Work description: I researched and wrote this piece to deliver as a ghostwritten CSR summary for a client in June of 2015. The draft went through additional revisions after this version, including changes to the working title.

British Land: on the eve of the Next Big Sustainability Push?

London is second only to Monaco for cities with most expensive real estate according to the Global Property Guide. Filled with luxury apartments and high-end retail stores that increasingly attract foreign investors, London’s property mix reflects the business strategy of commercial real estate company British Land, one of UK’s largest real estate companies. Its holdings are home to businesses that supply 99,000 jobs and attract 300 million visitors each year. British Land supports its stakeholders with sustainability initiatives that have received recognition from a number of external ranking institutions such as the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (score of 83%), Global 100, Sunday Times Best Companies (One Star Ranking) and the Climate Disclosure Project (score of 99%) among others.  

Continued Progress towards Goals

While British Land has a number of clearly stated goals for 2015, the company’s progress has stagnated towards these goals when we compare its progress between the years 2013 and 2014. For instance, progress towards achieving 40% less landlord influenced energy use across its existing portfolio compared to 2009 showed 38% progress in 2013, but this number dropped to 36% in 2014. Similar results are reflected in the goal to reduced managed water by 20% for each property type compared to 2009 with 18% achieved in 2013, but just 15% in 2014. Other areas of potential progress including customer satisfaction goals with British Land and with its managing agents (8.0 out of 10) remained stagnant at 7.8 and 7.6 respectively. Investors should track these goals next year to identify areas where British Land’s progress may be tapering off.

Environmental Approach

British Land has identified the environmental factors material to its operations as materials and energy and emissions. The most significant materials goal for 2015 includes a zero landfill waste goal at both properties (93% diverted) and developments (83% diverted), while its stated carbon goals have either been surpassed or nearly reached. Meanwhile, British Land promotes environmental leadership through its effort to showcase a sustainable building by 2015. Towards this goal, British Land identified an interest retail occupier in 2014. In addition to reports of progress on its waste diversion and green building goals, look for British Land’s efforts to set new carbon emissions goals for 2020, which would align with its stated strategy.

Local Community Involvement

British Land is in the process of developing its Community Charter, which is meant to assist people in influencing the decisions made by British Land. As of 2014, it reported 71% progress, a 7% improvement from 2013. This charter emphasizes training, transportation, local suppliers and communication. As British Land furthers its progress on this Charter, Investors should identify whether or not British Land provides clear summaries of community feedback. Likewise, British Land’s industry influence as well as its governmental contributions and lobbying efforts should correspond to feedback from community stakeholders.

Looking ahead to 2020

In addition to the above-mentioned goals for 2015, which are reported on each year by British Land, British Land has published a prospectus for 2020 to outline its forward thinking strategy. Several forward thinking goals include expanded safety for building users and employees, expanded energy generation and efficiency measures, trust building community involvement, and local employment and skills development.