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| 16/07/2008 | BCSC CALLS FOR A GREENER HIGH STREET |
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Retail property organisation BCSC welcomes the findings of the All Party Urban Development Group announced today and echoes its recommendations for more work to be done to improve the environmental performance of existing buildings. Shopping centres and retailers account for a significant proportion of the UK’s carbon emissions and BCSC is committed to helping the industry improve its environmental performance. Last week it announced a number of leading names in retail and retail property that have pledged support for its Sustainability Charter. The Charter sets targets for reducing energy and water use, waste management and community engagement. Paul Cornes, Chair of BCSC’s Sustainability Taskforce and Head of Sustainability at PRUPIM comments: “Very often 98% of the debate is about 2% of the problem, and while some fantastic progress has been made on new-builds, we need to take a serious look at existing stock in developing a robust carbon management strategy. “We have successfully brought together a number of organisations to support our Sustainability Charter - including British Land, Grosvenor, John Lewis Partnership and Marks & Spencer. These companies are already doing some significant work in this area - demonstrating that business is far ahead of Government policy.” Marks & Spencer has introduced Plan A – a five year, 100 point ‘eco’ plan, which strives to constantly assess the environmental impact of its buildings. PRUPIM has obtained ISO 14001 - an internationally recognised environmental standard - for all its major properties including shopping centres. Last year, this helped achieve a 14% reduction in carbon emissions on the previous year. British Land has an on-going carbon management programme to review opportunities to switch to no or low-carbon energy sources. Grosvenor is working to integrate sustainability measures across its property portfolio and specific initiatives undertaken at Grosvenor's Festival Place shopping centre include sourcing greener energy suppliers and adjusting mall temperature controls. Organisations which have signed-up to the BCSC Sustainability Charter are: British Land, DTZ, Gardiner & Theobold, Grosvenor, Hammerson, Hermes, John Lewis Partnership, Land Securities, Liberty International PLC, Marks & Spencer, Morley, PRUPIM and The Mall. For more information visit www.bcsc.org.uk/sustainability |
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