CUT CARBON EMISSIONS
ACROSS OUR VALUE CHAIN
BY -50%
06 — Rethink
Better places 2030
Reinventing places together for a better tomorrow
Better Places 2030 helps transform our portfolio. It gives purpose to our teams, drive to our retailers, experience to our visitors and shared value for our communities.
With leadership comes responsibility
More about our CSR Strategy
In 2016, when Unibail-Rodamco launched Better Places 2030 in Continental Europe, we set the most ambitious environmental target in the industry: to cut by -50% our carbon footprint by 2030. Working together with local organisations, we set up dynamic programmes to address unemployment and provide training in the communities in which we operate. Meanwhile, in the US and the UK, Westfield developed ambitious community programmes and green technology tied to its assets.
Building on this, our CSR ambition is now integrated in all key decision processes. Our efforts have been recognised by major international CSR awards. It has been an inspiring journey which confirmed that we cannot act alone: our decision to partner with local authorities, start-ups, and local communities was the right one.
In 2019, we took this ambition one step further. Better Places 2030 now extends to all new regions of the Group, making our countries, assets and 3,600 employees active contributors to our CSR vision. While our ambition to halve our carbon footprint remains central, Better Places 2030 now also tackles new challenges like responsible consumption and the circular economy. CSR has become the cornerstone of our HR strategy, as we also increased our commitment to diversity and inclusion.
With its extended reach and increased commitment, Better Places 2030 is more than ever key to our long-term success.
Better places 2030 rests on three pillars
More on Better Places 2030
Better Spaces
Creating and operating better spaces means designing sustainable buildings in terms of carbon footprint, energy efficiency, circular economy and biodiversity. We work with the best architects, engineers, construction and operating partners to ensure we are at the forefront of industry standards. We collaborate with our tenants and contractors for efficient resource use, with the aim to reduce emissions from operations by 80% by 2030. And Better Spaces goes beyond buildings. It also means increasing connectivity and advancing sustainable modes of transportation. Reducing the carbon footprint of our visitors’ transport is a priority, and we implemented ambitious Mobility Action Plans to conduct an exhaustive diagnosis by asset and have a clear vision of potential improvements.
Better Communities
We are a catalyst for inclusive growth, and make positive contributions to the social, environmental and economic well-being of the communities in which we operate. We see ourselves as leaders of change, building on our assets and collective strength to raise awareness, mobilise and provide spaces where people feel they belong. Through Better Communities, we seek to foster local economic development, engage with stakeholders, provide jobs, and promote responsible consumption.
Better Together
We encourage and empower our teams to become sustainability and diversity change-makers. We bring our teams together by inspiring them to act sustainably every day, from taking part in volunteer initiatives to promoting diversity and inclusion.
-50% (1) CARBON EMISSIONS ACROSS
OUR VALUE CHAIN BY 2030
(1) Baseline 2015
OUR VALUE CHAIN BY 2030
(1) Baseline 2015
Better
spaces
100% OF OWNED & MANAGED ASSETS WITH A COMMUNITY RESILIENCE ACTION PLAN BY 2020
BE A CATALYST FOR GROWTH
WITHIN THE COMMUNITIES IN
WHICH WE OPERATE
Better
Communities
100% GROUP EMPLOYEES WITH YEARLY INDIVIDUAL CSR OBJECTIVES BY 2020
EMPOWER OUR PEOPLE TO
BECOME SUSTAINABILITY
& DIVERSITY CHANGE–MAKERS
Better
together
CSR IS INTEGRATED ACROSS OUR WHOLE VALUE CHAIN
01
02
03
04
05
01. Building & Renovations
We develop sustainable and innovative projects. To support sustainable cities, we work with the best architects, engineers and construction partners. From design to construction, we perform Life Cycle Assessments, introduce sustainable building materials, implement low-carbon and circular economy solutions and develop partnerships for sustainable transport.
02. Leasing & commercial partnerships
We bring the best brands and partners to our shopping centres. By building on our strong partnerships with local and international retailers, we roll-out green leases, promote and develop sustainable consumption initiatives for our visitors and boost voluntary agreements with retailers on CSR.
03. Property management
We invest in the communities in which we operate through initiatives like URW for Jobs to support local employment. We develop strong relationships with charities and NGOs. We support local entrepreneurs and integrate community resilience in our operational management.
04. Strong communities
We operate our buildings with the highest environmental standards. From climate risk exposure assessment to building environmental certification policy, from green electricity procurement and solar programmes to energy efficiency action plans. And because reducing the carbon footprint of our visitors transport is a priority, we implement ambitious Mobility Action Plans with local transport operators and cities, and deploy Electric Vehicle charging spaces in our shopping centres.
05. Our people
We invest in our people, through dedicated CSR trainings integrated as part of leadership & management programmes. We embed sustainability in our daily working habits with the Work Greener programme and carbon compensation of employee business travels. We ensure diversity and systematically integrate it in HR processes. We involve all our employees in the Group’s Volunteering Programme to support the communities in which we operate.
Our 2019 CSR achievements
URW Volunteering Programme
Click on an image to read the full story
Together for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
We have embraced the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as part of our overall CSR strategy. In line with our activity, we are directly contributing to 10 out of 17 goals, with a specific focus on decent work and economic growth (goal 8), industry, innovation and infrastructure (goal 9), sustainable cities and communities (goal 11), responsible consumption and production (goal 12), and climate action (goal 13).
- Better Spaces
- Better Communities
- Better Together
- 20.5%
in Group carbon intensity from operations (including tenant energy consumption) vs. 2015 baseline
- 20.5%
in Group carbon intensity from operations (including tenant energy consumption) vs. 2015 baseline
64%
of employees with individual CSR objectives
GRESB Sector Leader
GRESB ranked Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield as Sector Leader among all listed retail companies worldwide for the second year in a row. We were also ranked number 1 among all European listed retail companies.
- Better Spaces
Recharge and go
From September 14 to 22, we participated in the National Drive Electric Week in the United States. Eight of our shopping centres took part in the nationwide celebration, offering visitors four hours of free EV charging to highlight the Group’s efforts to reduce transport emissions to and from its centres. More than 2,500 drivers participated, receiving over 23,000 kWh of charge, which offset approximately 3,000 gallons of petrol. Our ChargePoint EV fleet in the US provided 37,000 drivers with 748,000 kWh of electricity from Q4 2018 to Q3 2019, saving over 130,000 gallons of petrol. By providing a lower-emission alternative to burning fossil fuels, this amenity saved more than 317 tonne of CO2 in 2019.
- Better Spaces
64%
of employees with individual CSR objectives
Promoting disability inclusion
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield is working to implement initiatives which support the inclusion of people with disabilities at the workplace. In November, Along with more than 100 other companies, our CEO, Christophe Cuvillier, signed the Manifesto for the Inclusion of People with Disabilities in Economic Life, an initiative from the French government, which aims to ensure that people with disabilities enjoy better inclusion in companies. Supported by Sophie Cluzel, the French Minister in charge of People with Disabilities, this Charter sets out ten concrete actions on how to recruit and welcome people with disability, and to raise employee awareness around the topic. On November 12, we participated in the Purple Tuesday initiative, reaffirming our commitment to promote accessibility and support the inclusion of disabled people in our centres. Purple Tuesday is a time to celebrate the changes we are implementing in our centres to enhance all year round the customer experience for disabled people.
- Better Together
OVER 126,000
meals saved through the deployment of our partnership with Too Good To Go in 19 of our shopping centres in France
38%
of visitors coming to the our shopping destinations using sustainable means of transport
OVER 126,000
meals saved through the deployment of our partnership with Too Good To Go in 19 of our shopping centres in France
Let the sun shine in
Donau Zentrum, one of our two Austrian flagship destinations, now features the largest photovoltaic power plant in the city of Vienna. With 3,520 solar panels covering 6,500 sqm, the brand new array has a capacity of 985 kWp and is able to generate more than 1 M kWh of clean, renewable energy – the equivalent of 250 four-person households over the same period. Thanks to this new photovoltaic plant, we will be saving 270 tons of CO2 each year.
- Better Spaces
38%
of visitors coming to the our shopping destinations using sustainable means of transport
Refill and reuse
In partnership with Virgin Pure, we installed purified water refill stations at Westfield London and Westfield Stratford City to encourage the 77 million shoppers who visit the centres each year to move away from single-use plastic. In-centre media screens help direct people to the stations, where signage welcomes visitors and passers-by to “Refill Here” with unlimited, perfectly chilled, pure water at the touch of a button. In 2019, 33,000 bottles of water were saved through this innovative partnership.
- Better Communities
URW for Jobs
As part of our URW for Jobs programme, we aim to create job opportunities in our centres for local people living in neighbouring communities. In 2019, the programme was extended to 40 of our centres. URW for Jobs initiatives have helped to train over 1,400 people who were cut off from the job market, with sessions on confidence building, recruitment process and customer service skills. 758 jobs and training placements we provided through the URW for Jobs programme in 2019.
- Better Communities
- Better Together
7.84 MW
Total renewable energy installed capacity
7.84 MW
Total renewable energy installed capacity
Run for change
In September, our Czech teams participated in TERIBEAR Moves Prague – a fundraising and sports event to support disadvantaged young people. Over the course of ten days, 25 of our team members ran or walked a total of 607.5 km, raising money to bring about positive change for children in our local communities.
- Better Communities