ENVIRONMENT AND COMMUNITY RESPONSIBILITY
Environmental Awareness
The Company takes its environmental responsibilities seriously and the way our business is managed reflects that outlook.
The Board has adopted a Sustainability Policy that applies across the business. This sets out the manner in which we will operate in addressing sustainability issues. The Company’s staff and the consultants and contractors that it uses are presented with this Policy as a clear means of providing guidance on what we expect to achieve. The Policy is reviewed on an annual basis.
All of our significant development projects aim to achieve the highest Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) rating in the circumstances. Specialist consultants are appointed to assist with this process. Energy Performance Certificates are being produced across the portfolio and will provide a useful measurement of how each building is performing.
The lessons learnt from the Carbon Trust review continue to be applied across the assets within the business. In addition to benefits to the environment, these initiatives will reduce our operating costs by improving energy efficiency.
Local suppliers and labour are used wherever possible on our development projects and details of local service providers are appended to tenant handbooks.
Community Concern
The Company recognises that every building it manages is to a varying degree part of someone else’s community, so every effort is made to bridge the link to the community. The shopping centres, by their very nature, provide an excellent example of the process, by supporting local community activities.
The Company is a member of Business in the Community: a unique independent business led charity whose purpose is to inspire, engage, support and challenge companies to continually improve the impact they have on society. This helps us to expand and measure the beneficial impact that we have on the communities in which we operate.
Where major construction works to a property are undertaken, we consult widely with the local community throughout the development process to generate and maintain public support. At an early stage in the design process on our major developments, we work with the Police towards achieving a Secured by Design accreditation to ensure our projects contribute to crime prevention.
On a national basis we support numerous charities.
