Key Partner and Collaborate Initiatives
Stakeholder Engagement: Ensuring
each of our five key stakeholders is aware of our sustainability ambitions is
key to identifying opportunities for collaboration. Our five key stakeholder
groups are: Investors, Customers, Suppliers, Communities and Employees.
Retailer Sustainability Forum: In
2015, we established a retailer sustainability forum, bringing together retailers
from different sectors to discuss key issues and opportunities for
collaboration. In the latest session in early 2019 our forum discussed the
future of retail leasing and how we can make the process deliver more
sustainable outcomes. The group came up with some really interesting ideas we
intend to publish in a report soon. Watch this space!
Retailer Awards: In
2016, we launched our annual Positive Growth Awards across the UK Shopping
centre portfolio. Every year retailers complete an online assessment and
are awarded prizes, as well as provided with feedback and help to improve.
In
2018, we launched a tailored food & beverage engagement tool designed to
improve operational sustainability performance with these stores. So far we
have engaged over 30 retailers with this initiative and are looking to expand
it in 2019.
Customer Engagement: In 2018, we installed water fountains into Cabot Circus,
Oracle and Silverburn to reduce the amount single-use plastic bottles used in
our shopping centres. Alongside the fountains, signage informs the public of
the environmental cost of single-use plastic and resources saved by the water
fountain. This signals the start of a cross-portfolio roll out of the water
fountains.
In 2019, we are looking to create in-centre
collaborative engagement events with our charity partners.
Investor Engagement: Engagement with our investors on sustainability and is
growing as their expectations regarding good environmental, social and
governance increase. In 2018, we conducted a Materiality Review to ensure
our sustainability focus matches investor's expectations. Read more about the
Materiality Review on pages 25-25 of the 2018 Sustainability Report.
We use one to one meetings, conferences and webinars to
ensure our investors are kept up to date with our sustainability initiatives
and performance. The increasing number of ethical and SRI focused funds
are an important source of shareholder interest in the company.
We are included within the key investor sustainability
indices FTSE for Good and the DJSI and participate in the Carbon Disclosure
Project to provide transparent data. Our sustainability reporting is
externally assured and compliant with sustainability reporting best practice
standards of GRI and EPRA.
Supplier Engagement: Our Supplier Survey allows us to understand current
practice amongst our suppliers, and ensure they are aware of and signed up to
the Hammerson Code of Conduct.
By completing the survey, our suppliers are given a
score and associated award level: Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum. We
share the scores of our suppliers in our Annual Supplier Report.
