Corporate Responsibility Report 2010

Letter from Francis Salway – Chief Executive

I think it's true to say that Land Securities has always been a leader in Corporate Responsibility. We were the first property company to appoint an energy manager way back in 1981 and in 2004, we were the first to achieve accreditation for an Environmental Management System across our entire property portfolio.

This year, we have continued to take a lead on CR issues. We have taken an innovative and award-winning approach to carbon offsetting for our shopping centres. And in our London offices, we have two pilot schemes to see how changing behaviour can reduce carbon emissions.

It has become increasingly clear that you can't just do what you are obliged to do; businesses need to go beyond the bare minimum, beyond compliance. For me, our CR vision clearly supports that.

Our people are motivated by 'making a difference'. By developing a leadership position in areas such as environmental sustainability, community relations and employee development, we will remain the kind of company people want to work with – and for.

That's why we have adopted a non-stop approach to CR, to keep pushing the boundaries forward, whether it's building trust among employees and business partners, behaving ethically or respecting the environment. To strengthen our business, we've redefined our CR strategy, established four areas of focus to cover our environment, people, marketplace and communities, and set 10-year objectives for each to shape our ongoing CR activities.

These long-term objectives are challenging yet achievable. We believe that CR should be part and parcel of our everyday work and that as we work towards these goals, our achievements really will make a difference.

Francis Salway
Chief Executive