well as the CAPEX requirements of implementing them.
Next, Verco used their risk assessment tool to help Waypoint understand which assets should be targeted first for action or investigation, based on each fund’s investment strategies and priorities.
What was the result?
The Waypoint team has gained a better understanding of how their assets are performing and how they sit within the wider context of targets, frameworks and regulations. They have a series of measurable goals and can prioritise actions based on the data and modelling provided. Confidence in their plan has increased, and Verco will continue to support them throughout the next phases of their net zero journey.
Over the last two years, Verco has provided a critical role in the development of our fund level net zero pathways. They have provided both clarity and direction in what is an increasingly complex and specialist field and significantly advanced our own understanding of the subject matter. We now have the confidence that our net zero pathways are built on strong, data-based foundations, ensuring we can set appropriate targets going forward.