Redevco lancia il primo “sustainability benchmark” per le High Streets

Pan-European retail real estate specialist Redevco has produced the first benchmark measuring
energy and water consumption by retail sector specialty – which is the critical factor in assessing
sustainability – instead of focusing on the property type. The ground-breaking research is detailed
in Redevco’s 2013 Corporate Responsibility Report.
Derk Welling, Redevco’s Head of Corporate Responsibility said: “The key to understanding
the main energy and water consumption trends in the retail world is to realise that these are
primarily determined by the business of the user and then the nature of the building – which was
the main basis of all previous studies. Now that we can measure the trends in individual retail
sectors for the first time, Redevco will also be able to identify the best ways to conserve these vital
resources at the property level and use this information to advise our tenants on how to cut costs.”
The Redevco research uses energy and water usage reports provided by 1,271 of its retail tenants,
which equals 75% of the total lettable area. The company’s €6.5 billion portfolio of more than 500
properties is spread across the strongest retail locations in Europe and attracts major retailers such
as C&A, Carrefour, Starbucks, GAP, Primark, H&M and others. As the largest share of Redevco’s
portfolio (50%) consists of high street properties, the sample is an effective pan-European proxy for
measuring future trends in these key sustainability indicators by each retail sector speciality. In
addition, the sample covers fairly small and difficult to monitor stores, as well as supermarkets and
units within shopping centres.
The data in the Corporate Responsibility report shows that perfume retailers stand out as the most
intense users of energy at on average 801 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per square metre of floor space
each year. They are also by far the most concentrated users of water, at 2.51 cubic metres per
square metre of floor space annually. This is significantly more than for leases of mixed ready-towear
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fashion retailers, the largest sample in the study, which registered an average of 206 kWh/m2
in energy use a year and 0.23 m3 in average annual water consumption per square metre of space.
Judith Dröge, Redevco’s Board Member for Human Resources & Corporate Responsibility,
adds: “Redevco is a firm believer that companies have the power to make a difference and really
change things when it comes to sustainability. This goes beyond the moral obligation to act and
has been given greater urgency by the recent publication of the latest UN report on global climate
change. The built environment is one of the greatest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, but
if you can’t measure it, then you can’t plan effectively to transform the situation. Corporate
Responsibility at Redevco also addresses other areas of our performance such as business
integrity and compliance, supporting local communities and getting the best out of our people.”
To allow retailers to compare their performance with their sector peers, or on a regional or
countrywide basis, the investment manager has developed the Redevco Retailer Sustainability
Benchmark (RRSB) tool based on the input provided by our individual tenants. Without this
cooperation, the benchmark could not have been created.
Retailers can simply enter their own energy and water consumption data into the system to see
their relative performance. They can also calculate the money potentially saved by improving their
performance. The use of RRSB is not restricted to Redevco tenants and any European retailer can
use the database to assess how sustainable their business is relative to the benchmark.
Redevco is supporting the take-up of “green leases” in Europe, which generally lay down
sustainable development principles and regulations for commercial buildings and outline the
allocation of costs between landlords and tenants. Their use and implementation varies widely
across the EU and this is detailed in Redevco’s Corporate Responsibility report.
Source : Company