LONDON, 2015-9-4 — /EPR Retail News/ — Today (September 3, 2015), British Land is pleased to announce its latest achievement as Regional Sector Leader for Europe/Diversified in the 2015 GRESB global sustainability assessment of real estate portfolios.
This is the second year in a row that British Land has been ranked as a sector leader by GRESB and this was achieved primarily through evidence shown in environmental management systems to deliver significant energy reductions and efficiencies.
The dynamic benchmark is used by more than 50 institutional investors to engage with their investments with the aim of improving the sustainability performance of their investment portfolios and the global property sector at large. Broad sustainability issues such as risk assessments, policy management and stakeholder engagement are covered as well as more specific performance indicators on energy, waste and water.
The survey is also aligned with international reporting frameworks such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), both of which have independently verified British Land’s Sustainability reporting framework and processes for many years.
Justin Snoxall, Head of Sustainability, British Land said, ‘We are delighted to have been recognised in this way for the second year running. Our approach is one of continuous improvement and responding to our stakeholders. The investor community is a very important stakeholder group for British Land so as Regional Sector Leader in GRESB, we can further demonstrate how our sustainability strategy is providing long term tangible benefits to investors.’
Nils Kok, CEO, GRESB said, “Sector leaders demonstrate that they have grasped the sustainability challenges of a particular property type and have used that understanding to develop industry leading strategy and best practices.”
| Contact: | |
| Helen Lo, British Land | 07912 572619 |
NOTES TO EDITORS
About British Land
We are one of Europe’s largest publicly listed real estate companies. We own, manage, develop and finance a portfolio of high quality commercial property, focused on retail locations around the UK and London Offices & Residential. We have total assets in the UK, owned or managed of £18.9 billion (British Land share of which is £13.6 billion), as valued at 31 March 2015. Our properties are home to over 1,200 different organisations ranging from international brands to local start ups. Our objective is to deliver long-term and sustainable total returns to our shareholders and we do this by focusing on Places People Prefer. People have a choice where they work, shop and live and we aim to create outstanding places which make a positive difference to people’s everyday lives. Our customer orientation enables us to develop a deep understanding of the people who use our places. We employ a lean team of experts, who have the skills to translate this understanding into creating the right places, and we have an efficient capital structure which is able to effectively finance these places.
UK Retail assets account for 55% of our portfolio. As the UK’s largest listed owner and manager of retail space, our portfolio is well matched to the different ways people shop today, from major regional shopping centres to single occupier locations. We are focused on being the destination of choice for retailers and their customers by being the best provider of spaces and services. Comprising around 22 million sq ft of retail space across shopping parks, superstores, shopping centres, department stores and leisure assets, the retail portfolio is modern, flexible and adaptable to a wide range of formats.
Our Office and Residential portfolio, which accounts for 45% of our portfolio is focused on London, We have an attractive mix of high‑quality buildings in well‑managed environments and a pipeline of development projects, which will add significantly to our portfolio. Increasingly, our offices are in mixed-use environments which include retail and residential elements. Our 6.7 million sq ft of high quality office space includes Regent’s Place and Paddington Central in the West End and Broadgate, the premier City office campus (50% share).
Our size and substance demands a responsible approach to business. We believe leadership on issues such as sustainability helps drive our performance and is core to the delivery of our overall objective of driving shareholder value and creating Places People Prefer.
Further details can be found on the British Land website at www.britishland.com