MERLIN Properties Annual Report 2023

88 | Annual report | 2023 (1) Market based method: The market-based method calculates emissions based on the electricity that organisations have chosen to purchase. The difference is that the market-based method treats off-site renewable electricity use as a zero carbon generator, whereas the location-based method assigns the local grid average emission factor to off-site renewable use. Decarbonisation of MERLIN Properties’ portfolio MERLIN’s experience over the past few years has enabled it to specify the details of its emissions reduction strategy, or Pathway to Net Zero in 2030, thus getting a head start on the European strategy for decarbonising the economy and ensuring the present and future survival of the Company and its assets. MERLIN’s pathway to net zero is a comprehensive plan aimed at optimising performance not only of the Company itself and the assets under its direct control but also of the principal players responsible for the emissions associated with MERLIN over its entire value chain, including suppliers and tenants. MERLIN updated the criteria it uses to calculate emissions in 2022. Following the GHG Protocol guidelines, the market-based method (1) has been chosen as a basis. Market-based Scopes 1 and 2 Scope 1 Scope 2 Market-based Intensity tCO 2 eq/sqm Scope 3 Absolute 2021 2,675 754 0.002 3,429 n/d 2022 Absolute 2,668 44 0.002 2,711 n/d 2023 Absolute 2,422 11 0.002 2,433 n/d