Climate change is one of the most significant issues to be addressed globally and requires urgent action.
We recognise that commercial buildings are a key source of emissions and that as a responsible landlord we must seek to reduce the environmental impact of our buildings.
"We have achieved a -57% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions since 2016"
We ensure sustainability is integrated within our business model and how we and our occupiers operate.
We are a member of the Better Buildings Partnership and signatories to the Better Buildings Partnership Climate Commitment. Our net zero carbon pathway sets out the hierarchy for achieving net zero carbon as a business by 2040 and covers both embodied and operational carbon.
We continually assess the environmental performance of our portfolio, working with our sustainability consultants at CBRE who help us engage with property managers and our occupiers to implement sustainability improvements at each asset.
We are committed to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions and having met our 2016 five-year targets, we are now working towards our net zero carbon target.
We continue to explore further opportunities in the renewables sector as a way of reducing our environmental impact as well as aiming to continue to reduce our carbon footprint and provide cheaper electricity from renewable sources for our occupiers in our buildings.
We have introduced green lease clauses into our standard lease agreements which set out both our responsibilities as a landlord and the occupier with regards to sustainability and cover areas including energy and water efficiency, waste management and regulatory requirements.
At key sites across our portfolio, we use an Asset Analytics tool to measure the energy use throughout the different pieces of plant equipment. This highlights equipment that is running inefficiently and coupled with in-depth energy audits, identifies the most efficient means of reducing energy consumption while delivering value to our occupiers.
We work with CBRE to carry out sustainability audits across our multi-let office portfolio. These audits focus on key areas including energy usage, water and waste management and provide recommendations for further energy saving measures. We are developing an action plan for each property to implement recommendations as required. We also carry out occupier workshops in order to engage with our occupiers and work together to further reduce our environmental impact.
One of our key priorities is to work with our occupiers so that we can understand their needs and aim to meet their current and future requirements.
Our approach to portfolio management continues to ensure our buildings are sustainable, monitoring data collection and management and certification standards to provide modern, flexible space that is safe, clean and energy efficient.
We believe it is important to continue to invest in our buildings, improve their attractiveness and occupier amenities.
Where we carry out building refurbishment projects, we are committed to ensuring environmental issues have been incorporated. We work with sustainability consultants at the design stage of a project and consider energy efficiency measures such as new lighting, improved plant and equipment, solar panels, new building management systems, insulation and new water systems.
Read more on our sustainable refurbishment guidelines
We recognise the importance of reducing water consumption and ensuring sustainable waste disposal.
We are committed to improving water data collection, introducing water efficiency measures as well as eliminating landfill waste disposal across our landlord controlled portfolio.
We work with CBRE to carry out sustainability audits across our portfolio. These audits focus on key areas including energy usage, water and waste management and provide recommendations for further sustainability measures.
We are developing an action plan for each property to implement recommendations as required. We also carry out occupier workshops in order to engage with our occupiers and work together to further reduce our environmental impact.
Biodiversity initiatives have a positive impact on the health and wellbeing of our occupiers as well as being good for the environment.
We want our buildings to contribute positively towards the natural environment and we believe that there are opportunities to introduce even more biodiversity initiatives across all our property types.
We aim to undertake biodiversity surveys across our sites and plan to roll out a biodiversity programme.