Why CR?
Corporate Responsibility (CR) is about striking the right balance between the economic, environmental and social aspects of our activities, and acting responsibly towards others.
We do it because it makes us a better business... because we can... and because we should.
Why does CR matter?
We believe companies should act responsibly. We also believe CR works best when it makes a difference for everyone – including the company and its shareholders. Put simply, CR matters to us because we want to be a business that people want to do business with.
Every action we carry out must be commercially sound and make a difference. Only then can it truly be sustainable. We can generate benefits for our company as well as create value for the individuals and communities we interact with.
How does our CR strategy fit in with our business strategy?
Our new corporate vision, 'Shaping the future of property', highlights our intention to lead in everything we do and to set the standards for tomorrow. It was developed through consultation involving more than 120 employees from around the Group, and launched in October 2009.
We also developed a separate but compatible vision for our CR activities – 'Making a Difference'. This underlines that our CR actions are designed to have a clear and tangible benefit for the company as well as providing places that people want to shop, work and live in, greater returns to our shareholders and a great place to work for our employees.
These aims are underpinned by our core values – customer service, respect, integrity, excellence and innovation – which influence the way we go about our business, each and every day.
How does CR affect how we work?
Our commitment to CR means that we already have a strong reputation within the industry: as a landlord that understands its occupiers and works with local communities, a business that develops its employees and a developer that leads the sector's thinking on environmental issues.
CR drives our approach to developing and maintaining long-lasting, collaborative partnerships with our stakeholders. By aiming to lead, not follow, wherever we can, we can share our knowledge and expertise to everyone's benefit.
So what's next?
As part of our non-stop approach to CR, we have recently outlined the four key areas of focus for the business. We have one over-arching 10-year objective for each area of CR activity although, given the nature of our business, we believe the areas in which we can have most impact are the environment and the communities in which we operate.
We also have annual targets, which act as milestones along the way. Meeting these targets will ensure we remain on track to meet our 2020 objectives (see panel).
Our 10-year objectives
- Our environment: to reduce our carbon emissions by 30% by 2020.
- Our people: to be recognised in the UK as an employer of choice for developing people to be the best they can be.
- Our marketplace: to set the standards for innovation, value and service that others aspire to.
- Our communities: to be recognised by local communities as the number one partner for the delivery of positive social and economic impacts.
What about ethics?
The reputation of the Group, and the trust and confidence others have in us, are vital to our long-term success. As part of our CR programme, we have updated our Business Ethics Policy so that we maintain high ethical standards. We also have a Whistle-blowing Policy designed to encourage employees – anonymously if necessary – to raise issues related to unethical or inappropriate activities through a dedicated telephone and email hotline.