Sustainability Report 2015
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Sustainability Report 2015 Councillor Bob Price Oxford City Council AT A GLANCE STRATEGY ENVIRONMENT SOCIETY Development Diversity 5 51%/49% 1 development sites undergoing female/male gender balance new Sustainability Committee embodied carbon profiling Diversity and employment Energy 25 8% work experience placements 2 overall energy reduction for Mencap candidates supporting working groups Water Diversity and employment 2% 15 overall water reduction jobs secured for 9 Mencap candidates commitments Waste Employment 100% waste diverted from landfill 157 (excl. leisure portfolio) jobs secured for disadvantaged groups in London 96/A- Health and safety our highest score yet in Carbon Disclosure Project 131v260 our accident frequency rate versus industry average 100% Health and safety of our operations ISO14001 certified 6 0 reportable RIDDORs environmental incidents £135,489 raised for Mencap £3m value of financial, time and in-kind contributions 8,940 hours volunteered by employees Land Securities Sustainability Report 2015 01 We have always taken our responsibilities as CONTENTS 02 Chief Executive’s statement a company seriously. 04 Strategic update 06 Adding value through the lifecycle This year, following a review of sustainability 07 Environment 08 Development within the business, we’re taking our approach 10 Energy to the next level. In this report we set out our new, 12 Water 13 Waste simplified sustainability commitments. We discuss 14 Biodiversity the priority areas we’re addressing to ensure we 15 Society 16 Diversity fulfil those commitments. And – as you’ll see 18 Employment from the front cover – we share what some of 20 Health and safety our stakeholders say about sustainability and 22 Fairness 23 Data Land Securities in their own words. 24 Sustainability reporting 26 Mandatory disclosure and benchmarking Our new commitments are ambitious and 27 Assurance far-reaching. Real, enduring change takes time – 28 Contacts years not months. And genuine sustainability involves tackling the biggest and most complex issues, not just talking about things that are easy to achieve. We will report to you on our progress clearly and consistently, starting here. 02 Land Securities Sustainability Report 2015 CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S STATEMENT Land Securities Sustainability Report 2015 03 Decisions we take today will have Within Land Securities sustainability has evolved from a focus on single environmental issues, and tactical an effect years from now. This is responses to community requests, to a wider and why Land Securities must think a deeper activity. In fact, it’s now central to our purpose generation ahead. We should consider of helping businesses to succeed, economies to grow and people to thrive. how people will view us in the future, This year activity has focused on enhancing the way not just accept current attitudes. We we think about, manage and report on sustainability need to respond to both short-term issues. I am responsible for sustainability at Board needs and long-term priorities. level and I’m supported by one strategic Sustainability Committee and two dedicated working groups. There’s a simple business rationale for this Accountability for performance is clear all the balanced approach: if we don’t behave in the right way down the line. And we’re working in closer way today our stakeholders won’t do business with us partnership with our stakeholders to ensure our tomorrow. They have a choice. Customers can either agenda matches theirs. occupy or visit our space or not. Communities can I want to underline the importance we place on a support our schemes and properties or not. Partners longer perspective because it’s central to what you can choose whether they want to work with us or not. will read in this Sustainability Report. When you’re Employees can choose whether to spend their time dealing with complex issues such as energy efficiency here or go elsewhere. And investors will only consider and diversity you can’t just think in terms of months. investing in us if we’re meeting the needs of these It takes years to achieve meaningful improvements other groups. and it’s never a straightforward path from A to B. Put simply, we will only continue to thrive as a business In this report we don’t shy away from talking about if all these people choose us. what’s difficult or where we need to do more. And we For me, that’s what sustainability at Land Securities don’t make false promises. The nine commitments is all about – acting in the right way so that the people we’ve introduced look beyond the immediate future we depend on continue to support us, well into the and we expect to report back against them over a future, so that Land Securities remains healthy. number of years. It’s lasting change that really counts. I believe our balanced approach creates business benefits. Take our shopping centre development at Westgate, Oxford. We wanted to create something new in the heart of one of the world’s most beautiful historic cities. Why should the local authority and Robert Noel local people trust us to do that? Because we could Chief Executive point to the careful work we had done in the cathedral cities of Exeter and Canterbury; in London, next to St Paul’s Cathedral at One New Change and right by Westminster Cathedral in Victoria; and in the centre of Leeds with Trinity too. We could also show people in Oxford how we think about the future when managing resources such as energy and water, as well as by-products like construction waste. And we could show the remarkable work we’ve done in London to help unemployed people get jobs and apprenticeships. Our scheme in Oxford is If we don’t behave in now moving ahead. The the right way today our city will gain a fantastic, thoughtfully designed, stakeholders won’t do low-carbon centre, along business with us tomorrow.” with jobs and business opportunities for local people. 04 Land Securities Sustainability Report 2015 Strategic update: Our five environmental commitments replace the 15 targets we were working to before. You’ll see that workforce – our number one material issue and an WHERE WE ARE area discussed in some depth in last year’s report – is addressed directly in our four social commitments. When we talk about ‘workforce’ we think beyond just AND WHERE our employees; it’s also about the socio-economic relationships we have with our customers, WE’RE HEADING communities and partners (see Fig 1). The review produced a range of recommendations. Land Securities is absolutely clear We identified three that should be addressed first on its direction as a business, and clear and we’ve taken swift first steps in response. on the role sustainability plays for us 1. Structure – get the right people in place • We’ve created accountability for sustainability at and for those we work with and for. Board level, with our Chief Executive taking overall Our purpose is to provide the right responsibility. • We’ve strengthened the team responsible for space for our customers and our embedding sustainability in our strategy and communities – helping businesses operations. This includes the appointment of a Director of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability to succeed, the economy to grow and at Executive Committee level. people to thrive. Our vision is to be the 2. Governance – ensure we have clear management best property company in the UK. oversight of sustainability performance • We’ve simplified our structure, creating a small How do we turn our purpose and vision Sustainability Committee – supported by two working into action? groups covering environment and society – with the Our strategy is designed to ensure we are a sustainable power to monitor and direct how sustainability business through the market cycles. We make is being embedded throughout the business. understanding our customers’ needs our top priority, • Our Chief Executive chairs the Sustainability so we provide the space businesses and people need Committee, and the new Director of Corporate Affairs to thrive. We also look beyond our buildings, shaping and Sustainability chairs the two working groups. the future for good by ensuring our activities meet the • We’ve clarified line reporting on sustainability matters expectations of our customers, communities, partners so everyone in the business has a clear understanding and employees. of what it means for them and their team. Day-to-day leadership is also clear, with one person heading up Our aim is clear: to be the leader in sustainability the environment work and another our society work in the UK-listed real estate sector. We recognise (see Fig 3). that to become a truly sustainable business we must think beyond short-term financial goals, always 3. Priorities – stay focused on what matters most balancing wider social and environmental objectives and inspire people to get involved in those areas with the need to create value for shareholders over • We’re building on the great work the company has time. But it’s also important to note that, for us, done in this area over past years by giving more time sustainability is more than a noble sentiment; it can and consideration to the most material issues, and provide us with competitive advantage too – as a will continue to review our materiality matrix to business and as an investment choice. ensure we focus on relevant issues. • We’re working closely with more of our stakeholders So how are we doing? to ensure we understand their sustainability priorities We’ve come a long way over the past few years, from and will continue to do so as our strategy evolves a tactical approach to ‘corporate responsibility’ (CR) to (see Fig 4). pursuing a structured CR strategy.