Energy and emissions
As a business with a property portfolio covering 2.4 million square metres, we have a significant opportunity to help to achieve the UK's Government target of cutting carbon emissions by 80% by 2050. We recognise the threat posed by global climate change and make every effort to work with our tenants, and others in the sector, to improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We believe that our Corporate Responsibility extends to a lifelong stewardship of the properties under our management.
The challenge
Every hour of every day, people are using energy in our buildings – from retailers' window displays to office air conditioning – over which we have limited control. Our occupiers are directly responsible for many of the impacts of the buildings they occupy so the challenge for us remains in helping to educate them on how changes in their own behaviour can reduce impacts. We also need to focus our attention where it can make the biggest difference. Modern design and technology can help us with new buildings but in any one year, no more than 2% of the national stock is likely to be replaced. The truth is that the bulk of the nation's property is made up of old, energy-inefficient properties, and it's these we need to focus our efforts on.
Reducing our impacts
Our energy and carbon targets have always included the energy used in our buildings by our occupiers, which leaves us open to variations in energy use over which we have little or no direct control. One of our key environmental targets is to reduce the emissions associated with energy use in managed office and retail premises by 10% by 2010, compared to a 2007 baseline. During 2009/10, our overall energy use increased by 12.6% to 230 million kWh; this was the result of a 35.4% increase in energy use across our London Portfolio and a 30% fall in our Retail energy consumption. The London Portfolio figures for 2008/09 saw a significant increase that went against the long-term reduction trend. Further analysis shows this was due to several large sites being developed or acquired where occupiers required 24/7 operations and, in some cases, energy-intensive dealer floors.
Although this makes our task significantly more difficult, we still believe it is right to retain occupier energy use within our overall targets. Having set ourselves a 30% reduction target by 2020, it is even more important for us to engage with our occupiers and expand our roll-out of green leasing, using voluntary Memoranda of Understanding. We are encouraged that over the last 12 months, with no significant changes to our London Portfolio, we have reduced the average level of CO2 emissions by 3.6%, so we remain confident of meeting our 10-year objective.
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Reducing our impacts at our HQ
The refurbishment of our headquarters at 5 Strand provides us with a good opportunity to significantly reduce our carbon footprint. The measures we have taken include:
- replacing two chillers with more efficient, modern machines
- refurbishing the three lifts with motors that use 75% less energy
- fitting 'voltage optimisers' on electrical supplies
- installing a new lighting system, with motion sensors in all meeting rooms that turn lights off when the rooms are not occupied, and perimeter lights that turn off automatically in daylight.
We are also using 5 Strand to trial a real-time energy monitoring system, displaying up-to-the-minute meter readings alongside daily and monthly trends on a plasma screen in reception. Similar screens have been installed in two properties at New Street Square and we plan to roll the approach out more widely across our London offices.
Last year, relative CO2 emissions fell in both our Retail (by 15.3%) and London (by 3.6%) portfolios but company-wide emissions rose by 11.3% to 66.9 kg of CO2 per m2. This year, we have set ourselves a challenging 10-year target to reduce our carbon emissions by 30% by 2020. To work towards this, we have also been one of the pioneers of using energy piles for heating and cooling to create renewable energy sources, and in November 2009, we announced our intention to introduce Display Energy Certificates across our London office portfolio.
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Display Energy Certificates
In November 2009, we began auditing all our managed London offices and prominently displaying how much energy each property is using in the building's public area. These Display Energy Certificates go beyond current legislative requirements and mean that instead of certifying the energy our London offices are designed to consume, we will show actual energy consumption – a much more meaningful measure.
We recognise that some of our buildings will score poorly at first, such as our own headquarters, which emerged with a ‘G’ rating. Sadly, this is fairly typical of a commercial property in central London, yet it shows what scope there is for improvement across our portfolio.
Helping others to make a difference
To remain the leader in our sector, we design new offices and the common parts of retail schemes that are 20% below the Building Regulation requirements for CO2 emissions. In 2009, we completed St David's 2 in Cardiff, which fell well within the guidelines, and our carbon reduction programme for shopping centres won a 'Green Oscar' at the ninth annual Sustainable City Awards in February 2010.
We also raise awareness and educate others on sustainability and environmental issues. During 2009, we piloted a CR communications campaign in five offices and seven shopping centres, providing tenants and customers with advice on a range of issues, including energy savings and sustainability.
Retail Carbon Project
Rather than investing in overseas projects to offset the emissions from the common areas of our shopping centres, the money is used to lower their carbon footprint instead, through suggestions made by the centres themselves. The £147,000 it would have cost to offset the 18,374 tonnes of CO2 emissions produced in 2009/10 is being used, pro rata, to improve energy efficiency and cut utility bills through schemes ranging from new lighting to rainwater harvesting.
Leading the sector's response
We are willing to take the lead and galvanise others into action on the big issues, having been the first company in the property sector to gain both the ISO 14001 standard for environmental management and the Carbon Trust Standard for managing energy. Since then, we have become signatories to both the 10:10 Campaign and the Prince's May Day Network.
In London, we are working with other property companies and the London Development Association, through the Better Building Partnership (BBP), to develop industry best practice for reducing carbon emissions in the operation of buildings. This includes initiatives on green leases, performance benchmarking and sustainable retrofit strategies.
And in November 2009, we called on others in the sector to help to combat the estimated 18% of UK emissions attributable to commercial property. In a speech to the construction industry, Chief Executive Francis Salway outlined the need for:
- significant behavioural change by both companies and tenants, such as accepting a one-degree reduction in internal temperatures to reduce energy consumption by 10%
- technological innovations that enable the construction of new buildings with lower carbon emissions
- strong government policy and leadership to stimulate the renewal of older buildings, using the rates system to reward or penalise occupants according to the energy efficiency of their buildings.
Case studies
Leading light
Did you know... that at 8.30pm on Saturday 27 March 2010, the advertising screens of the iconic Piccadilly Lights, 14 of our shopping centres and all our London offices were plunged into darkness for 60 minutes? By joining in WWF's Earth Hour, a global climate change event involving 1 billion people in 5,000 cities, we saved almost two tonnes of CO2 emissions.
A degree of common sense
Did you know... that 500 employees at our London headquarters will be testing the environmental benefits of allowing an extra 1°C of variance in internal temperatures? The trial, starting in June 2010, will make the building slightly warmer in summer and slightly colder in the winter, yet could reduce energy consumption by 10%.