Corporate Social Responsibility
CHAPTER2
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
2.1 OUR SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY | 39 | |
2.1.1 | Business model | 39 |
2.1.2 | CSR challenges and opportunities | 39 |
2.1.3 | Priorities of the Group CSR strategy | 49 |
2.1.4 | Summary of the Group's CSR achievements | 52 |
2.1.5 | Governance and CSR | 59 |
2.2 BETTER SPACES | 62 | |
2.2.1 | Address climate change | 62 |
2.2.2 | Design sustainable buildings | 69 |
2.2.3 | Improve eco-efficiency | 74 |
2.2.4 | Develop connectivity & sustainable mobility | 86 |
2.2.5 | Integrate nature and biodiversity | 89 |
2.3 BETTER COMMUNITIES | 91 | |
2.3.1 | Promoting community resilience | 91 |
2.3.2 | Expand local economies | 91 |
2.3.3 | Engaging with local stakeholders | 97 |
2.3.4 | Promote responsible consumption | 100 |
2.4 BETTER TOGETHER | 102 | |
2.4.1 | Empowering our people | 103 |
2.4.2 | Bringing together | 109 |
2.4.3 | Inspiring our people | 111 |
2.5 GREEN FINANCING OF THE GROUP ACTIVITIES | 114 | ||
2.5.1 | Green loans | 114 | |
2.5.2 | Green bonds | 114 | |
2.6 APPENDICES | 123 | ||
2.6.1 | Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield's reporting methodology | 123 | |
2.6.2 | Independent third party's report on consolidated non-financial statement | 127 |
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Corporate Social Responsibility
Our sustainability strategy
"Corporate Social Responsibility has been part of our DNA for more than a decade. I believe we have the power to positively impact the environment and local communities in all our regions and all our assets. Our shopping centres welcome 1.2 billion visits annually in 12 countries,
our office buildings are home to hundreds of companies, our convention 2. and exhibition venues host millions of visitors from all over the world.
The potential is immense, so is our responsibility".
CHRISTOPHE CUVILLIER
Group Chief Executive Officer
2.1 OUR SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY
2.1.1 BUSINESS MODEL
The Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield business model is presented in Sections 1.3 Business model and 1.4 Business overview.
2.1.2 CSR CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
2.1.2.1 MATERIALITY MATRIX
In 2018, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield updated its materiality matrix to identify its main priorities. An external advisory firm supported the Group in this process to ensure the robustness and neutrality of the methodology.
This work was done on the basis of a detailed analysis of the main CSR reporting standards(1), investor expectations(2), underlying market trends, best practices observed in the Real Estate industry and beyond, as well as insight from NGOs and experts.
In total, over thirty external and internal stakeholders, representative of the Group's different regions and businesses, were consulted to rank the CSR topics, according to their level of expectation (for the external stakeholders) and the impact on the Unibail-Rodamco- Westfield business model (for the internal stakeholders).
The main priorities identified, in line with market trends up to 2030 and the parallel work done on risks (see Section 2.1.2.2 CSR risks and opportunities), resulted in three new CSR focus areas being determined for the Group (see Section 2.1.3 Priorities of the Group CSR strategy).
- Global Reporting Initiative Construction and Real Estate Supplement, Sustainability Accounting Standards Board.
- As represented by questions and analysis frameworks from the Dow Jones Sutainability Index, MSCI, VigeoEiris, ISS-Oekom, GRESB, FTSE4Good.
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Corporate Social Responsibility
Our sustainability strategy
UNIBAIL-RODAMCO-WESTFIELD'S MATERIALITY MATRIX
Circular economy
High
stakeholders | Sustainable supply chain | Nature & biodiversity |
external | ||
Community engagement | ||
for | ||
Importance | Sustainable | |
building design | ||
Partnerships | ||
Low | Digitalisation of services | |
Philanthropy & volunteering |
Shared value creation
Climate change | |
Workforce | Inclusive |
well-being | culture & |
& engagement | innovation |
Governance
Operational eco-efficiency
Connectivity & sustainable mobility
Safety & security of employees and shopping centres
Talent attraction & retention
Low | Business impact | High | |||||||
Key | |||||||||
Pillar 1 - Better Spaces | Pillar 2 - Better Communities | Pillar 3 - Better Together | Transversal | ||||||
Top priority issues | Important issues | Key issues for external stakeholders | |||||||
• | Operational efficiency | • | Sustainable building design | • | Circular economy | ||||
• Connectivity and sustainable mobility | • | Nature & biodiversity | • | Sustainable supply chain | |||||
• | Shared value creation | • | Inclusive culture & innovation | Less material issues | |||||
• | Climate change | • | Workforce well-being & engagement | ||||||
• Safety & security of employees | • | Talent attraction & retention | • | Digitisation of services | |||||
and shopping centres | • | Community engagement | • | Philanthropy and volunteering | |||||
• | Partnerships | ||||||||
• | Governance |
2.1.2.2 CSR RISKS AND OPPORTUNITIES
In 2018, in response to the Directive related to the disclosure of non- financial information(1), Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield identified and assessed its main CSR risks, using the Group risk assessment methodology taking into account three impact criteria: financial, legal, and reputational. In line with the spirit of the regulation, the analysis provided below presents gross risks (before the implementation of management measures).
The Group CSR risk universe was defined on the basis of both the CSR priorities highlighted by the Group's materiality analysis (see Section 2.1.2.1 Materiality matrix) and the sector-based CSR risk universe established by the work done in 2018 in partnership with the French Council of Shopping Centres (CNCC).
(1) European directive n° 2014/95/UE as regards disclosure of non-financial information.
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In total, 30 risks were identified and classified into 11 categories, among which 20 were identified as main CSR risks due to their level of impact.
The risk analysis and ranking work was undertaken jointly by the Group's CSR team and Group Risk department, with the involvement of the local risk teams. The results were shared with the Group Chief Resources Officer, who is the member of the Group's Senior Management Team overseeing Risk Management and CSR.
The following table summarises the main CSR risks, and the policies, action plans, performance indicators and opportunities associated with their management. The results of the performance indicators
for each action plan are presented either directly within this table, or within the body of this document (see references in the "risks" column of the table).
Climate change risks for the Group (physical and transitional) form a core part of the CSR risks analysis and are integrated in the following summary of main CSR risks and their management policies. A more detailed overview of climate risk management and in particular of
Corporate Social Responsibility
Our sustainability strategy
the resilience of assets to physical climate risks is provided in Section 2.2.1.3 Climate risk management and adaptation to climate change.
Climate change and CSR risks are managed through the global Group Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) framework, which provides a specific risk governance and control methodology (see Section 6.1.2 Group Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Framework for more
details). | 2. |
Summary of associated policies | Associated main performance | |||
Themes | Risks | and actions plans | indicators (2019 results) | Opportunities |
Business Ethics
• | Corruption, agreements | • | Anti-corruption programme (ACP) in compliance | • Number (A) and monetary | |
or fraud (business | with Sapin II law (France), the Foreign Corrupt | value (B) of sanctions imposed | |||
relationships, | Practices Act "FCPA" (US) or the UK Bribery Act | by regulators in 2019 linked to | |||
relationships with public | "UKBA" (UK) | corruption incidents: 0 (A); | |||
officials) | • | Group Code of Ethics with compulsory yearly | €0 (B) | ||
• | Money laundering and | e-learning module for all employees | • | Percentage of employees | |
financing of terrorism | • | Procedure for screening of business partners | trained on the Group Code of | ||
References: | • | Whistleblowing procedure accessible to all | Ethics: 84% | ||
employees and suppliers | • | Percentage of employees | |||
3.4.1 Ethics and compliance | • | Appointment of Local Compliance | trained on corruption | ||
within URW Group | Correspondents to support the coordination of | prevention: 100% | |||
6.2.2.6 A Corruption, money | the ACP | ||||
• Insider Trading Rules procedure. | |||||
laundering & fraud risks | |||||
• | Non-transparency in the | • | Annual reporting of lobbying activities to | • Number of reported lobbying | |
reporting of lobbying | the French High Authority for Transparency | actions to the French High | |||
activities | in Public Affairs | Authority for Transparency in | |||
References: | • | Internal policy on Interest Representatives. | Public Affairs: 7 | ||
3.4.1 Ethics and compliance | > https://www.hatvp.fr/ | ||||
fiche-organisation/ | |||||
within URW Group | |||||
?organisation=414878389## | |||||
• | Breach of customers' | • | Data Privacy Protection programme compliant | • | Percentage Group employees |
personal data | with EU and US regulations | trained on IT security | |||
References: | • | Data protection Governance network at | awareness: 79%. | ||
corporate and local levels | |||||
6.2.2.6 B Legal and | • | Preventive and alert internal processes | |||
regulatory risks | • | Group-wide employees and specific business | |||
6.2.2.1 D Information | population trainings on data protection |
Technology System and | awareness and cybersecurity |
• Information Systems security strategy. | |
Data: continuity and | |
integrity risks |
Trust and transparency as core of the business relationship
- Non-compliancewith anti-trust regulation
References:
6.2.2.1 C Mergers & Acquisitions, Investment and Divestment risks
6.2.2.6 B Legal & Regulatory
risks
• Part of the due-diligence process in case of | N/A |
acquisitions |
- Close monitoring of Viparis activities in relation with the French General Directorate for Fair Trading, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF).
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Corporate Social Responsibility
Our sustainability strategy
Summary of associated policies | Associated main performance | |||
Themes | Risks | and actions plans | indicators (2019 results) | Opportunities |
- Threats or attacks on sites
References:
6.2.2.4 A Terrorism and major security incident risks
2.2.3.7 Health & Safety, security and environmental risks and pollution
• | Dedicated Group organisation for security and | • Percentage of employees |
crisis management | trained on security: 68%(1) | |
• Global security governance, policies and | ||
guidelines implemented at all locations | ||
• Crisis response plan, training and exercises | ||
• Frequent interactions with police authorities, | ||
regional authorities and intelligence agencies | ||
• | Training of shopping centre management and | |
security teams as well as all URW employees | ||
• | Raising awareness of tenants on security | |
framework and evacuation plans. |
Health &
Safety, Security and Well-being of people in our properties
- Failure to provide a safe and healthy environment for stakeholders (employees, tenants, contractors and visitors/ occupants) according to Health & Safety procedures and legislation
References:
6.2.2.4 B Health and Safety
(H&S) risks (including natural disasters)
2.2.3.7 Health & Safety, security and environmental risks and pollution
2.2.2.1 Environmental Management Systems (EMS)
- Health and safety on worksites
Operations:
- Dedicated Group organisation for health and safety risk management, supplemented by procedures that comply with local regulations at local level
- Maintenance and inspection conducted for all relevant equipment subject to regulation
- Annual third party audits of Health & safety risks conducted at asset level on the European portfolio and associated action plans
- Routine property tours to identify hazardous conditions and implement corrective actions in the US
Developments:
- Worksites monitored by a Health and Safety Coordinator
- Contractual requirement for construction contractors overseen by the construction management contractor to make the necessary provisions for site safety and comply with the relevant Health and Safety legislation.
- Number of sanctions for non-compliance related to building health and safety and Monetary value of associated fines
- Percentage of assets in operation that obtained an A or B annual score in their Health & Safety and Environmental third party risk assessment
Lead the industry in health, safety and security to reduce incident levels
(1) Excluding Viparis employees.
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Corporate Social Responsibility
Our sustainability strategy
Summary of associated policies | Associated main performance | |||
Themes | Risks | and actions plans | indicators (2019 results) | Opportunities |
Health &
Safety, Security and Well-being of people in our properties
- Non-resilienceof assets facing physical phenomena (acute and chronic climate events…)
References:
2.2.1.3 Climate risk
management and adaptation to climate change
6.2.2.4 B Health and Safety
(H&S) risks (including natural disasters)
2.2.2.2 Environmental certifications of buildings under development
2.2.3.2 Environmental certifications of buildings during the operation phase
6.3 Transferring risk to insurers
- Group climate change risk assessment covering all standing assets and the development pipeline, in line with TCFD recommendations, covering both transitional and physical risks
- Global map of future risks of climate change for the Group portfolio, to design relevant climate change adaptation plans
- Periodic assessment of assets most exposed to natural disasters and of their prevention/ protection plans
- Adequate insurance cover for natural disasters for assets in Europe, the UK and the US
- Annual emergency preparedness drills for all assets in a natural catastrophe zone
- Compliance with regulatory requirements in each region regarding flooding risks, water management, and drainage systems for exceptionally heavy rainfall
- Due diligence process for acquisitions and new development projects also covers the risks associated with climate change
- Environmental certification policy for all assets in both development and operation phases: BREEAM or LEED and BREEAM In Use certifications schemes covering among others physical resilience and energy aspects.
-
Coverage of Breeam In-Use environmental certification of the Group's standing assets (shopping centres and offices)
- in floor area - Percentage of retail and office assets in the standing portfolio that obtained an environmental certification in development phase
(in number) - Percentage of development projects that are in an environmental building certification process
- Conditions of asset insurance for natural disasters
2.
Enhance resilience of buildings facing climate change impacts
"Green"/ sustainable value of assets and of the Group
- Loss of access to green financing instruments and decrease in ESG ratings
References:
2.1.4.2 Results of non- financial ratings and indices
2.1.5.4 Relations with investors and professional organisations
2.5. Green financing of the Group activities
- Answering to the most recognised non-financial rating agencies, monitoring questionnaire evolutions and benchmarking of scores
- Organisation of specific ESG roadshows and meetings with investors, and close direct dialogue on sustainability issues with investors by email
- Formalised Use of Proceeds for Green Bond allocation, and formalised procedure for analysing, selecting and monitoring assets under the Green Bond instrument
- Regular back-testing of asset eligibility to Green Bond criteria and monitoring of green loan KPIs' performance levels.
- Reporting on green bond allocation and amount of green bonds allocated (monetary value)
- Scores of extra-financial ratings (GRESB, CDP, OEKOM, MSCI, Sustainalytics, FTSE4Good, Vigeo Eiris)
Obtain access to green financing instruments for asset development
Improve and demonstrate the environmental quality of assets (environmental certifications, carbon footprint, accessibility, etc.)
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Corporate Social Responsibility
Our sustainability strategy
Summary of associated policies | Associated main performance | |||
Themes | Risks | and actions plans | indicators (2019 results) | Opportunities |
Responsible Supply chain
- Contracting with service providers, suppliers or sub-contractors not complying with regulations or standards of their profession (e.g. fundamental human and labour rights) or having a negative CSR image/ performance
References:
2.3.2.3 Supply chain
management
2.2.2 Design sustainable buildings - Sustainable construction
2.2.2.3 Construction materials - A responsible supply chain
- Procedure for screening of business partners
- Group Code of Ethics applicable to all contractors
- Whistleblowing procedure made accessible to all contractors
- Onboarding process of main service providers on the Group's sustainability engagements
- Group purchasing conditions and standard contracts including environmental and social terms, such as complying with ILO conventions and local labour laws in Europe
- Group Considerate Construction Charter applicable for all development projects describing the Group's requirements and recommendations to optimise worksites' environmental quality
- For development projects, compliance of providers to professional standards ensured through the tender process, the contract documents, and the monitoring of compliance by the operations supervisor, with sanctions in case of non-compliance, according to severity (formal notice, penalties or dismissal)
- Policy to use timber from certified, sustainably managed forests with FSC or PEFC certification in development, extension and renovation projects.
- Direct information to all of the Group's main service providers on its Better Places 2030 CSR strategy, to kick-start an onboarding process
- Number and percentage of development projects that implement a considerate construction charter
Onboard stakeholders along the Group's value chain in its CSR strategy
- Controversies linked with tenant activity affecting the asset image
References:
2.3.3.2 Open dialogue with
tenants and visitors
2.3.4 Promote responsible consumption
2.3.2.2 Support local
entrepreneurship
2.2.3.3 Green leases and
tenant commitments
- Strengthen communication with tenants and visitors (e.g. sustainability meetings with tenants satisfaction surveys, etc.)
- Reflecting consumer trends in tenanting mix
- Support entrepreneurship and local/innovative concepts
- Participation in retail industry roundtables and conferences
- Signing voluntary and contractual agreements on sustainability issues with tenants.
- Percentage of Green Leases signed among new leases and active leases
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Corporate Social Responsibility
Our sustainability strategy
Summary of associated policies | Associated main performance | |||
Themes | Risks | and actions plans | indicators (2019 results) | Opportunities |
- Non-engagementof employees and employee turnover rate increase
References:
- Talent development and career management
- Training
2.4.1.4 Compensation and benefits
2.4.3 Inspiring our people
2.4.3.1 Employee commitments and CSR
6.2.2.3 B Recruitment, retention and succession risks
- Regular engagement surveys to design and implement regular action plans to make URW a great place to work
- Ambitious people-oriented policies on Work-life balance, Well-being, Diversity & Inclusion, Sustainable work environment ("Work Greener")
- Structured and comprehensive benefits policy (stock-options and performance shares, company saving plan, health plans) in line with
market practice - Monitoring continued attractiveness of compensation and benefit packages
- Global Talent Review process including yearly 360° feedback for all employees
- Providing permanent learning and development opportunities (e.g. URW academy learning platform, international mobility, cross- functional mobility).
- Turnover rate
- Percentage of employees that were promoted
- Percentage of employees who made a lateral career move
- Percentage of URW countries that implement employee wellbeing and Work Greener programmes
- Employee engagement rate in the Group URW volunteering programme
2.
Engage employees in the Group's strategy
Human Capital
- Lack of attractiveness for employees/loss of key competencies for the execution of the Group's strategy
References:
2.4.1.2 Training
2.4.1.1 Talent development and career management
6.2.2.3 B Recruitment, retention and succession risks
• Developing and supporting URW's | • Average number of training | ||
"employer brand" | hours per employee | ||
• Highly successful graduate programme | • | Employee recruitment rate | |
• Global Talent Review process including yearly | • | Percentage of employees | |
360° feedback for all employees | that conducted an | ||
• Global succession planning process | international mobility | ||
• Strong cooptation programme and partnering | assignment | Attract the best | |
with the best head-hunting firms to regularly | talents for the | ||
map best external talent | Company |
- Providing permanent learning and development opportunities (e.g. URW academy learning platform, international mobility, cross- functional mobility)
- Leadership & management programmes for high potentials.
- Lack of profile diversity (innovation, long-term management and decision-making)
References:
- Diversity & inclusion
- Training
2.4.1.4 Compensation and benefits
6.2.2.3 B Recruitment, retention and succession risks
- URW Equal Opportunity statement included in formalised HR policies relating to Recruitment practices, Compensation and Benefits, Talent Review, and Learning and Development
- Be You at URW network represented in all regions that focuses on Diversity & Inclusion
- Inclusive Leadership & Unconscious Bias training sessions delivered to managers and HR teams
- Development of international Group culture (e.g. international, mobility, cross-functional mobility, IGP programme)
- Group Code of Ethics and whistleblowing procedure with a zero tolerance principle for discrimination or harassment
- Disability awareness training offered to employees in some regions
• | Percentage of women in | |
employee headcount | ||
• | Proportion of senior | |
management level positions | ||
held by women | ||
• | Percentage of conversion of | |
apprenticeships to permanent | Diversify skills | |
contracts | and competency | |
profiles in the | ||
Company |
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Corporate Social Responsibility
Our sustainability strategy
Summary of associated policies | Associated main performance | |||
Themes | Risks | and actions plans | indicators (2019 results) | Opportunities |
Local acceptability
- Slowing local economic development and affecting local jobs
References:
2.3.1 Promoting community resilience
-
Socio-economic
impact - Support local
entrepreneurship
2.3.3 Engaging with local stakeholders
- Extensive public consultations held for all development and extension projects
- Community resilience action plan tool designed for all assets
- Building long-term partnerships with local stakeholders (residents, public authorities, and associations)
- Frequent measurement of the socio-economic impact of the Group assets
- URW for Jobs programme addressing employment in all locations where the Group operates
- Empowering entrepreneurship (e.g. participation to entrepreneurship networks, Grand Prix Commerce -Grand Prize Retail- organisation to support retail innovation and business creation)
- Local or national partnerships with NGOs to engage with communities.
- Number of people that integrated a job or a qualifying training certification through the URW for Jobs programme
- Percentage of Group employees that participate in the URW volunteering programme
- Total hosted jobs by the Group and its stakeholders (socio-economic footprint study)
- Amount of local taxes and social contributions paid by the Group by region
- Percentage of Flagship assets that had a partnership with a charity or NGO for at least 2 years
Create local jobs
Foster local economic development
Create social link
• Water, soil and air | • Soil decontamination when relevant during | • Monetary value of fines for | ||
pollution linked with the | works on development and existing sites | environmental breaches | ||
development and | • Group Considerate Construction Charter | (operations) (€) | ||
operation of assets | applicable to all new development, renovation | • Total number of non- | ||
References: | and extension projects with requirements to | monetary sanctions for | ||
minimise pollution for the contractors working | environmental breaches | |||
2.2.3.7 Health & Safety, | on site, the neighbouring area and the natural | (operations) | ||
security and environmental | environment | • Percentage of assets in | ||
risks and pollution | • Inspection and continuous maintenance and | operation that obtained an A | ||
2.2.2.1 Environmental | improvement of existing buildings and technical | or B annual score in their | ||
equipment liable to have an impact on the | Health & Safety and | |||
Management System (EMS) | ||||
environment or on personal safety (including air | Environmental third party risk | |||
- Sustainable construction | ||||
and water quality, soil and air pollution) | assessment | |||
• Annual third party audits of Health & safety risks | Contribute to | |||
conducted at asset level on the European | ||||
optimising the | ||||
portfolio and associated action plans. | ||||
Environmental | exploitation of | |||
• Not identifying/ | ||||
pollution | • Pre-acquisition due diligence process including | • Expenses in site | material flows in | |
controlling existing | environmental risks and soil pollution | decontamination (€) and | operations and | |
pollution in | • Soil decontamination for works on development | volumes of soil concerned | developments | |
development projects | and existing sites. | (m3) | ||
(remediation costs and | ||||
legal responsibility) |
References:
2.2.2.1 Environmental Management System (EMS)
- Pollution and environmental risk management
2.2.2.1. Environmental
Management System (EMS)
- Pollution Prevention
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Corporate Social Responsibility
Our sustainability strategy
Summary of associated policies | Associated main performance | |||
Themes | Risks | and actions plans | indicators (2019 results) | Opportunities |
Energy and greenhouse gases
• Limited availability and | • | Energy efficiency targets and energy | • Energy intensity per area or | ||
increase in prices of | management action plans planned in all standing | use (KWh/sqm and KWh/sqm | |||
fossil fuels | assets | DOCC) | |||
References: | • | Environmental management system to improve | • Carbon intensity linked with | ||
environmental performance of assets | energy consumption of | ||||
2.2.3.4 Energy management | • | Implementation of daily energy optimisation | standing assets (Scope 1 & 2 | 2. | |
2.2.1.2. Carbon assessment | actions | emissions) per area or use | |||
• | Investments in energy efficient equipment when | (kgCO2eq/sqm and gCO2eq/ | |||
- Focus on Scope 1 and 2 | |||||
replacing existing facilities (e.g. LED lighting | sqm DOCC) | ||||
emissions from the | Improve energy | ||||
technology roll-out) | |||||
operation of buildings | efficiency and | ||||
• Shift towards green electricity supply for all | |||||
develop | |||||
2.2.3.3 Green leases and | assets | ||||
renewable | |||||
tenant commitments | • | Development of on-site renewable energy | |||
energy use | |||||
2.2.3.1 Environmental | production capacity | ||||
• | Life cycle assessments of development projects | ||||
Management System (EMS) | |||||
to reduce amount of materials used and their | |||||
- EMS for existing assets | |||||
carbon footprint | |||||
2.2.2.1 Environmental | • | Engaging with stakeholders to improve energy | |||
Management System (EMS) | efficiency and source renewable energy: tenants | ||||
- Energy & Carbon | and suppliers (e.g. green leases, PPA contracts, | ||||
2.2.2.3 Construction | and energy performance contracts with | ||||
maintenance providers). | |||||
materials | |||||
• Increased regulation on | • | Energy efficiency targets and energy | • Energy intensity per area or | ||
building energy | management action plans planned in all standing | use (KWh/sqm and KWh/sqm | |||
efficiency | assets | DOCC) | |||
References: | • | Environmental management system to improve | • Financial impact resulting | ||
environmental performance of assets | from variations in energy | ||||
2.2.3.4 Energy management | • | Implementation of daily energy optimisation | consumption (€) | ||
2.2.3.3 Green leases and | actions | • Percentage of Green Leases | Increase | ||
• | Investments in energy efficient equipment when | signed among new leases and | |||
tenant commitments | operational | ||||
replacing existing facilities (e.g. LED lighting | active leases | ||||
efficiency | |||||
2.2.3.1 Environmental | technology roll-out) | ||||
through improved | |||||
Management System (EMS) | • | Engaging with stakeholders to improve energy | |||
energy efficiency | |||||
- EMS for existing assets | efficiency: tenants and service providers (e.g. | ||||
2.2.2.1 Environmental | green leases, and energy performance contracts |
with maintenance providers). | |
Management System (EMS) | |
- Energy & Carbon | |
2.3.2.3 Supply chain | |
management |
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Corporate Social Responsibility
Our sustainability strategy
Summary of associated policies | Associated main performance | |||
Themes | Risks | and actions plans | indicators (2019 results) | Opportunities |
- Lack of resources or ownership for managing CSR risks and CSR strategy
References:
- Inspiring our people
- Governance and CSR 2.1.4.4 External assurance
Governance 2.2.2.2 Environmental certifications of buildings under development
2.2.3.2 Environmental certifications of buildings during the operation phase
- CSR agenda defined and overviewed at the highest governance level (Group CEO and the Senior Management Team)
- Integration of the CSR agenda in core business processes: due diligence process, environmental management system for both development projects and existing assets, CSR information integrated in asset budget reviews, CSR objectives set for all employees in the assessment process of individual performance, CSR training module rolled-out to all employees
- Alignment of initiatives, action plans and targets with the CSR programme in all departments (leasing, HR, development, operations, etc.)
- Dedicated CSR team responsible for overseeing and supporting the implementation of the Group CSR strategy
- Specific Group CSR governance with committees involving top management and operational managers in all business lines
- Effective implementation verified through external audits and certification schemes.
- Percentage of Group employees with annual CSR individual objectives
Enhance our reputation as a trustful and responsible partner and seize CSR opportunities
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2.1.3 PRIORITIES OF THE GROUP CSR STRATEGY
2.1.3.1 BETTER PLACES 2030
Since 2007, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield has defined an ambitious Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy in continental Europe. Between 2006 and 2015, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield had already achieved a cumulative reduction of 33.8% of its energy intensity and 65.1% of its carbon intensity. In 2016, the Group took up a new long- term challenge in continental Europe, with its Better Places 2030 programme, structured around one main target: to reduce the Group's carbon footprint by -50% by 2030 (vs. 2015). In doing so, the Group was the first listed real estate company to incorporate CSR in its entire value chain and address the wide scope of indirect carbon emissions resulting from construction works, transportation of visitors and employees, and energy consumption by tenants.
As part of URW's global integration agenda, the Group's CSR strategy, Better Places 2030, was extended to all regions of the Group in 2019.
Better Places 2030 rests on three pillars as outlined below:
Corporate Social Responsibility
Our sustainability strategy
While URW's ambition to halve its carbon footprint remains central, Better Places 2030 now also tackles new environmental challenges like responsible consumption and the circular economy. CSR also becomes the cornerstone of URW's human resources strategy, as the Group is increasing its commitment to diversity and inclusion.
A renewed CSR governance was set up to integrate the European and
US platforms (presented in Section 2.1.5.2 Governance of CSR and 2. the Better Places 2030 programme), and CSR-related risks have been
included into the Group Risk Management Framework.
Better Places 2030 builds on the conclusions of the materiality analysis, market trends to 2030 and the analysis of CSR risks. It addresses the main challenges facing commercial real estate: moving towards a low-carbon economy and sustainable mobility, fully integrating the Group's business activities within local communities, and empowering teams on sustainability and diversity.
CUT CARBON EMISSIONS ACROSS | BE A CATALYST FOR GROWTH | EMPOWER OUR PEOPLE TO BECOME |
WITHIN THE COMMUNITIES IN | SUSTAINABILITY & DIVERSITY | |
OUR VALUE CHAIN BY -50% | ||
WHICH WE OPERATE | CHANGE-MAKERS | |
-50% | 100% | 100% |
CARBON EMISSIONS ACROSS OUR | OF OWNED & MANAGED ASSETS | GROUP EMPLOYEES WITH YEARLY |
VALUE CHAIN BY 2030 | WITH A COMMUNITY RESILIENCE | INDIVIDUAL CSR OBJECTIVES |
ACTION PLAN BY 2020 | BY 2020 |
In order to lead this transformation, Better Places 2030 rests on a detailed and actionable set of targets presented with 2019 performance in 2.1.4.1 Summary of the Group's CSR performance.
Better Places 2030 and its associated performance has been recognised by key non-financial rating agencies, which rank the Group among the most sustainable companies in commercial real estate (see Section 2.1.4.2 Results of non-financial ratings and indices).
Universal Registration Document 2019 / UNIBAIL-RODAMCO-WESTFIELD | 49 |
Corporate Social Responsibility
Our sustainability strategy
Better Places 2030 contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as outlined below:
CONTRIBUTION OF BETTER PLACES 2030 TO THE UNITED NATIONS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGs)
Pillars | Ambitions | SDGs | ||||||
Design sustainable buildings | ||||||||
Minimise the environmental impact through innovative design and | ||||||||
construction | ||||||||
BETTER SPACES
Cut carbon emissions across our value chain by -50%
Improve eco-efficiency
Collaborate with our tenants and contractors for efficient resource use
Develop connectivity & sustainable mobility
Ensure access to public transport and sustainable mobility
Integrate nature & biodiversity
Contribute to greener cities by protecting biodiversity
Expand local economies | |||||
Foster sustainable local economic development | |||||
BETTER COMMUNITIES | Engage with local stakeholders | ||||
Be a catalyst for growth | Support local partners | ||||
within the communities | |||||
in which we operate | |||||
Promote responsible consumption | |||||
Promote healthier and more responsible consumption | |||||
Bring together | |||||
Promote diversity and inclusion throughout the organisation | |||||
BETTER TOGETHER | |||||
Empower | |||||
Empower our people to | Develop and train talent | ||||
become sustainability & | |||||
diversity change- | |||||
makers | |||||
Inspire | |||||
Make CSR core to our corporate culture | |||||
50 Universal Registration Document 2019 / UNIBAIL-RODAMCO-WESTFIELD
Corporate Social Responsibility
Our sustainability strategy
2.1.3.2 BETTER EVENTS 2030 - VIPARIS CSR STRATEGY
Viparis is a real estate venues and services company owned jointly with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Paris Île-de-France (CCIR) and which is fully consolidated by URW. This activity is exclusively located in France.
With 10 million visitors annually, 800 events and 9 sites, Viparis integrates sustainable development in its values and strategy. This commitment is acknowledged in its ISO 20121 certification, the leading international standard for the events sector, which is enforced at all its sites since 2014. In 2017, in line with the Better Places 2030 programme, Viparis decided to step up its CSR policy by launching its "Better Events Viparis 2030" strategic plan. This CSR policy outlines Viparis's major issues and commitments for the coming years and revolves around four key themes:
- A reduced environmental footprint: with a target of cutting Viparis's carbon footprint by 50% compared to 2016;
- Better mobility: Viparis is dedicated to working with its partners to boost the accessibility of its sites via sustainable transport
means and optimise the logistics flows related to its business; | 2. |
3. Sustainable partners: Viparis teams up with all the players in its |
value chain to fully integrate its activities into the local communities;
4. Collective involvement: Viparis's CSR initiative engages all employees.
With this ambition, Viparis aims, as an industry leader, to play a key role in transforming industry practices to achieve greater sustainability. The Viparis CSR policy is set out in a dedicated document, available in Viparis' website's sustainable development section: www.viparis.com.
Universal Registration Document 2019 / UNIBAIL-RODAMCO-WESTFIELD | 51 |
Corporate Social Responsibility
Our sustainability strategy
2.1.4 SUMMARY OF THE GROUP'S CSR ACHIEVEMENTS
2.1.4.1 SUMMARY OF THE GROUP'S CSR PERFORMANCE
- BETTER PLACES 2030
Note: this paragraph only includes the main targets of Better Places 2030. The sub-targets tied to the operational roll-out and progress against them are described in the next Sections (2.2 Better Spaces, 2.3 Better Communities and 2.4 Better Together).
Pillar 1 | Better Spaces | |
Target | Performance | |||||||
Cut carbon emissions across our | (tCO₂eq - % variation vs | |||||||
value chain by -50% by 2030. | baseline) | |||||||
2015 | ||||||||
5,058,363 | ||||||||
Baseline | ||||||||
2019(1) | 4,399,469 | -13% | ||||||
2030 | ||||||||
2,529,182 | -50% | |||||||
Target | ||||||||
(1) 2019 value is calculated on 2015 | ||||||||
comparable activity units. | ||||||||
NEW | ||||||||
100% development projects to | Several circular economy projects | |||||||
integrate a circular economy design | have been launched over the past | |||||||
solution by 2025. | few years, and the topic has been | |||||||
included in the new sustainability | ||||||||
brief for development projects to | ||||||||
scale it up across all development | ||||||||
projects. |
Target | Performance | ||||||||
Reduce emissions from | (kgCO₂eq/sqm - % variation vs | ||||||||
construction by -35% by 2030. | baseline) | ||||||||
2015 | |||||||||
850 - EU | |||||||||
Baseline | 1,294 - US | ||||||||
2019 | 806 - EU | -5% | |||||||
1,294 - US | 0% | ||||||||
2030 | 553 - EU | -35% | |||||||
Target | 841 - US | -35% | |||||||
NEW | |||||||||
100% development projects to | The requirement to study | ||||||||
include long-term climate risks, | long-term climate change impacts | ||||||||
while minimising resource use and | has been included in the | ||||||||
maintaining user comfort by 2025. | sustainability brief to be used by all | ||||||||
development projects. Several |
projects have already launched relevant studies in 2019.
Reduce emissions from operations | (kgCO₂eq /sqm - % variation | |||||
by -80% by 2030. | vs baseline) | |||||
2015 | ||||||
95 | ||||||
Baseline | ||||||
2019 | 76 | -20.5% | ||||
2030 | ||||||
19 | -80% | |||||
Target | ||||||
NEW
Improve the energy efficiency of our assets by 30% by 2030.
(kWh/sqm - % variation vs baseline)
2015 | 184 | ||
Baseline | |||
2018 | 183 | -0.8% | |
2019 | 178 | -3.3% | |
2030 | |||
129 | -30% | ||
Target | |||
NEW
Multiply the installed capacity of on-site renewable energy fivefold by 2025.
(MW - Capacity multiplier vs baseline)
2015 | 1.37 | |||
Baseline | ||||
2019 | 7.84 | x5.7 | ||
2025 | ||||
6.86 | x5.0 | |||
Target | ||||
NEW
100% of our assets to include a | Based on the Group risk |
climate change risk plan by 2022. | assessment of long-term climate |
change risks delivered in 2019, the | |
Group will work on adaptation plans | |
for its standing assets. |
52 Universal Registration Document 2019 / UNIBAIL-RODAMCO-WESTFIELD
Target
NEW
Aim to send zero waste to landfill by 2025.
NEW
50% of visitors to access Group assets by sustainable means of transport by 2030.
NEW
Develop a Group biodiversity strategy by 2020.
Performance
(Metric tonnes - % of total waste)
2018 | 53,506 | 37% |
2019 | 52,025 | 37% |
2025 | ||
1 | 0% | |
Target | 0 | |
(% of visitors)
2018 | 36% | |||
2019 | 38% | |||
2030 | 50% | |||
Target | ||||
- Electric vehicles are included in sustainable transport means for 2019 US figures only
The Group biodiversity strategy will be published in 2020 based on returns of experiences from initiatives led for the last few years, external experts and best practices.
Corporate Social Responsibility
Our sustainability strategy
Target | Performance | 2. | ||||
Reduce emissions from transport | (kgCO₂eq/visit - % variation | |||||
by -40% by 2030. | vs baseline) | |||||
2015 | ||||||
3.0 | ||||||
Baseline | ||||||
2019 | 2.8 | -7.7% | ||||
2030 | ||||||
1.8 | -40% | |||||
Target | ||||||
100% development projects | (% of projects) | ||
significantly connected to public | |||
transport solutions by 2025. | |||
2019 | 100% | ||
2025 | |||
Target | 100% |
NEW
100% standing assets with high | The new biodiversity strategy will |
biodiversity stakes to implement | be published in 2020. For standing |
a biodiversity action plan by 2022. | assets, biodiversity action plans |
will be created by assets with | |
high biodiversity stakes in order | |
to reinforce existing initiatives. |
NEW
100% development projects to | In 2019, the Group engaged |
implement a biodiversity action | several biodiversity studies on |
plan by 2022. | development projects under |
BREEAM certification. Biodiversity | |
has already been included in the | |
new sustainability brief for | |
development projects. |
Universal Registration Document 2019 / UNIBAIL-RODAMCO-WESTFIELD | 53 |
Corporate Social Responsibility
Our sustainability strategy
Pillar 2 | Better Communities | |
Target
NEW
100% of owned & managed assets with a community resilience action plan by 2020.
Performance
In 2019, the methodology and tools were designed to help the Group's assets implement their Community Resilience Action plans.
Target
NEW
100% of Flagship assets to support local entrepreneurship through commercial partnerships and regional networks by 2020
Performance
The Grand Prize Retail was conducted for the 13th time in France and initiated in Spain, while local initiatives such as
"L' Ouvre-Boite" or La Place Ephémère" enabled retail entrepreneurs to conduct customer facing tests and develop their activities.
1,000 people to integrate a job or a qualifying training certification through the URW for Jobs programme by 2020.
(Number of people)
2018 | 551 | |||
2019 | 758 | |||
2020 | 1,000 | |||
Target | ||||
NEW | (2019 - % Flagships) |
100% of Flagship assets to support | |
at least one local charity or | |
NGO-sponsoredlong-term project | |
(>2 years) by 2022. | |
34% |
NEW
Collaborate with tenants to | New sustainable brands (produced |
increase transparency of brands on | locally, produced without toxic |
health and sustainability, and to | chemicals, organic etc.) were |
expand healthy and sustainable | integrated in the portfolio, while a |
alternatives in 100% of Flagship | concrete action plan has been |
assets by 2025. | defined to collaborate with |
retailers. |
NEW
100% of Flagship assets support | Sustainability and responsible |
and promote at least one | consumption initiatives were |
sustainable consumption initiative | integrated in the 2020 marketing |
by 2022. | roadmap of each asset. |
54 Universal Registration Document 2019 / UNIBAIL-RODAMCO-WESTFIELD
Corporate Social Responsibility
Our sustainability strategy
Pillar 3 | Better Together | |
2.
Target | Performance |
100% of Group employees with | (% of employees) |
yearly individual CSR objectives | |
by 2020. |
64%
NEW
Improve employee engagement on | In 2019, 169 employees participated |
Diversity & Inclusion. | in Unconscious Bias training and |
URW launched the Group's Gender | |
Equality Action Plan. In 2020, | |
URW will introduce a new Group | |
Diversity & Inclusion Framework. |
NEW
Target | Performance |
NEW | (2019 - % regions ensuring |
full equal opportunities) | |
Ensure full equal opportunities | |
(e.g. gender, nationality, | |
sexual orientation) in HR | |
processes in 2019. | 100% |
NEW
Develop and roll-outGroup-wide | In 2019, foundations have been laid |
leadership & management | to redesign the Group senior |
programmes integrating | leadership programme integrating |
CSR by 2022. | CSR in 2020. |
(% of employees)
100% of Group employees to have participated in CSR training by 2022.
In 2019, the CSR ambition and related action plan were systematically introduced to newcomers in the "URW Fundamentals" training. In addition, dedicated technical trainings are offered to all relevant staff members including, for example, carbon footprint assessment methodology for development projects. URW has committed to train 100% of employees on CSR by 2022.
100% of Group employees take part in the URW Volunteering Programme annually by 2020.
84%
(% of countries) | |
NEW |
100% of our countries to implement Work Greener and employee well-being programmes by 2020.
100%
Universal Registration Document 2019 / UNIBAIL-RODAMCO-WESTFIELD | 55 |
Corporate Social Responsibility
Our sustainability strategy
- BETTER EVENTS 2030
- REDUCED ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT
BETTER MOBILITY
TargetPerformance
Target
Performance
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
20% reduction in the energy consumption in 2019 compared to 2014
(KWh/m2 DOCC - % variation vs baseline)
2014 | ||||
1.73 | ||||
Baseline | ||||
2018 | ||||
1.61 | -7.2 % | |||
2019 | 1.51 | -12.9 % | ||
100% OF SITES ACCESSIBLE BY SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT MEANS
Cartography of mobility solutions to reach the venues
Accessibility
diagnosis made for 100% of the venues
WASTE RECOVERY RATE | (2019 - % recycled) |
70% recycling rate in 2030 on the perimeter managed by Viparis
22%
ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE | Pavilion 6 at Paris |
OF NEW DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS | |
-35% in the carbon footprint | Expo Porte de |
from the construction of new | Versailles: |
development projects in 2030 | |
compared to 2016: | 3,076 kgCO2eq/m |
(kgCO eq/m2 constructed) | |
Definition of the threshold value | 2(1) |
2 | |
FIGHT AGAINST FOOD WASTE | (2019 - % catering partners |
0 food waste by 2020 | and food outlet |
concessionaires with a solution | |
to redistribute consumable | |
food products) | |
100% |
COMPLIANCE BY 100% OF OUR | 0 |
SITES WITH VIPARIS | |
BIODIVERSITY CHARTER | |
Assessment and action plans | PHYTO - |
Avoidance of phytosanitary | sanitary products |
definition at asset level | |
products. |
(1) Floor Area.
56 Universal Registration Document 2019 / UNIBAIL-RODAMCO-WESTFIELD
80% OF VISITORS ARRIVING VIA | (2019 - % Visitors) |
SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT MEANS | |
Survey on sustainable means of | |
transport used by visitors on 3 | 75% |
major venues | |
SUSTAINABLE LOGISTICAL PLANS | New logistics |
CUSTOMERS PROVIDED WITH | |
service offer at | |
Palais des Congrès | |
de Paris: transport | |
flow optimisation | |
and pooling |
Corporate Social Responsibility
Our sustainability strategy
SUSTAINABLE PARTNERS
COLLECTIVE INVOLVEMENT
Target
RESPONSIBLE PURCHASING POLICY
100% of tenders from the purchasing department include CSR criteria
75% of suppliers are assessed on CSR criteria
Performance
(2019 - % tenders with CSR criteria)
100%
(2019 - % suppliers assessed on CSR criteria)
Target | Performance | 2. |
100% OF NEW EMPLOYEES GIVEN | (2019 - % employees) | |
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT |
TRAINING
100%
100% OF EMPLOYEES GIVEN A | (2019 - % employees) |
CSR-RELATED YEARLY OBJECTIVE |
65% | |
100% OF OUR SITES ENGAGED | 13 |
IN A PARTNERSHIP WITH A | |
VALUE-CREATINGNON-PROFIT | partnerships with associations, |
schools, artists…on all venues | |
ORGANISATION AND IN AN | |
10 | |
ENVIRONMENTALLY-FRIENDLY | |
INNOVATION | |
innovations implemented | |
1 innovation and 1 | on 7 venues |
partnership/venue |
92%
100% OF EMPLOYEES INVOLVED IN | (2019 - % employees) |
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT | |
EFFORTS | |
Institutionalisation of CSR | 50% |
schemes | |
100% OF OUR CUSTOMERS MADE | |
AWARE OF HOW TO ORGANISE | Validation of this new |
ENVIRONMENTALLY-RESPONSIBLE | |
offer perimeter | |
EVENTS | |
Definition of the | Green lease signed with |
eco-responsible new offer | |
Les Boutiques du Palais | |
100% OF EMPLOYEES WITH ACCESS TO A LOW-IMPACT MEAN OF TRANSPORT
Carbon offsetting launch
6,842 KM
travelled with the
3 electric cars available on
3 major venues
220 Tons
of carbon offsetting
1,540
planted trees
100% OF EMPLOYEES CARRYING OUT ECO-GESTURES
Common waste bins set-up
& individual waste bins removal
Gourds distribution to 100% of
employees & plastic water
bottles removal
Universal Registration Document 2019 / UNIBAIL-RODAMCO-WESTFIELD | 57 |
Corporate Social Responsibility
Our sustainability strategy
2.1.4.2 RESULTS OF NON-FINANCIAL RATINGS AND INDICES
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield again features in recognised extra- financial (ESG) performance indices. The Group's strong ESG ratings and assessments, for the first time as a combined Group in all assessments, confirm and strengthen its position as an ESG leader in the industry in 2019.
- NON-FINANCIALEVALUATIONS
The Group's ESG assessments by extra-financial rating agencies were updated in 2019:
-
GRESB (Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark): In 2019, the Group increased its overall score and received a 'Green Star' recognition for the ninth year in a row, with a rating of five stars (highest performance level). Unibail-Rodamco-Westfieldranked:
◦◦ First among all listed retail real estate companies Worldwide ("Global Sector Leader"),
◦◦ First among all listed European retail real estate companies ('Regional Sector Leader'),
◦◦ Second among all listed European real estate companies; - CDP: Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield was highlighted as a global leader on corporate climate action by global environmental impact non- profit CDP:
◦◦ Achieving a place on the CDP Climate Change A List (score on a scale of A to D-) in 2019 for the second year in a row,
◦◦ Being awarded a position on the Supplier Engagement Leaderboard recognising the Group as a global leader for engaging with its suppliers on climate change (more details in Section 2.3.2.3 Supply chain management); - MCSI ESG ratings: in 2019 and for the sixth year in a row, Unibail- Rodamco-Westfield obtained the highest rating of AAA (on a scale of AAA to CCC) in the MSCI ESG ratings assessment;
- ISS ESG Corporate rating: Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield was rated C+ and received again the Prime status awarded through this score. URW was also integrated in the 1st Decile Rank, indicating its performance relative to industry group;
- VigeoEiris: in 2019, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield was ranked as "Top performer" for Europe in the 2019 Real Estate ESG Sector Report ESG available on www.vigeo-eiris.com;
- Standard Ethics: for the first time in 2019, Unibail-Rodamco- Westfield was rated by Standard Ethics, an independent sustainability rating agency aiming to promote sustainability and governance standard principles from the European Union, the OECD and the United Nations, and obtained an EEE- 'Excellent' grade (on a scale of EEE to F).
- NON-FINANCIALINDICES
In 2019, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield again features in a number of renowned SRI indices, including:
- Euronext Vigeo indices: World 120, Europe 120, Eurozone 120, and France 20 (since 2013, reconfirmed in December 2019);
- the FTSE4Good Index series (since 2005, updated FTSE4Good Index Review in June 2019);
- the Ethibel Sustainability Index (ESI) Excellence Europe and the Ethibel Sustainability Index (ESI) Excellence Global (since 2011, and reconfirmed with effect from September 16, 2019);
- the list of "Top 10 Performers" of the CAC 40® Governance index (since the creation of the index in 2017, renewed in December 2019);
- ECPI® indices: ECPI Global Eco Real Estate & Building Liquid, ECPI World ESG Equity, ECPI Euro ESG Equity, ECPI Global Ethical Equity, ECPI EMU Ethical Equity, and ECPI Euro Ethical Equity.
58 Universal Registration Document 2019 / UNIBAIL-RODAMCO-WESTFIELD
2.1.4.3 ALIGNMENT WITH CSR REPORTING STANDARDS AND FRAMEWORKS
Since 2018, the Group issues its non-financial statement (French Déclaration de Performance extra-financière - DPEF), in compliance with the transposition into French law (via decree no. 2017-1265 of August 9, 2017) of the European directive of October 22, 2014 related to the disclosure of non-financial information, which determines the content and scope of application of the new CSR reporting system in place of the Grenelle 2 system.
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield'snon-financial statement consists mainly of the present Chapter 2 "Corporate Social Responsibility", completed with elements in Chapters 1 and 6 (business model and business ethics policies). Detailed components of the Non-financial statement as required by the regulation are presented in a correspondence table in Section 8.6.3. Cross reference table of the management report.
Since 2018, the Group ensures its alignment with the new industry guidelines for reporting non-financial information, updated by the French National Council of Shopping Centres (CNCC) the same year to ensure that the reporting done by commercial real estate companies complies with the new regulatory requirements on non-financial disclosure and is comparable from one company to another.
The 2019 Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield Universal Registration Document also complies with the Best Practices Recommendations on Sustainability Reporting (sBPR) established by EPRA (European Public Real Estate Association). For the eighth time in a row, Unibail- Rodamco-Westfield received the EPRA Gold Award in 2019 for completing its 2018 reporting in accordance with the EPRA Sustainability BPR.
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, which was a pioneer in 2013 for following the new GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) guidelines, has continued to comply with the updated versions of these standards. In 2016, the Group published its reporting in line with the GRI G4 framework 'core approach', and it began to comply with the new GRI Standards, which were published in October 2016, as early as in 2017.
Corporate Social Responsibility
Our sustainability strategy
The 2019 Group's non-financial statement is in line with the recommendations of the Task force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).
Cross-references tables with EPRA and GRI indicators as well as with | |
the TCFD's core elements of climate-related financial disclosures are | |
available in the CSR section of the Group's website. | 2. |
The Group's Better Places 2030 CSR strategy is furthermore aligned |
with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: its contributions to the SDGs is detailed in Section 2.1.3 Priorities of the Group CSR strategy.
2.1.4.4 EXTERNAL ASSURANCE
In compliance with the applicable regulation on the disclosure of non-financial information (see Section 2.1.4.3 Alignment with CSR reporting standards and frameworks), the data and key performance indicators of the Group's non-financial statement are audited by an independent third party verifier: see assurance report in Section
2.6.2 Independent third party's report on consolidated non-financial statement for details on scope of review and assurance conclusions.
In 2019, the audit included a comprehensive on-site review of the data reported by a sample of nine assets representative of the Group's portfolio: Westfield Forum des Halles, Le Bourget, Wroclavia, Westfield Chodov, Donau Zentrum, Westfield Stratford City, Westfield San Francisco Centre, Westfield Galleria at Roseville, and Westfield Santa Anita. The indicators were audited with a limited level of assurance. A list of the indicators audited can be found in the auditor's report (Section 2.6.2 Independent third party's report on consolidated non-financial statement).
The auditor was also commissioned to carry out an audit on the annual reporting for the Green Bonds issued by the Group. This audit consists of verifying the compliance of funded assets with the set of eligibility criteria, concerning both their development and operation phases, which are defined in the Green Bonds Use of Proceeds (see Section 2.5.2 Green Bonds). The detailed reporting and assurance report are disclosed in Section 2.5.2 Green Bonds.
2.1.5 GOVERNANCE AND CSR
2.1.5.1 ETHICS AND INTEGRITY
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield's corporate governance, ethical conduct and risk management policies provide the necessary stability and reliability required for sustainable growth and performance. As a signatory to the UN Global Compact since 2004, the goal of which is to promote corporate social responsibility, the Group is committed to adopting, upholding and enacting within its sphere of influence the ten universally recognised principles relating to human rights, labour laws, environmental protection and anti-corruption. Unibail- Rodamco-Westfield's governance structure is presented in Chapter 3 Corporate governance and remuneration. The Unibail-Rodamco- Westfield Compliance policy, Code of Ethics and Anti-corruption programme are presented in Section 3.4.1 Ethics and Compliance within URW Group.
Universal Registration Document 2019 / UNIBAIL-RODAMCO-WESTFIELD | 59 |
Corporate Social Responsibility
Our sustainability strategy
2.1.5.2 GOVERNANCE OF CSR AND THE BETTER PLACES 2030 PROGRAMME
The CSR governance and the Better Places 2030 programme have been built around two priorities:
- monitoring CSR performance by ensuring that the objectives of the Better Places 2030 programme are fully integrated into the Group's business and decision-making processes;
- engaging all stakeholders and employees of the Group in order to collectively achieve the objectives of the Better Places 2030 programme.
As a key topic of Better Places 2030, climate change is fully integrated in the CSR governance described hereafter.
The Senior Management Team (SMT) acts as the Group CSR Steering Committee by defining the strategy, arbitrating and monitoring the implementation of the CSR programme. It reports on progress and results to the Supervisory Board. The SMT is chaired by the Group CEO.
The CSR workstreams are organised around the key functions in the organisation:
- Sustainable Building Development US and EU workstreams gathering key decision makers from the Design, Development and Construction teams in each continental platform;
- Sustainable Operations US and EU workstreams gathering key decision makers for standing assets such as Shopping Centre Management, Leasing, Marketing, and Technical Teams in each continental platform;
- Sustainable Workplace and Culture involving key HR decision makers at Group level.
OVERVIEW OF UNIBAIL-RODAMCO-WESTFIELD CSR GOVERNANCE IN 2019
The CSR workstreams address the relevant Better Places 2030 targets in their scope of work to ensure operational implementation of the programme. The CSR workstreams are chaired by Directors in charge of the departments involved to ensure efficient decision making and transcription into actions.
CSR local correspondents are in charge of coordinating the implementation of Better Places 2030 at country level, in relationship with the CSR Workstreams and the SMT, sharing local best practices, following country CSR performance and updating country management team.
A dedicated CSR team is responsible for overseeing and supporting the implementation of the Group's CSR strategy. This team coordinates the CSR strategy across the organisation, develops tools and methodologies, supports and trains the regional teams, identifies and shares best practices, and measures CSR performance to regularly report on results and progress achieved. The team is led by Julie Villet, Group Director of URW Lab & CSR, steered by Clément Jeannin, Group Director of CSR, and overseen by Astrid Panosyan(1), Member of the Senior Management Team and Group Chief Resources Officer.
SUPERVISORY BOARD
SENIOR MANAGEMENT TEAM | ||||||||
GROUP CSR TEAM | Acting as CSR Steering Committee | |||||||
CSR WORKSTREAMS | ||||||||
EU | Sustainable | Sustainable | ||||||
Building | ||||||||
Operations | ||||||||
Development | Sustainable | |||||||
Workplace and | ||||||||
Sustainable | Sustainable | culture | ||||||
Building | ||||||||
US | Operations | |||||||
Development | ||||||||
CSR LOCAL CORRESPONDENTS
in each country
- 1 CSR meeting per year
- CSR integrated in Business Updates throughout the year
- 2 to 4 CSR SMT meetings per year
- Quarterly meetings
- Calls every 2 months
- 1 annual meeting
(1) Reports directly to the Chairman of the Management Board.
60 Universal Registration Document 2019 / UNIBAIL-RODAMCO-WESTFIELD
Corporate Social Responsibility
Our sustainability strategy
2.1.5.3 INTEGRATION WITHIN CORE PROCESSES
The CSR approach is fully embedded into the key processes of Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, in line with the Company's strategic priorities and operational concerns. Relevant management processes have been set up at each stage of the business cycle, along with appropriate key performance indicators. For example:
- the Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield due diligence process for asset acquisitions includes a complete audit of technical, regulatory, environmental and health and safety risks, including soil contamination;
- the Group Enterprise Risk Management framework (ERM) includes climate change and CSR risks: identified among the main risk factors, they are integrated in the risk management programme overviewed by the Group risk committee, which reports regularly to the Group Management Board and Supervisory Board (see Section 6.1.2 Group Enterprise Risk Management Framework for more details);
- development projects are regularly reviewed in light of Better Places 2030 targets in order to deliver the highest standards;
- managed assets have an environmental action plan, with annual performance reviews;
- the Internal Audit Department conducts regular assessments of the management and compliance processes in accordance with the rules set by Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield within each business unit;
- recruitment and career development procedures ensure the promotion of diversity & inclusion, and provide Unibail-Rodamco- Westfield employees with the skills and opportunities required to build attractive careers;
- the training path of new joiners as well as individual objectives of Group employees (please refer to Section 2.4.3 Inspiring our people for more details);
- the Short Term Incentive plan of the Group Senior Management Team, Group top management teams, and management teams of the countries in which Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield operates in continental Europe, as well as the Long Term Incentive plan of all eligible Group employees (see Section 2.4.3.1 Employee commitments and CSR for more details);
- decision-makingprocesses incorporate CSR performance indicators in line with the Better Places 2030 programme. Since 2017, annual budget reviews performed on assets, either when selecting investments in the standing portfolio, keeping track of development projects or making new property investment decisions, include criteria such as energy efficiency, carbon footprint and sustainable mobility.
2.1.5.4 RELATIONS WITH INVESTORS AND PROFESSIONAL ORGANISATIONS
- RELATIONS WITH INVESTORS
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield reports to investors on its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy and achievements via regular publications to investors (annual results, periodical publications and
newsletters), via written answers to direct information requests and 2. to questionnaires sent by non-financial ratings agencies, and by
holding and taking part in dedicated meetings or exchanges on sustainable development (SRI meetings, one-to-one meetings, SRI roadshows and Investor Days). In 2019, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield took part in meetings with investors focusing on ESG matters, essentially on a face-to-face basis during conferences or direct discussions. These meetings also enable Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield to learn more on key areas of interest for investors on ESG topics. The Group's position in the various ESG indices and evaluations is outlined in Sections 2.1.4.2 Results of non-financial ratings and indices.
- RELATIONS WITH PROFESSIONAL ORGANISATIONS
As one of the leading listed commercial real estate companies worldwide, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield has the responsibility to encourage the industry as a whole to adopt more sustainable practices. Within the European Public Real Estate Association (EPRA), Unibail- Rodamco-Westfield has made a significant contribution to the definition and the update of consistent, shared KPIs for the industry. Christophe Cuvillier, Group CEO, has been a member of the EPRA Board of Directors in 2019 and the Group is a member of the EPRA Sustainability Committee. The mission of the EPRA Sustainability Committee is to "support the publicly listed real estate sector, through the EPRA platform, in playing its part in the global transition to an environmentally, socially and economically sustainable economy". URW is also a member of the PropTech and Innovation, Investor Relations, Reporting & Accounting, as well as Regulation & Taxation Committees. At Group level, Unibail- Rodamco-Westfield is also a member of the EU Public Affairs Committee (EPAC) and the sustainability group of the International Council of Shopping Centres (ICSC).
At regional or country level, the Group is a member of professional organisations such as, in France, the French Council of Shopping Centres (CNCC) and its sustainability Group. Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield is also a member of the French Association of Private Businesses (AFEP), FSIF (Fédération des Sociétés Immobilières et Foncières).
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2.2 BETTER SPACES
2.2.1 ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE
2.2.1.1 CLIMATE CHANGE STRATEGY
As part of its CSR strategy, Better Places 2030, the Group commits to cutting carbon emissions across its value chain by -50% between 2015 and 2030. This strong commitment marked a first in the listed commercial property industry by covering such a comprehensive part of the Group's Scope 3 emissions:
- greenhouse gas emissions generated in the construction of its development projects;
- greenhouse gas emissions due to the private energy consumption of its tenants;
- and finally, emissions due to travel by building occupants and especially visitors to the Group shopping centres.
The Group's carbon target between 2015 and 2030 breaks down into the following three complementary objectives:
- Reduce emissions from construction by -35% by 2030;
- Reduce emissions from operations by -80% by 2030;
- Reduce emissions from transport by -40% by 2030.
The carbon reduction targets of the Group on operations and transport have been updated in 2019 to ensure feasibility in the context of the new Group, now operating in the UK and US.
In 2019, with the support of independent experts, the Group was able to verify that its strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is in line with the mitigation efforts necessary to keep global warming below 2°C. This modelling work was based on the SBTi absolute approach using the IPCC's 5th Amendment Report emissions pathway.
The Group's CSR strategy illustrates its willingness to commit 100% of its standing assets and new development projects to reducing its carbon footprint. These commitments will step up the development of a new generation of more environmentally-friendly buildings, in line with the Group's ambition of excellence and in line with market demand.
Achieving these low-carbon objectives involves the active participation of all the Group's employees within their areas of responsibility and the contribution of the Group's stakeholders in driving change, mainly tenants, suppliers and service providers. It also relies on strong partnerships with manufacturers and start-ups in order to accelerate the pace of transformation, particularly in the fields of low-carbon construction and new sustainable mobility solutions.
- REDUCE EMISSIONS FROM CONSTRUCTION BY -35% BY 2030
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield was the first company in commercial real estate to commit to significantly reducing its carbon emissions from construction on a broad scope. In concrete terms, reducing its carbon intensity by -35% between 2015 and 2030 means dropping from an average:
- in Europe (including the UK) of 850 kg CO2eq/sqm(1) constructed in 2015 to 552.5 kg CO2eq/sqm on average by the end of 2030. The 2015 baseline has been built on the carbon intensity of greenfield/ brownfield projects under construction or delivered between 2012 and 2015: Trinity (France), Wroclavia (Poland), Aéroville (France), Majunga (France), Westfield Mall of Scandinavia (Sweden), 3 Pays (France) and Minto (Germany);
• in the US, of 1,294 kgCO2eq/sqm constructed in 2015 to 841 kg CO2eq/sqm on average by the end of 2030. This new baseline for the US has been calculated in 2019 following the carbon assessments conducted on the following projects: Westfield UTC, Westfield Valley Fair, Westfield Topanga and Westfield Valencia.
While the US baseline of 1,294 kgCO2eq/sqm has been calculated using extension projects, the Europe and UK baseline methodology will be fine-tuned in 2020 to consider this typology of projects.
The main levers to achieve the Group's low carbon target on construction are the following:
- a "lean building" approach from the design phase using fewer materials, through optimised design choices: structure, fixtures and fittings, façades, suspended ceilings, reducing number of parking spaces, etc.;
- using new solutions for construction and choice of alternative and low-carbon materials: low-carbon concrete and cement, wood, recycled products, etc., including the choice of suppliers or products based on their location of manufacture;
- developing targeted partnerships with construction firms and manufacturers of building materials for the implementation of innovative solutions.
Those levers are integrated in the Group Sustainability Brief, gathering all the requirements for development projects (brownfield, greenfield, refurbishments, renovations and extensions) to be in line with Better Places 2030. This document, approved in 2019, will be rolled out at the beginning of 2020, and development projects will be assessed against it during key project reviews.
Changes in carbon performance with regard to the targets is presented in a progress graph in Section 2.1.4.1 Summary of the Group's CSR performance.
(1) m2 constructed corresponds to gross floor area (excluding gross floor area of car parks).
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- REDUCE EMISSIONS FROM OPERATIONS BY -80% BY 2030
When it comes to standing assets, the carbon footprint consists mainly of greenhouse gas emissions from energy consumed as part of the operation of the buildings. Achieving its ambitious target of reducing carbon emissions from operations by 80% between 2015 and
2030 draws on two levers simultaneously:
- Improving energy efficiency both in common and private areas of the Group's assets. The Group pursues the objective of improving by 30% the energy efficiency of its assets (in kWh/sqm) between 2015 and 2030. To reach this ambitious target, all of the Group's assets are to design an energy efficiency action plan (see Section 2.2.3.4 Energy management);
- completing a fast transition to low-carbon energies. Unibail- Rodamco-Westfield is committed to using 100% electricity from renewable energy sources ("green electricity"), both for the consumption of the common areas of its assets (including shared facilities) and for the private electricity consumption of its tenants.
Achieving this target requires strong involvement of tenants: in 2019, 82% of the carbon footprint from energy consumption of asset operation are from tenant areas. To accomplish this, the two levers of improving energy efficiency and transitioning to low-carbon energy sources are also implemented in the private parts of the assets, in cooperation with the tenants: specific green terms are added in lease contracts and sustainability committees are organised at asset level (see Section 2.2.3.3 Green leases and tenant commitments).
Changes in carbon performance with regard to the targets is presented in a progress graph in Section 2.1.4.1 Summary of the Group's CSR performance.
- REDUCE EMISSIONS FROM TRANSPORT BY -40% BY 2030
The Group's greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation of visitors or occupants are significantly higher than emissions from the operation of the buildings themselves. They represent over two thirds of the Group total carbon footprint (see Section 2.2.1.2 Carbon assessment). Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield is committed to improving sustainable mobility and has set itself an ambitious target to cut its carbon footprint from visitor transport by -40% between 2015 and 2030.
This reduction target is supported by the availability and promotion of sustainable mobility solutions for users of standing assets and the requirement for greenfield/brownfield projects under development to have good public transport connections. Overall, the Group targets a maximum car modal share of 50% for both its standing assets and development projects (see Section 2.2.4 Develop connectivity and sustainable mobility). In 2019, the transportation carbon footprint methodology was updated to reduce results uncertainty, and the 2015 baseline has been updated to account for US and UK assets.
Changes in carbon performance with regard to the targets is presented in a progress graph in Section 2.1.4.1 Summary of the Group's CSR performance.
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2.2.1.2 CARBON ASSESSMENT
The carbon footprint is the measurement of the entire scope of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions linked with the Group activities. This assessment enables to identify the contributions and associated responsibilities of the different stakeholders and the levers to reduce the Group's carbon impact. As part of the Better Places 2030 strategy expansion to all of the Group's regions, the Group updated its carbon
footprint measurements for 2015 (baseline year to take into account 2. the integration of US and UK assets) and 2019. Following the acquisition by Unibail-Rodamco of the Westfield company in 2018,
the year 2019 is the first year for which the Group's full consolidated carbon footprint is being reported (continental Europe, UK and US).
- METHODOLOGY
The method used for quantifying emissions is based on the ISO 14064-1 standard, the GHG Protocol guidelines and the Bilan Carbone® methodology of ADEME (Agence de l'Environnement et de la Maîtrise de l'Énergie, or French Environment and Energy Management Agency), and is subject to specific methodological guidelines (see Section 2.6.1 Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield's reporting methodology).
The sources of emissions included in the Group's total carbon footprint are broken down per Scope and entity in the table hereafter. The Group calculates its carbon footprint on an extended Scope 3 basis which is outlined in the table hereafter, measuring the major indirect emissions across its entire value chain. To reflect the Group's business activities in the most accurate manner, including the interactions between the Company and its stakeholders, Scope 3 has been further broken down into two categories:
- Scope 3 managed: Under Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield's operational control;
- Scope 3 related: Responsibility of stakeholders that Unibail- Rodamco-Westfield can influence but does not control directly.
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SCOPES 1 & 2
Scope 1
Scope 2
Direct emissions from stationary combustion: gas and fuel consumption in common areas
Direct emissions from mobile combustion: fuel used for company vehicles
Direct fugitive emissions: leaks of refrigerant gas
Indirect emissions linked to electricity consumption in common areas (production included, transportation and upstream excluded)
Indirect emissions from cold or hot steam consumption (centralised cooling and heating provided by urban heating and cooling networks)
SCOPE 3
Scope 3 managed | Emissions from energy production not included in Scopes 1 and 2 (extraction, production and transport of fuel, |
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield's | electricity, hot and cold steam): transport and upstream distribution of energy consumed in common areas |
Purchased products and services: expenses for daily operation of sites, such as cleaning, maintenance, security, waste | |
operational control | |
management, energy and fluid provision, marketing expenses (OPEX), office supplies (headquarters) | |
Capital equipment: IT equipment on-site, company vehicles | |
Waste: on-site waste management | |
Employee commuting: Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield employees' transportation from home to work | |
Business travel: Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield employees' business travel by plane, train and taxi | |
Investments: Expenses related to development projects | |
Scope 3 related | Visitor and customer transport: upstream and downstream travel of visitors, customers and/or occupants to the |
Stakeholders' responsibility | Group's shopping centres and offices |
Downstream leased assets: electricity consumption of private areas (production, transportation and distribution) | |
The following items are excluded from the carbon footprint, either because they do not apply to the Group's business, or because the Group cannot influence them significantly: direct emissions from processes excluding energy; biomass emissions (soil and forests); upstream transport of goods (emissions included for Viparis only); upstream leased assets; downstream transport of goods; use of sold products; end of life of sold products; downstream franchised assets; and other indirect emissions.
- RESULTS: GROUP CARBON FOOTPRINT EXCLUDING VIPARIS
Greenhouse gas emissions are preferably expressed according to the "Market-Based" approach (suppliers' emissions factors) in order to highlight the efforts made in selecting the Group's energy suppliers.
However, to take into account the expectations of various stakeholders, results are also expressed according to the "Location- Based" approach (countries' emissions factors) in this section. Further in the document, all results related to greenhouse gas emissions will then be presented according to the "Market-Based" method, unless explicitly stated otherwise.
The carbon footprint for 2015 is the baseline for tracking the carbon- related objectives of the Better Places 2030 strategy. It was updated in 2019 to integrate the Group's emissions from all of its regions following the acquisition of Westfield by Unibail-Rodamco. The updated 2015 Group carbon footprint baseline and the Group carbon footprint for 2019 are presented below.
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UPDATED 2015 AND 2019 GROUP CARBON FOOTPRINT FOLLOWING "MARKET-BASED" AND "LOCATION-BASED" METHODS
Carbon footprint (TCO2eq) | |||
"Market-Based" method | "Location-Based" method | ||
2015 - Scope 1 | 26,868 | 26,868 | |
2015 - Scope 2 | 135,340 | 169,218 | 2. |
2015 - Scope 3 | 4,896,155 | 4,891,760 | |
TOTAL 2015 (baseline) | 5,058,363 | 5,087,846 | |
2019 - Scope 1 | 24,095 | 24,095 | |
2019 - Scope 2 | 69,000 | 163,940 | |
2019 - Scope 3 | 4,051,756 | 4,128,930 | |
TOTAL 2019 | 4,144,851 | 4,316,965 | |
BREAKDOWN OF THE 2015 GROUP CARBON FOOTPRINT BY ACTIVITY | BREAKDOWN OF THE 2019 GROUP CARBON FOOTPRINT BY ACTIVITY | ||
8% | 4% | 6% | 3% |
10%
13%
9%
9%
66% | 72% |
Managed energy (including scope 3 indirect energy emissions)
Tenants' energy
Construction
Visitor and staff transportation
Others
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GROUP CARBON FOOTPRINT: EVOLUTION BETWEEN 2015 AND 2019
Evolution: 2019 | ||||||
2019 comparable | comparable to 2015(1) | |||||
2019 | 2015 | to 2015(1) | vs. 2015 | |||
Thousands TCO2eq | % | |||||
-20% | ||||||
Total energy (scopes 1, 2 and 3) | 520 | 856 | 680 | |||
Construction | 378 | 466 | 443 | -5% | ||
Visitor and staff transportation | 2,977 | 3,341 | 2,922 | -13% | ||
Others | 270 | 395 | 354 | -11% | ||
Total | 4,145 | 5,058 | 4,400 | -13% |
(1) 2019 comparable to 2015: corresponds to 2019 carbon intensity measures applied to 2015 activity data (using common activity denominators).
These results confirm the need to factor in an expanded Scope of emissions, not limited to the emissions from Group energy consumptions (Scope 1 and 2) when setting the Group's carbon reduction targets, and especially to act on the key Scope 3 carbon priorities.
- RESULTS: VIPARIS CARBON FOOTPRINT
The carbon footprint of Viparis is presented below on scopes 1, 2 and 3 following the "Market-Based" and "Location-Based" methods.
2019 VIPARIS CARBON FOOTPRINT FOLLOWING "MARKET-BASED" AND "LOCATION-BASED" METHODS
Carbon footprint (TCO2eq) | ||
"Market-Based" method | "Location-Based" method | |
2019 - Scope 1 | 1,570 | 1,570 |
2019 - Scope 2 | 2,918 | 4,669 |
2019 - Scope 3 | 937,942 | 937,942 |
TOTAL 2019 | 942,430 | 944,181 |
BREAKDOWN OF THE 2019 VIPARIS CARBON FOOTPRINT BY SCOPE | BREAKDOWN OF THE 2019 VIPARIS CARBON FOOTPRINT BY ACTIVITY | |
0.3% (Scope 2) | 0.4% (Managed energy) | 5.0% |
0.2% | 0.4% | |
(Scope 1) | (Tenants' energy) | |
42.7% |
36.2%
58.0%
56.8%
Scope 1 | Managed energy (including scope 3 indirect energy emissions) | ||
Scope 2 | Tenants' energy | ||
Scope 3 Managed - Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield | Construction | ||
Scope 3 Related - Stakeholders' responsibility | Visitor and staff transportation | ||
Others | |||
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- FOCUS ON SCOPE 1 AND 2 EMISSIONS FROM THE OPERATION OF BUILDINGS
As part of its proactive policy on efficient building operation, capitalising on its long-standing commitments in this field and in line with its Better Places 2030 strategy, in which the Group targets to improve by 30% the energy efficiency of its standing assets between 2015 and 2030, the Group is monitoring GHG emissions from the energy consumption of the operations of its owned and managed buildings (common areas and common equipment). This contributes to the Group target of reducing GHG emissions from its operations by 80% between 2015 and 2030.
To manage the carbon performance of its operational activities, the | |
Group has set indicators to measure the intensity of greenhouse gas | |
emissions per areas (sqm) for each of its operated shopping centres | |
and offices, and by areas occupied per days of occupancy (sqm DOCC) | |
for its operated convention and exhibition venues. This makes it | |
possible to analyse a building's overall carbon efficiency on a like-for- | 2. |
like basis depending on its purpose and scope. | |
GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS FROM ENERGY CONSUMPTION OF STANDING ASSETS (SCOPES 1 & 2) (TONNES OF CO2EQ(1))
Greenhouse gas emissions (CO2, CH4, N2O, etc.) converted into CO2 equivalent ("CO2eq") generated by the energy purchased and managed by the site manager over the year (Scope 1: natural gas, Scope 2: electricity, urban heat and cooling networks).
Convention | |||
Retail | Office | & Exhibition | |
2019 Total | 85,016 | 452 | 3,652 |
of which direct emissions - Scope 1 | 16,399 | 247 | 2,319 |
of which indirect emissions - Scope 2 | 68,617 | 205 | 1,333 |
2018 Like-for-like | 94,031 | 665 | 4,425 |
2019 Like-for-like | 75,359 | 452 | 3,652 |
2019/2018 CHANGE (%) | -20% | -32% | -17% |
The Group policy regarding renewable electricity purchase enables it to reduce its operations carbon footprint year on year. It also allows the Group to encourage producers to invest in the development of clean technologies by increasing market demand for these energy sources.
CARBON INTENSITY LINKED TO THE ENERGY CONSUMPTION OF STANDING ASSETS (SCOPES 1 & 2) BY AREA FOR SHOPPING CENTRES AND OFFICES (kgCO2EQ/SQM/YEAR), AND BY USAGE FOR CONVENTION & EXHIBITION VENUES (gCO2EQ/SQM DOCC(2)/YEAR)
Convention | |||||
Retail | Office | & Exhibition | |||
(kgCO | eq/sqm) | (kgCO | eq/sqm) | (gCO | eq/m2DOCC) |
2 | 2 | 2 | |||
2019 TOTAL | 20.9 | 6.7 | 98.2 | ||
2018 Like-for-like | 27.0 | 11.1 | 111.8 | ||
2019 Like-for-like | 22.2 | 6.7 | 98.2 | ||
2019/2018 change (%) | -18% | -39% | -12% | ||
Other than greenhouse gas emissions from the energy consumption of its buildings, the main item of the Group's direct greenhouse gas emissions related to the operation of its buildings is from the leak of refrigerants from cooling appliances maintained by the property manager of sites owned and managed by the Group.
- These emissions are expressed based on emission factors for each source of energy using the "market-based" method of the GHG protocol, according to which these factors depend on the type of energy consumed (electricity, natural gas, etc.), the country, the supplier and the nature of the energy product (energy from fossil fuels or renewable sources). These are specific factors associated with the contractual commitments between the supplier and property manager which do not necessarily reflect emissions from energy delivered by the grid but valorise and focus on the production and purchase of energy that is certified as generated from renewable sources.
- Areas occupied per days of occupancy.
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GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS GENERATED BY LEAKS OF REFRIGERANT FLUIDS (TONNES OF CO2EQ)
Total (all assets)
2019 GHG emissions linked to refrigerants leaks | 7,090 |
In 2019, the carbon intensity linked to the energy consumption (Scope 1 and 2) of the Group's shopping centre portfolio (CO2eq/sqm) decreased: -18% compared to 2018 on a like-for like basis. This strong performance was due to:
- the accomplished transition towards electricity from renewable sources under the Better Places 2030 program, which largely contributed to this reduction: in 2019, shopping centres, offices and convention and exhibition centres in Europe are 100%(1) powered by electricity from renewable sources. In the US the transition will be done over 2020 and 2021 (see Section 2.2.3.4 Energy management);
- a continued improvement in the energy efficiency level of the owned and managed assets portfolio between 2018 and 2019: -3% in energy consumption on a like-for-like basis from 2018 to 2019.
2.2.1.3 CLIMATE RISK MANAGEMENT AND ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE
The Group's risk management framework is presented in Chapter 6 Risk factors and internal control. CSR risks were analysed at Group level (see Section 2.1.2.2 CSR risks and opportunities); this section presents a detailed analysis of the climate change risks for the Group.
On top of addressing climate change mitigation (see Section 2.2.1.1 Climate change strategy), Better Places 2030 also addresses climate change adaptation through the resilience of its assets to climate change: the Group targets for 100% of its development projects to include long-term climate risks, while minimising resource use and maintaining user comfort by 2025, and for 100% of its standing assets to include a climate change risk plan by 2022.
The effects of climate change on Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield's portfolio will vary depending on the region and the asset. The scale and severity of changes will determine the extent of the impact, as will factors such as age, location, construction methods, asset operational efficiency, local infrastructure quality and capacity.
In 2019, the Group commissioned a climate change risk assessment study covering all standing assets as well as the development pipeline. In line with TCFD recommendations, this study covered both transitional (policy and legal, technology, market) and physical risks (chronic ones: precipitation, temperature, drought and sea level rise) and was based upon IPCC scenarios RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, with different time horizons: Short term 2030, Medium term 2050 and Long term 2100. The methodology for physical risks was based on assessing each existing asset with exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity grades to end up with a final physical vulnerability score. The methodology for transition risks was based on local surveys and data collection from specific asset locations.
The climate change risk assessment enabled URW to have a clear global view on the future risks of climate change for its portfolio, which will help the Group to design relevant climate change adaptation plans for standing assets as well as integrating adaptation measures in development projects. Furthermore and on a shorter time horizon, the Group complies with regulatory requirements in each region with regard to flooding risks, water management, and drainage systems for exceptionally heavy rainfall.
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield's due diligence process for acquisitions and greenfield/brownfield development projects covers the analysis of risks and opportunities related to financial and operational issues. For example, the process includes a complete audit of technical, regulatory, environmental, and health & safety performance. The potential financial impact of identified risks is taken into account during the due diligence phase. Issues covered include risks associated with climate change, soil pollution, protection of wetlands, asbestos, legionella and electromagnetic radiation.
(1) Except for a temporary interruption in green electricity supply during 2019 for Pasing Arcaden and Gera Arcaden.
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2.2.2. DESIGN SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS
2.2.2.1. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (EMS)
The Group's environmental strategy relies on an Environmental Management System (EMS), aiming at reducing the environmental impacts of its assets at every stage in their life cycle, from initial design through to daily operation.
GROUP ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM | 2. | ||
DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS | STANDING ASSETS | ||
Construction | Letting | Review | Track performance |
Considerate | Green lease & | Environmental | Quarterly report |
construction | commissioning | review | |
charter | |||
3 | 4 | 8 | 7 |
2 | 1 | 5 | 6 |
Sourcing | |||
Project review | investment | Action plan | |
CSR design guidelines and | Sustainable | Policy & | Environmental |
sustainability brief | checklist | targets | action plan |
The Group has defined and monitors several indicators to manage the environmental performance of its standing assets and development projects, in line with the objectives of its CSR strategy. Some of them are incorporated into five-year budget review processes for standing assets and development projects to ensure alignment.
- EMS FOR DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS
The EMS ensures that all development projects, whatever their size or type, are designed in the most sustainable way in the long-term and in accordance with the Group CSR strategy in order to minimise their environmental impact. For each project, the EMS covers all four stages in the development process and involves several departments, notably Development, Security, Technical teams, Operations, Leasing, and on-site Shopping Centre Management teams:
- acquisition audit: sustainability and risks related to climate change are analysed and evaluated during the Group's due diligence process;
- project reviews: at key milestones during the design of the project, the latter is assessed using the Group's "Sustainability Brief" to ensure compliance with the Group CSR strategy;
- construction: the contractor agrees to abide by the Group's Considerate Construction Charter, which is designed to limit the social and environmental effects of the construction process;
- commissioning: a commissioning process is followed to ensure that buildings technical installations perform efficiently (settings and operating instructions), and that maintenance suppliers in charge of operations and running technical installations as well as Shopping Centre Management teams are properly trained.
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As part of the EMS, a Group-wide community of CSR champions in the development teams was created in 2019 to ensure best practice sharing across countries. The community is led by the Group corporate CSR team.
For all UK and Italy Flagship development projects, the DOR (Design
- Operational Requirements) has been designed to be included in the Design & Construction teams' development Client Brief Basic Scope. It includes environmental and technical specificitie, ranging from Access Equipment through to Wind & Thermal Management and subject expert 'Champions' were identified from all areas of the business to assist in compiling the data. Each category includes an introduction, with best practice and lessons learnt where applicable, space requirements, technical & equipment requirements, risk management & operational requirements, service & maintenance requirements and innovation & future systems/technology requirements. Each requirement was then categorised as a 'Must Have' base build requirement, or a 'Should Have' for innovation and future proofing requirements. The DOR was included in the 'Client Brief' for Milan and Croydon, and a gap analysis has been produced for each development project, to ascertain any omitted items to be included for scoping and costing. In terms of business benefits, the implementation of the DOR will ensure that we deliver real value to the Development, Design & Construction and Centre Management Operational processes, and provide the platform to drive continuous improvements.
- PROJECT DESIGN AND REVIEW STAGE
In 2019, the "Sustainability Brief" has been developed in collaboration with the Development teams to operationally translate the Better Places 2030 objectives for development projects. The "Sustainability Brief" applies to new developments and extension & renovation projects Group wide. It sets minimum requirements applicable to all projects and additional specific requirements for large projects.
Requirements for all projects include among others:
- Zero waste to landfill for future operation;
- 100% of timber with FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) or PEFC certification (Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) for both works and the building itself;
- Divert demolition, strip-out and construction waste from landfill with at least a 60% waste recovery rate.
Furthermore, according the Group's Better Places 2030 strategy, 100% development projects are to integrate a circular economy design solution by 2025.
Requirements for large projects include among others:
- Minimum environmental certification level to obtain: BREEAM Excellent for EU projects or LEED GOLD in the US;
- Passive and/or renewable energy implemented solutions needs to represent a minimum 10% reduction in conventional energy or carbon reduction on the project;
- Undertake a feasibility assessment of bio-sourced materials for structural elements and circular economy design solutions;
- Undertake a long-term climate risks analysis, while minimising resource use and maintaining user comfort.
During key milestones in the design phase of the project, CSR reviews are made:
- To ensure that all the minimum requirements of the sustainability brief are included in the project brief;
- To study variants to improve the environmental performance of the project in line with Better Places 2030 objectives.
Energy & carbon
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield is the first commercial real estate company to commit to wide-scale reduction of its carbon footprint, including development projects. As part of its Better Places 2030 strategy, from 2017, the Group systematised the assessment of the carbon footprint of its large development projects from the design phase via a dynamic approach, based on a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) combined with the thermal simulations that have historically been performed on the projects. Due to the lack of specific worldwide guidelines, with the assistance of an independent expert, the Group created a customised methodology and tools to assess the carbon footprint of its development projects that was based on existing standards and adapted to correspond to the specific attributes of the shopping centres and offices developed by the Group.
Since 2017, the Group's Development teams have received trainings in using this methodology and applying these targets in order to ensure that these new requirements are fully taken into account at design stage by the design team as well as all construction companies. In 2019, the first sessions for the new Group regions were delivered to the US development teams.
In this respect, 53% of development projects(1) had conducted a Life Cycle Assessment analysis in the concept design stage or the feasibility phase (equivalent RIBA stage 2) as at end 2019.
This comprehensive approach to assessing projects throughout their entire life cycle (construction and operation) supports the policy of reducing the carbon footprint of the Group's projects and helps making the best construction, technical and energy choices through a multi-criteria approach (capital expenditures, costs, carbon emissions in construction and in operation, aesthetics and sustainability).
As an illustration, the Sisters project fully embodies the Group's ambitious environmental performance goals, guaranteed by Exceptional HQE, Outstanding BREEAM, and Effinergie + certifications and labels. This project has also been selected by ADEME to participate in the E+C- (Energy + Carbon -) pilot study to provide credible answers to the question of how high-rise buildings can transition to carbon neutrality. The E+C- framework is a precursor to future energy and carbon regulation in France.
(1) Committed and controlled development projects as at January 1, 2019 over Compliance Book area and investment cost thresholds.
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Water and Waste
The Group's development projects are built in line with the new Sustainability Brief, the Considerate Construction Charter and the BREEAM and LEED certification water and waste management requirements.
In particular, these recommendations include:
- Good practice and clear technical steps on how to achieve water efficiency right from the design stage, in particular, in the choice of equipment installed (toilets, urinals, fire extinguishers, sprinkler systems, cooling systems, etc.);
- Integration of zero waste to landfill requirements for future operations, mandatory by 2025 as per Better Places 2030;
- A feasibility at early stage for onsite treatment of waste needs to be undertaken (e.g. through composting).
Pollution and environmental risk management
The Group complies with all applicable environmental legislation across all its activities. The Group's acquisitions and developments are covered by the policy of risk management and subject to health & safety and environmental risk analysis.
As such, the Group's acquisition process incorporates an assessment of technical, regulatory, health and safety and environmental risks, including soil pollution, wetland protection and climate change, as part of its pre-acquisition due diligence. For greenfield/brownfield projects, the Group complies with all applicable regulation regarding health, safety and environmental matters. An assessment of the environmental impact of each project is carried out at a very early stage.
There is no provision for environmental risk in the Group's accounting in 2019.
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- SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION
Since 2011, the Group's Considerate Construction Charter is applied to all greenfield/brownfield construction, renovation and extension projects in continental Europe. It describes the Group's requirements and recommendations intended to optimise its worksites' environmental quality whilst minimising pollution for the contractors working on site, the neighbouring area and the natural environment.
Based on the BREEAM specifications, it also integrates all the 2. requirements set by the relevant local and national urban planning regulations. Since 2014, the construction contractors are obliged to
adhere to the Group's Considerate Construction Charter when signing any contracts with Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield in continental Europe. To also cover the US and the UK, the charter was updated in 2019, to be fully applicable everywhere the Group operates and will be deployed in 2020 in those regions in accordance with the sustainability brief requirements.
The Considerate Construction Charter includes the following requirements:
- providing information to people living nearby and limiting traffic disruptions;
- training and informing employees of construction companies;
- ensuring a proper management of risk and of hazardous product handling;
- ensuring at least 60% of waste recycling (material recovery) by weight, and clear traceability of all waste managed;
- managing and limiting noise and visual pollution, as well as the risk of soil, water and air pollution;
- monitoring resources in order to reduce resource consumption.
NUMBER AND SHARE OF DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS THAT IMPLEMENT A CONSIDERATE CONSTRUCTION CHARTER
2019 | |
Number of development projects that implement a Considerate Construction Charter | 8 |
Share of development projects that implement a Considerate Construction Charter | 67% |
Pollution Prevention
Moreover, the Group ensures that the action plans and preventative measures are implemented by contractors during construction.
SOIL POLLUTION AND SITE REMEDIATION
Annual (for current year) monetary expenses for soil decontamination/site remediation and volumes that have been detoxified.
2019 | |
Monetary expenses in soil decontamination (k€) | 2,384 |
Volumes concerned (m3) | 39,599 |
The volume of soil decontamination undertaken for development projects in 2019 is related to the construction works of projects Westfield Vélizy 2 leisure extension and Trinity.
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Health and Safety on work sites
The construction contractors overseen by the Construction Management Contractor are contractually required to make the necessary provisions for site safety and comply with the relevant Health and Safety legislation.
The Management Contractor's teams develop the technical requirements provided to contractors within the tendering process. These include specific safety requirements, as well as the applicable health and safety standard a successful bidder must comply with. Tender submissions that do not comply with either the technical requirements and the applicable Health and Safety standards are disqualified from the tendering process.
During the construction phase site Health, Safety and Security is continuously monitored by the Management Contractor's teams.
Health and Safety Coordinators are appointed in various countries where the Group is active. They are employed by the Construction Manager, with as principal function to coordinate health and safety matters between the various stakeholders.
2.2.2.2. ENVIRONMENTAL CERTIFICATIONS OF BUILDINGS UNDER DEVELOPMENT
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, as part of its strategy for development projects set up in the Sustainability Brief, targets an environmental certification for all of its large new greenfield/brownfield construction,
refurbishment and extension projects: BREEAM in Europe, LEED in the US. Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield aims to achieve a minimum ranking of "Excellent" (BREEAM) or "Gold" (LEED) for its large development projects.
Other environmental certifications are obtained, when relevant to the real estate leasing or investment markets, such as HQE certification in France (High Environmental Quality, the French standard certification scheme for sustainable constructions) or DGNB (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen) in Germany for the Offices portfolio.
The Docks 76 project was the first shopping centre in Europe to receive the BREEAM certification. Since then, the Group has continued to set the benchmark within the sector in Europe. In 2019 notably, the Group confirmed its leading position in terms of environmental certification by obtaining 2 design stage certificates a BREEAM "Excellent" for the project Shift and a BREEAM "Very Good" for Mall of the Netherlands as well as the post-construction certificates for Westfield London Phase 2 (BREEAM New Construction "Very Good") and Wroclavia Offices (BREEAM New Construction "Excellent").
In addition to secure the Excellent/Gold level, all projects need to undertake a technical and economic feasibility to reach the outstanding/platinum level as mentioned in the sustainability brief. Two developments projects are currently aiming for a BREEAM Outstanding level (not secured yet).
SHARE OF DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS THAT ARE IN AN ENVIRONMENTAL BUILDING CERTIFICATION PROCESS
Among committed and controlled projects
2019
Share of development projects that are in an environmental building certification process | 76% |
All the recent development projects are in an environmental building certification process (at least under a BREEAM or LEED framework). The others were too advanced at the time Better Places 2030 was launched; for most of them, the construction works had already begun.
NUMBER OF DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS THAT OBTAINED A DESIGN STAGE ENVIRONMENTAL CERTIFICATE Among committed projects
2019 | |
Number of development projects that obtained a design stage BREEAM/HQE certificate | 6 |
Share of development projects that obtained a design stage environmental (BREEAM or HQE) certificate | 50% |
The low number of development projects that obtained a design stage environmental certificate is mainly related to the fact that most of the project's design phases were not advanced enough in 2019 for a design certification.
Regarding the convention and exhibition assets (Viparis), the Pavillon 6 of the Paris Porte de Versailles has obtained a BREEAM International New construction interim certificate and the Pavillon 7 its final BREEAM International certificate.
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2.2.2.3. CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS
- REDUCING CARBON IMPACT OF CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS
As part of its pioneering commitment to reducing its construction carbon footprint by -35% between 2015 and 2030, the Group focusses on the choice and use of the materials for its development projects. Specifically, it involves:
- adopting a "lean material construction" approach right from the design phase (structure, façade, false ceilings, fixtures and fittings, etc.);
- using new solutions and optimised low-carbon materials (low- carbon cement and low carbon concrete, bio-sourced materials, recycled materials, etc.);
- asking subcontractors to put forward alternative solutions with low carbon content;
- adopting a purchasing policy that includes criteria for the carbon content of products and construction materials (requiring environmental and health and safety certification - Environmental Product Declarations and "Fiches de Déclaration Environnementale et Sanitaire" in France);
In 2019, the Group also developed guidelines on low-carbon interior design to help from the very beginning the interior architect design teams to choose the best materials based on their carbon performance.
The Group's priority is to work towards reducing the carbon impact of the most significant items, beginning with the structure and foundations of the building. For example, the Group now studies the use of low-carbon cements for all development projects. This was the case notably in the foundations of the Trinity office project, covering infrastructure of Avenue de la Division Leclerc, and composite floors of the office spaces. Projects like Sisters, Mall of Europe, Westfield Hamburg or Altamar are all studying the use of low carbon cement to optimize their carbon footprint.
On the mixed use project Ateliers Gaîté, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield is working closely with Hoffman Green Cement Technologies to incorporate an innovative cement (which has a carbon footprint reduction of more than 75% compared with traditional cement). The project will also include a residential property using timber construction, using bio-sourced materials to reduce indirect construction-related emissions.
The Group is also integrating circular economy in its development projects. For example on the reuse of materials in development projects, a mission was carried out on the Michelet project with the company Cycle Up in order to quantify reusable waste. In addition, the Sisters project is currently studying the use of reused raised floors.
- A RESPONSIBLE SUPPLY CHAIN
The Group's materials policy specifies that 100% of timber used in development, extension and renovation projects must be from certified, sustainably managed forests with FSC or PEFC certification.
This policy is systematically specified in tender documents for construction projects and all contractors are asked to abide by its terms. The Group works with reputable construction companies. In- house project managers are asked to pay closer attention to this contractual requirement. The Group aims to obtain "post- construction" final certification according to the BREEAM or LEED standards for as many projects as possible. As part of this certification
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process, the sourcing of wood used during construction is verified and validated (prerequisite for BREEAM and optional for LEED).
In line with BREEAM "In-Use" certification requirements for its managed assets, the Group deploys a specific addendum regarding materials in the purchasing contracts signed with the main service providers (use of less polluting materials, use of certified
timbers, etc.). | 2. |
2.2.2.4. COMFORT, HEALTH, WELL-BEING AND PRODUCTIVITY FOR USERS OF OUR BUILDINGS
Comfort and well-being issues are a determining factor in our technical and architectural choices for development, refurbishment and extension projects (e.g. façades, glass roofs, interior finishes, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning equipment, lighting, occupant control methods, etc.). The Design Guidelines for new developments, renovation and extension projects provide clear steps on how to achieve comfortable and safe spaces, based on thermal comfort, visual comfort, acoustic comfort and interior air quality.
In our new development projects, facades are designed to achieve a balance between thermal performance rating (insulation value, solar factor), carbon performance and visual comfort (daylight illumination, glare control).
The acoustics of our spaces are also designed to provide the best solutions to reduce technical equipment noise levels, to reduce noise levels passing through facades, to improve interior sound absorption and insulation between premises. Interior surfaces were selected on the basis of their volatile organic compound emissions thresholds, as set by BREEAM or LEED certification which requires the use of construction products that abide by the best practices in each country, (for example, A and A+ labelling in France). These recommendations also appear in the specifications for developing stores in shopping centres.
Moreover, during the design phase of new large development projects, comfort and well-being are evaluated using dynamic thermal simulation to ensure best levels of comfort during operation. In order to assess the climate change resilience of projects, the same simulations are also done using future climate change scenarios. Projects must be adapted (or explain how they can easily adapt) to the expected levels of comfort.
The Group works in close cooperation with tenants to provide comfortable and safe spaces. Green Leases and Sustainable Development Committees set up with tenants raise awareness of issues amongst the various stakeholders, and set out tenants' responsibilities for the final fitting out of the spaces provided by the landlord.
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2.2.3. IMPROVE ECO-EFFICIENCY
2.2.3.1. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
(EMS)
- EMS FOR EXISTING ASSETS
The Environmental Management System (EMS) is implemented across the whole owned and managed portfolio in Europe. This pragmatic and dynamic EMS ensures that the Group is able to meet its annual and long-term targets and supports Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield's continuous improvement for each area covered by the Group's CSR policy, including climate change and resource use. It completes the development project EMS, as part of the overall policy of managing the environmental quality of the Group's assets throughout their life cycle (see Section 2.2.2.1 Environmental Management System (EMS)
- EMS for development projects).
The EMS system is based on four steps of the environmental performance management process: target setting, establishing an environmental action plan, measuring results and reviewing the performance:
- Group policy and targets: targets are set each year for each owned and managed asset in line with the Group's long-term targets and with the specific characteristics of each individual site;
- Environmental action plan: an action plan covering key topics such as energy, greenhouse gas emissions, water, waste, transport and stakeholders is implemented and challenged for each managed site. On a daily basis, asset technical managers ensure the environmental performance and monitoring of operations and implement the roll-out of the asset environmental action plans. Additional external technical reviews commissioned by technical teams may also be conducted at asset level when a specific expertise is required, for example, waste or energy audits;
- Quarterly report and Registration Document: performance is measured and assessed on a quarterly basis at the site, region and Group levels. A corrective action plan is implemented in case of deviation;
- Review: at asset level, the Group conducts internal environmental performance reviews. These reviews are conducted at least on an annual basis by the teams in charge of environmental sustainability at platform levels and with the Group CSR team. Achievements against targets are reviewed on these occasions.
The Group sets itself ambitious targets in terms of asset certification under the BREEAM In-Use standard (see Section 2.2.3.2 Environmental certifications of buildings during the operation phase). This international standard was applied to the Group's assets in 2011 to promote the quality of their environmental management and related performances in terms of visitors, tenants and local communities.
Additionally, two of the Group's shopping centres in the UK, Westfield Stratford City and Westfield London, have been certified under the ISO 14001 environmental management standard since 2013 and 2015, respectively.
Regarding convention and exhibition venues, the Viparis subsidiary is engaged in the ISO 20121 certification process which recognises Social and Environmental Responsibility management systems for events businesses. Viparis' ISO 20121 certification, obtained for the first time in 2014 for all of its sites and all of its business activities, illustrates the Group's trailblazing and proactive CSR commitment: Viparis became one of the first global players in the events industry to win this stringent certification, which constitutes a distinctive competitive advantage, ensuring transparent and improved business practices. In October 2017, Viparis' ISO 20121 certification was renewed by Bureau Veritas Certification for another three years.
2.2.3.2. ENVIRONMENTAL CERTIFICATIONS OF BUILDINGS DURING THE OPERATION PHASE
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield aims to obtain operational environmental building certifications for 100% of its owned and managed shopping centres and offices worldwide, and maintain the high level of the certifications obtained.
At the end of the year 2019, the Group had 50 assets BREEAM In-Use certified on Building Management (Part 2), of which 47 Shopping Centres and 3 Office buildings, accounting for a total certified area of over 3.5 million m2. This represents a share of 58% of the Group's standing portfolio in number of assets (retail and office assets), and a coverage of 58% in surface area.
- RETAIL
In 2019, 4 shopping centres obtained a BREEAM In-Usere-certification (assets certified in 2016 for which the certificate has been renewed 3 years later): Lyon Confluence, Pasing Arcaden, Fisketorvet and Bonaire.
The Group's performance in terms of environmental certification is again very high, establishing local market benchmarks in a number of countries. 2 out of the 4 centres certified in 2019 have achieved an "Outstanding" rating for Building Management (Part 2), which is the highest level of BREEAM In-Use certification. Of these, Pasing Arcaden also obtained an "Outstanding" grade for Asset Performance (Part 1), leading to a total of 8 shopping centres within the Group's portfolio certified Double Outstanding in 2019.
Overall, Westfield Chodov remains the asset with the highest score for Building Management (Part 2) in the Group's portfolio of standing shopping centres, as well as the highest score among all of Czech Republic retail buildings as per the BREEAM In-Use international 2015 criteria.
As at December 31, 2019, the Group had 47 owned and managed Shopping Centres certified under BREEAM In-Use, of which 21 were rated "Outstanding" for Building Management (Part 2).
Certified Shopping Centres account for over 3.4 million m2 consolidated GLA and correspond to 57% of the Group owned and managed Shopping Centres portfolio in number of buildings, and to a 57% BREEAM In-Use certification coverage in surface area. In 2019, BREEAM In-Use certified shopping centres in the Group portfolio are all located in continental Europe (90% of the Group's continental European shopping centres are certified - in number of buildings), as the BREEAM In-Use certification framework has not been rolled- out yet in the US.
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The Group's operational environmental building certification strategy will be rolled out to the US portfolio starting in 2020.
In terms of asset performance, 45% of the BREEAM In-Use certificates awarded to the Group's Shopping Centres achieved the "Outstanding"
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level for Building Management (Part 2), compared to an average of just 7.8% for the European Retail Real Estate market(1), confirming the superior environmental performance of the Group's assets despite the diversity of the portfolio in terms of size, age and location.
COVERAGE OF BREEAM IN-USE ENVIRONMENTAL CERTIFICATION OF THE GROUP'S STANDING ASSETS IN NUMBER OF | ||||||
ASSETS AND FLOOR AREA - SHOPPING | CENTRES | 2. | ||||
Number of | Surface area | Certification coverage | ||||
assets | certified | |||||
2019 | certified | (sqm GLA) | % (in number) | % (in sqm GLA) | ||
Total certified Retail assets | 47 | 3,438,000 | 57% | 57% | ||
Of which Outstanding (Part 2) | 21 | 1,631,000 | 45% | 47% | ||
COVERAGE OF ENVIRONMENTAL CERTIFICATIONS IN OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT WITHIN THE TOTAL GROUP STANDING SHOPPING CENTRE PORTFOLIO (IN NUMBER) (%)
16%
42%
BREAKDOWN OF GROUP SHOPPING CENTRE BREEAM IN-USE CERTIFICATIONS BY GRADE (IN NUMBER OF ASSETS) IN COMPARISON WITH THE EUROPEAN RETAIL REAL ESTATE SECTOR (2 )
8%
Outstanding
45%
26%
Excellent
49%
Very Good
42%
6%
41%
Good
19%
4%
Asset both certified in development
(BREEAM, DGNB or LEED) and operation (BREEAM In-Use) Assets certified in operation only (BREEAM In-Use(1))
Assets certified in development only (BREEAM, DGNB or LEED) Non-certified assets
(1) Part 2: Building Management
Acceptable 5%
& Pass
0 | 10 | 20 | 30 | 40 | 50 | 60 | % |
European Real Estate sector (including the UK)
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield
- Source: BRE Global "BREEAM In-Use" data (all countries in Europe except Germany, Austria, Spain & The Netherlands), DIFNI/ TÜV SÜD NSO data (Austria, Germany), BREEAM ES/ITG NSO data (Spain), DGBC data (The Netherlands), as at December 31, 2019 - 463 retail assets certified under BREEAM In-Use International 2015 (Part 2).
- Source: BRE Global BREEAM In-Use data (all countries in Europe except Germany, Austria, Spain & The Netherlands), DIFNI/ TÜV SÜD NSO data (Austria, Germany), BREEAM ES/ITG NSO data (Spain), DGBC data (The Netherlands), as at December 31, 2019 - 463 retail assets certified under BREEAM In-Use International 2015 (Part 2).
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- OFFICES
In 2019, the office building Le Sextant was recertified under BREEAM In-Use International 2015 criteria. It achieved a "Very Good" rating for Asset Performance (Part 1), and an "Excellent" rating for Building management (Part 2).
As at December 31, 2019, 100% of the owned and managed Office portfolio was certified.
COVERAGE OF BREEAM IN-USE ENVIRONMENTAL CERTIFICATION OF THE GROUP'S STANDING ASSETS IN NUMBER OF ASSETS AND FLOOR AREA - OFFICES
Number of | Certification coverage | |||
assets | Surface area | |||
2019 | certified | certified (sqm) | % (in number) | % (in sqm) |
Total certified Office assets | 3 | 67,400 | 100% | 100% |
Of which Excellent or above (Part 2) | 2 | 55,300 | 67% | 82% |
COVERAGE OF ENVIRONMENTAL CERTIFICATIONS IN OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT WITHIN THE TOTAL GROUP STANDING OFFICE PORTFOLIO (IN NUMBER) (%)
Asset both certified in development (BREEAM, DGNB or LEED) and operation (BREEAM In-Use(1))
Assets certified in operation only (BREEAM In-Use(1))Non-certified assets
(1) Part 2 : Building Management.
100%
- CONVENTION AND EXHIBITION VENUES
Regarding Convention and exhibition venues, apart from the current ISO 20121 certification of all 10 of the Group's convention & exhibition assets (see Section 2.2.3.1 Environmental Management System (EMS)), the Boutique du Palais asset was BREEAM In-Use recertified in 2019, with an "Excellent" level for both Asset Performance (Part 1) and Building management (Part 2).
This approach, based on dialogue, information, and sharing of best practices, encourages the tenants to play a role in the environmental performance of the assets which they occupy. As well as contributing to lower common and private service charges through decreasing energy and utilities consumption and improving waste management, this change in behaviours is helping the Group and its stakeholders to prepare for increased constraints on resource management (regulation, availability, etc.).
2.2.3.3. GREEN LEASES AND TENANT COMMITMENTS
Since the end of 2009, the Group has been committed to an active policy of promoting "green leases". Green leases aim at improving tenants' CSR performance during the operation phase through a set of requirements, including fit-out, operation and reporting requirements.
In that respect, since 2010 and ahead of all existing regulations, all new leases and renewals signed with Retail and Office tenants have had environmental clauses. These first versions of "green leases" cover those aspects that are most relevant to improve tenants' environmental behaviours and performances, such as, commitment to sharing energy consumption data, technical specifications for fitting-out tenant spaces (especially maximum power for private lighting), and various measures to save energy and water and sort waste.
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As part of the Better Places 2030 commitments, this environmental appendix on leases was strengthened in 2017 to reflect the Group's new ambitions in terms of environmental performance and contributions to the community. Indeed, meeting the Group's reduction target of its carbon footprint from operations requires strong involvement of tenants, given the scale of their electricity use (see Section 2.2.1.2 Carbon assessment). To accomplish this, the two Group levers of improving energy efficiency and transitioning to low- carbon energy sources are also implemented in the private parts of the assets, in cooperation with the tenants. Clauses have been added to the first version of green leases and include, in particular, the obligation to install LED lighting solutions for any new fit-out works performed in private tenant spaces and the obligation to sign a supply contract guaranteeing that electricity is procured from renewable sources. To support the Group's engagement with its communities, a clause has also been added to invite the tenants to participate in initiatives organised by the Group to promote local employment. This constitutes the second version of the Group's green lease ("Green Lease Version 2").
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Following the acquisition of Westfield in June 2018, the Group has been working on a new Green Lease template applicable to the US and to the UK as well. The Group indeed targets to roll-out its Green Leases in all of its retail and office leases throughout both European and US platforms by 2020.
The tables below show the penetration rates of the latest applicable
green lease version across the Group assets, both for standing assets 2. and pipeline projects. In shopping centres, the penetration rate of
green leases signed in 2019 is 49% Group wide, which breaks down into a penetration rate of up to 91% in continental Europe (Green lease version 2 systematically proposed to the tenants from May 1, 2017) and of 0% in the US and in the UK (implementation starting in 2020). Regarding offices, Version 2 green leases were implemented since the start of 2018 and reached a penetration rate of 85% of green leases signed in 2019.
NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE OF GREEN LEASES AMONG IN-YEAR SIGNED LEASES AND ACTIVE LEASES (SHOPPING CENTRES AND OFFICES)
Retail | Office | |||
Continental | ||||
Total | Europe | US and UK | Total | |
Number of green leases signed during the year | 1,335 | 1,335 | 0 | 11 |
% of green leases signed among leases signed during the year | 49% | 91% | 0% | 85% |
% of green leases among total active leases at year end | 18% | 31% | 0% | 23% |
In continental Europe, to support tenant adoption of energy efficient lighting technologies and electricity from renewable sources, Memorandums of Understanding covering both topics have been signed until 2019, these topics now being covered by the Green Lease Version 2.
Tenants are also being onboarded on the topic of responsible resource consumption through the organisation of periodic on-site sustainability committees, during which environmental performances of an asset are presented and discussed with the tenants, in order to raise awareness and encourage behavioral changes as well as the implementation of operational improvements.
2.2.3.4. ENERGY MANAGEMENT
The Group targets, in its Better Places 2030 strategy, to improve the energy efficiency of its shopping centres by 30% (KWh/sqm) by 2030 compared to a 2015 baseline. As part of its Better Events strategy for Viparis, the Group also targets to reduce the energy intensity of its convention and exhibition venues by 25% (kWh/sqm DOOC) by 2030 compared with 2014 levels.
As part of its operational management process of environmental performance, the Group measures improvements in its energy efficiency by asset type against these targets: progress and results are disclosed in Section 2.1.4.1 Summary of the Group's CSR performance.
To reach its ambitious targets in terms of energy efficiency, the Group has formalised a dedicated Energy Management Policy for its
European retail assets in 2019, whereby assets are required to define their energy management action plan, setting the operational path towards reaching the objective, with levers identified at asset level to improve energy efficiency, their associated budget, and their gradual implementation schedule. This policy also underlines energy optimisation best practices, and sets the approach to define renewable energies action plans as well as sets requirements on green electricity purchasing.
In the US, the energy management policy has been structured around LED lighting retrofits, onsite energy management (e.g. equipment schedule optimisation), demand-response and battery storage. Comprehensive energy efficiency actions plans at asset level will be rolled out in order to identify appropriate levers to reach the Group's energy efficiency objectives.
- ENERGY CONSUMPTION
Energy efficiency is well embedded in all existing processes relating to the technical management of each asset, by gradually ensuring:
- daily optimisation of the operation and supervision of technical equipment;
- technical improvements of equipment's efficiency through non- recurring annual maintenance works;
- intrinsic building structural works, synchronised with the Group's long-term value creation strategy (large works).
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A GRADUAL AND PRAGMATIC APPROACH TO ENERGY SAVINGS | ||
OPERATION | REFURBISHMENT | LARGE WORKS |
20% | 20-40% | >40% |
ENERGY SAVINGS | ||
ENERGY SAVINGS |
ENERGY SAVINGS
Improvement | Improvement | |||||
Optimisation | of technical | |||||
equipment | of buildings | |||||
Costs/Capital | ||||||
expenditure | ||||||
x €10K | x €100K | x €1,000K | ||||
• | Running hours | • | LED | • | Building insulation | |
• | Free cooling | • | New HVAC systems | • | Facade | |
• | Natural ventilation | • | Building Management System | • | New glazing | |
• | Natural daylight | • | Cooling towers replacement | • | New HVAC systems | |
• | Sub metering | • | Vertical transportations | • | Renewable energies |
Optimisation
In order to get the best return on energy efficiency solutions, the Group sets daily energy optimisation as its priority. Actions to optimise operations in order to improve energy efficiency are being undertaken in all the assets owned and managed by the Group thanks to the strong commitment of the Group's on-site teams, tenants and maintenance suppliers.
Standard practices include: daily monitoring of each asset's energy consumption; identification of factors that affect energy consumption; optimisation of the running hours for each piece of equipment; seasonal action plans to adjust temperatures in line with weather conditions; strong focus on behavioural changes (for example turning out lights and using natural ventilation); and regular checks to ensure that technical equipment is working properly.
As an example, shopping centre night audits of tenant and common area energy-use are conducted Group wide by operational teams to identify potential energy savings during the night shift and rationalise the functioning of energy-consumptive equipment to a minimum when the assets are closed to the public. In the US, night audits identified 1,300 MWh worth of energy-use reduction opportunities in 2019. In Europe, night audits were also conducted in 2019, as part of the energy management procedure.
To identify quick-wins in terms of energy efficiency, the Group also relies on external experts. In 2019, results-based energy audits had already been conducted on the bulk of the portfolio in Europe, and an electric use monitoring project has been vetted and budgeted in
the US for 2020. In the UK, a programme to curtail energy consumption, reducing electricity consumption at peak times and making cost savings has been introduced since 2015.
At December 31, 2019, three assets owned and managed by the Group in Europe (both shopping centres and offices) had an Energy Performance Contract (EPC). These EPCs are contractual agreements between Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield and the maintenance contractor under which the latter commits to improve the energy efficiency of an asset. These contracts, underpinned by bonus-malus incentive clauses, encourage the supplier to contribute to the Group objective of reducing on-site energy consumption and manage the associated costs.
The Group also partnered with the start-up Deepki since 2018 to roll out energy consumption monitoring in its French shopping centres and convention and exhibition venues. The Group is also piloting smart energy management in 2 of its French shopping centres, which should further improve energy savings.
Improvement of technical equipment
With regard to technical equipment, the Group is systematically outfitting its assets with Building Management Systems (BMS), which are regularly upgraded, so on-site teams can easily monitor and manage energy performance. Energy efficiency is also a crucial factor when it comes to replacing technical equipment, especially in the context of regular maintenance works related to lighting, heating, cooling and ventilation: low-consumptionenergy-effective alternatives are systematically considered in the multiannual planning process.
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When refurbishing old air handling units, pumps, or lighting fixtures, the Group's assets are to comply with minimal energy efficiency standards, such as replacing fixed speed units by variable speed units, implementing sensor-regulated equipment, introducing systems with energy recovery or limiting energy losses, such as shifting to LED lightbulbs.
Particularly, as part of its Better Places 2030 strategy, Unibail- Rodamco-Westfield aims to systematically implement LED lighting solutions in the common areas of its owned and managed shopping centres. At the end of the year 2019, 47% of the Group's shopping centres were equipped with full LED lighting in their common areas.
The Group implements LED lighting technology across its standing portfolio (common and private areas) through two levers:
- the planning and roll-out of LED refurbishment projects through the identification of specific budgets lines in the Group assets' 5-year budget plans supporting the gradual replacement of existing light sources with LED equipment;
- the onboarding of retailers in the Group's LED installation programme, through green leases provisions requiring the setup of LED lighting when refurbishing or opening stores (see Section 2.2.3.3 Green leases and tenant commitments).
In the US, LED refurbishment projects completed between 2013 and | |
2018 have already saved 68,000 MWh. The LED refurbishment | |
projects implemented in 2019 enable an additional 9,700 MWh annual | |
energy savings, corresponding to $1.2 Mn annual cost savings. In | |
Europe (including UK), as of December 31st 2019, 65% of lighting | |
fixtures in common areas of the Group shopping centres are based on | |
LED technology, compared to 43% in 2017 in continental Europe. | 2. |
Improvement of buildings |
The main improvements in the core building efficiency (e.g. thermal insulation, light shafts, …) are synchronised with major extension and renovation development projects, for which the Group targets an environmental certification of the highest level (see Section 2.2.2 Design sustainable buildings).
Results
In 2019, Shopping Centres owned & managed by the Group achieved a 5% reduction in absolute energy consumption (MWh) and a 3% reduction in energy intensity (kWh/sqm) on a like-for-like basis, compared with 2018. Regarding the office portfolio, the energy intensity reduction reached 12%. Convention and exhibition venues also reduced their energy consumption by 4% over the same period.
2015 to 2019 evolution results against strategic targets are disclosed in Section 2.1.4.1 Summary of the Group's CSR performance.
ENERGY CONSUMPTION (MWH)
Final energy consumed by the assets in common areas and by common equipment, and provided to tenants for heating and/or cooling. Individual tenant energy consumption is not included. Energy consumption includes both energy purchased from the grid (produced off-site) and energy produced on site and self-consumed by the Group's assets.
Retail | Office | Convention & Exhibition | |
2019 TOTAL | 728,832 | 8,121 | 65,285 |
of which natural gas (Scope 1) | 79,786 | 1,203 | 11,311 |
of which electricity (Scope 2) | 478,609 | 3,933 | 41,627 |
of which district heating & cooling (Scope 2) | 170,430 | 2,986 | 12,347 |
Of which on-site production (%) | 1% | 0% | 0% |
Of which off-site purchase (%) | 99% | 100% | 100% |
2018 Like-for-like | 641,423 | 8,204 | 67,811 |
2019 Like-for-like | 608,746 | 8,121 | 65,285 |
2019/2018 CHANGE (%) | -5% | -1% | -4% |
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FINANCIAL IMPACT RESULTING FROM VARIATIONS IN ENERGY CONSUMPTION (€)
Total cost saved due to the reduction of energy consumption, estimated on a like-for-like basis.
Retail | |
2019/2018 change in energy consumption (MWh) | (32,678) |
Estimated financial savings 2019/2018 (€) | (4,323,389) |
ENERGY EFFICIENCY OF STANDING ASSETS, PER AREA FOR SHOPPING CENTRES AND OFFICES (KWH/SQM) AND PER USAGE FOR CONVENTION & EXHIBITION VENUES (kWh/SQM DOCC(1))
Energy efficiency is calculated on the scope of final energy purchased from the grid. Energy self-consumed from on-site production is excluded.
Convention | |||
Retail | Office | & Exhibition | |
(kWh/sqm) | (kWh/sqm) | (kWh/sqm DOCC) | |
2019 TOTAL | 178 | 120 | 1.75 |
2018 Like-for-like | 183 | 136 | 1.71 |
2019 Like-for-like | 177 | 120 | 1.75 |
2019/2018 CHANGE (%) | -3% | -12% | 2% |
- ENERGY MIX
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield works at reducing the environmental impact of the energy it consumes by purchasing low-carbon or renewable energy from suppliers and generating low-carbon or renewable energy on site. As such, the Group targets, as part of its Better Places 2030 strategy, to:
- Multiply its installed capacity of on-site renewable energy fivefold by 2025, compared to 2015 (see results in Section 2.1.4.1 Summary of the Group's CSR performance);
- Progressively extend its Group policy to source 100% electricity from renewable sources for its owned & managed US assets.
Purchasing of renewable energy
In this context, the Group has accelerated its transition towards sourcing electricity derived from renewable sources ("green electricity"). In Europe, the Group started to sign green electricity contracts with energy suppliers since 2009, and 100% of assets (shopping centres, offices and convention and exhibition centres) have been running entirely on green electricity since 2018 already(2). This green electricity is covered by mechanisms of Guaranty of Origin as defined by the 2009/28/EC European Directive. In the US, URW is committed to rolling out an equivalent green electricity certificate mechanism for its portfolio.
The Group also purchases renewable electricity directly from renewable energy production plants in the form of Power Purchase Agreements (PPA). A PPA covers the supply of Westfield Culver City (US) and the Group entered into a PPA in 2019 to cover part of the French portfolio electricity consumption, starting in 2020.
Beyond the purchase of certified green electricity, the energy mix of the Group's assets is a key focus. For example, the Group chooses district systems rather than natural gas to heat its buildings wherever possible. In Minto (Germany) and in Spain, the natural gas suppliers of the Group's shopping centres are committed to compensate the greenhouse gas emissions linked to this energy supply to the Group.
The Group's policy of purchasing low-carbon emission energy from its suppliers offers two key benefits. First, it reduces the carbon intensity of the Group's operations. Second, it encourages producers to invest in "green" power-generation technologies by contributing to build market demand for low-carbon and renewable energies.
The Group is committed to extend this measure to Shopping Centre tenants as well, through a contractual requirement to source green electricity in private areas (see Section 2.2.3.3 Green leases and tenant commitments).
Production of renewable energy
For many years now, the Group has been rolling out a solar photovoltaic installation programme across its sites to generate electricity onsite. Thanks to a strong commitment from top management coupled with the benefits of reduced and stabilised billing, the installed capacity of the Group's systems has increased continuously since the rollout began, improving costs savings whilst also acting as a point of difference between the Group and market peers. Two new renewable energy projects were completed at Westfield UTC and Westfield Valley Fair in 2019. In total, there are 6 solar panel installations across the Group's US assets, 10 across the Group's Europe assets (in France, Spain, Austria, Poland and the Netherlands), and a wind turbine installed in Westfield Carré Sénart Shopping centre (France). In France, Aéroville shopping centre also uses geothermal energy to meet its heating and cooling needs. A solid pipeline of future project is maintained throughout the Group.
The total installed renewable energy capacity of the Group's assets in 2019 is 7.84 MW.
The renewable electricity produced by the Group is either self- consumed to meet an asset's energy needs, or sold to the grid. The total on-site production of renewable electricity at the Group's assets and breakdown between energy sold and self-consumed is as follows:
- Areas occupied per days of occupancy.
- Except for a temporary interruption in green electricity supply during 2019 for Pasing Arcaden and Gera Arcaden.
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2019 RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY PRODUCED ON SITE (MWH), WITH BREAKDOWN BETWEEN SALES AND SELF-CONSUMPTION (%)
Retail | Office | Convention & Exhibition | ||
Total renewable electricity produced on site (MWh) | 6,474 | 0 | 0 | |
of which self-consumed (%) | 89% | - | - | 2. |
of which sold (%) | 11% | - | - | |
Results
2019 ENERGY MIX AND ITS EVOLUTION (ALL OWNED AND MANAGED ASSETS)
% | % | |
100 | 35% | 100 |
42% | 27% | |
80 | 80 | |
73% | ||
60 | 65% | 60 |
58% | ||
40 | 40 | |
20 | 20 | |
0 | 0 | |
Retail | Office | Convention |
& Exhibition |
55%41%
1% | |
58% | |
0% | |
45% | |
2018 | 2019 |
Energy from non-renewable sources | Non-renewable energy | ||
Energy from renewable source | Renewable energy self-produced | ||
Renewable energy purchased |
The Group's energy mix varies from country to country and is mainly influenced by the Group's voluntary low-carbon energy production and purchasing policy, which increased the share of renewable energy in the final energy mix purchased by the assets owned and managed by the Group to reach 59% in 2019.
SHARE OF TOTAL ENERGY CONSUMPTION DERIVED FROM RENEWABLE SOURCES PER ENERGY SOURCE: ELECTRICITY, DISTRICT HEATING AND COOLING, AND DIRECT ENERGY CONSUMPTION (%)
Convention & | ||||
Retail | Office | Exhibition | ||
2019 | Total electricity consumption (MWh) | 478,616 | 3,933 | 41,627 |
of which green electricity (%) | 70% | 100% | 100% | |
2019 | Total district heating & cooling consumption (MWh) | 170,430 | 2,986 | 12,347 |
of which renewable energy (%) | 50% | 45% | 49% | |
2019 | Total direct energy consumption (MWh) | 79,786 | 1,203 | 11,311 |
of which renewable energy (%) | 0% | 0% | 0% | |
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2.2.3.5 WATER MANAGEMENT
The non-financial risk assessment pointed out that water is not a key environmental issue for Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield. Indeed, the assets of the Group's portfolio are not considered as being significant water consumers. Moreover, the exposure of the Group's portfolio to the water scarcity risk has been reassessed in 2019 based on asset location and climate scenarios and is deemed very low.
However, as part of its resource efficiency policy, reducing water consumption is still an operational target on all sites and continues to be closely tracked and managed at asset and Group levels. Based on environmental best practice, the Group is taking active steps to limit water consumption, reduce water waste and maintain water quality. Special efforts are made to install water-efficient equipment, optimise operating practices, and ensure that leaks are detected and repaired rapidly. For example, a cloud based real-time monitoring system of water consumption has been implemented in several assets in the US to improve water management and effectively detect leaks, with an alert mechanism. As a result, a number of leaks from pipes, valves and sanitary equipment were identified and repaired and significant water and cost savings were achieved.
WATER CONSUMPTION (M3) BROKEN DOWN BY SOURCE (%)
To optimise water use and leverage associated cost savings, the Group also prioritises the use of non-drinkable or reused water over drinkable water wherever possible. In 2019, 6 shopping centres collected 172,094 m3 of rainwater and groundwater on site, which were re-used for cleaning and for watering green spaces. Closed- circuit systems are being favoured to reuse water during the testing of sprinkler equipment. 34 shopping centres across the Group collect and re-use water from regulatory sprinkler tests. Projects are also currently under study in some of the Group's assets to use underground water for cooling towers or to extend roof rainwater harvesting systems for landscape areas.
At existing assets, the Group relies on a close cooperation with tenants to reduce water consumption. Green leases (see Section
2.2.3.3 Green leases and tenant commitments) and tenants' on-site Sustainability Committees are used to help raise awareness among tenants about water use and to get them on board with water management.
In terms of preventing environmental pollution, run-off water collected from car parks is treated before being disposed of through municipal wastewater networks.
In 2019, water intensity in litres/visit at owned and managed shopping centres decreased by 3% compared with 2018 on a like-for-like basis.
Water purchased from the district network (municipal water) and water withdrawals from other sources for use in common and private areas of standing assets.
Convention | |||
Retail | Office | & Exhibition | |
2019 TOTAL WATER CONSUMPTION | 7,726,771 | 21,707 | 337,648 |
of which municipal water (%) | 93% | 100% | 100% |
of which rainwater (%) | 2% | 0% | 0% |
of which groundwater (%) | 0% | 0% | 0% |
of which surface water (%) | 1% | 0% | 0% |
of which wastewater from another organisation (grey water) (%) | 4% | 0% | 0% |
2018 Like-for-like | 7,601,767 | 21,366 | 312,079 |
2019 Like-for-like | 7,498,954 | 21,707 | 337,648 |
2019/2018 CHANGE (%) | -1% | 2% | 8% |
WATER INTENSITY OF STANDING ASSETS PER USAGE FOR SHOPPING CENTRES (LITRE/VISIT/YEAR), FOR OFFICES (LITRE/ OCCUPANT/YEAR), AND FOR CONVENTION & EXHIBITION CENTRES (LITRE/M2 DOCC(1)/YEAR)
Retail | Office | Convention & Exhibition | |
(Litre/visit) | (Litre/occupant) | (Litre/m² DOCC) | |
2019 TOTAL | 7.20 | 7,386 | 5.29 |
2018 Like-for-like | 7.35 | 7,798 | 4.64 |
2019 Like-for-like | 7.15 | 7,386 | 5.29 |
2019/2018 CHANGE (%) | -3% | -5% | 14% |
(1) Areas occupied per days of occupancy.
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2.2.3.6 WASTE MANAGEMENT
The Group has set itself the target of sending no waste to landfill by 2025 in its Better Places 2030 strategy (see progress in Section 2.1.4.1 Summary of the Group's CSR performance). Unibail-Rodamco- Westfield's waste management approach is consequently designed to maximise recycling and minimise disposal to landfill.
The total volume of waste generated in a building, whatever its usage, is mostly dependent on the level of activity of the tenants, i.e. sales for Shopping Centres and occupancy for Office buildings. This means that the Group has a limited impact on the total volume of waste generated on site. Nevertheless, the Group is committed to waste management efficiency measures, such as increasing waste sorting, raising awareness of tenants as well as incentivising them to reduce the amount of waste disposed, and implementing innovative waste management solutions.
- IMPROVING WASTE SORTING IN COLLABORATION WITH TENANTS AND WASTE PROVIDERS
Suitable waste segregation facilities are in place in all assets and most assets are equipped with specific sorting facilities and treatment solutions for organic waste, which represents a significant share of the total amount of waste generated by the Group.
Tenants are regularly informed and made aware of local on-site waste management policies and processes and of the importance of sorting waste, via for example tenants' on-site Sustainability Committees, and the development of site-level waste sorting guidelines reminding tenants of what to do with different types of waste. Both supplier purchasing contracts and tenant "green leases" establish the minimum requirements to be met for waste sorting and recycling. Waste management service providers must monitor and submit a monthly progress report with details of tonnages collected by type of waste and recycling percentages achieved. Furthermore, they are asked to regularly submit a waste management improvement plan or propose available opportunities such as upgrades in material recovery facilities, or modified equipment when the tenant mix changes to site management teams, to ensure the efficient management of each location's waste streams. Shopping centre technical managers meet with waste management service providers on a frequent basis to monitor progress and performance. The waste solution providers' remits however extend beyond just management and reporting, also focusing heavily on tenant engagement and communications.
Tenant education includes delivering tenant-level waste sorting guidelines with the retailer's team, updating and adding signage on waste bins, sharing best practices, highlighting the importance of properly sorting material, and outlining the legal requirements associated with the waste management programme. For example, in the UK, educational sessions with retailers are held regularly via the waste contractor's 'Green Academy' programme. In the US, assets with organic-wastefood-service programmes are provided additional assistance for the set up and ongoing management of diverting pre- consumer food waste. All the Group's shopping centres also hold yearly meetings with their stakeholders (tenants and waste treatment providers) with a detailed account of the site's waste management outcomes.
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Tenants are also being incentivised through the implementation of | |
individual reinvoicing of waste charges. An increasing number of | |
shopping centres are equipped with an advanced waste management | |
system which consists of weighing the waste of each tenant separately | |
in order to invoice them on the actual tonnage they generate. This | |
encourages better waste sorting, enabling tenants to reduce the | |
tonnage of residual waste for which the final disposal is more | 2. |
expensive. This system contributes efficiently to improving the | |
asset's recycling rate. |
- DEVELOPING INNOVATIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS
On-site innovative waste treatment solutions are also installed in several of the Group's assets to increase the amount of valorised waste and reduce waste management costs, such as: eco-digesters turning organic waste into inert greywater which can then be flushed into a standard drain, composters producing fertilizer for green spaces out of organic waste, and a plastic waste-to-plastic filament conversion facility associated with a 3D-printer to recycle plastic waste into new objects like plastic cups in Metropole Zlicin (CZ).
To continually increase its waste recycling rate, and as part of its innovation programme, the Group has developed successful corporate partnerships with two startups:
The first partnership, initiated in 2017 with Phénix, introduced two pilot projects to identify and create new recovery streams for waste destined for disposal: a full waste management audit of a shopping centre was performed to identify recycling levers and a partnership with retailers was introduced to recycle organic waste. Following on from the success of these pilot projects, Phénix was selected, via a tender process, as the new waste management provider for Westfield Rosny 2 shopping centre (France) from early 2019. This partnership aims at promoting circular economy principles in waste management with the objective of having 100% of waste reused or recycled by the end of 2021 in Westfield Rosny 2.
The Group launched the second partnership in April 2018 with the startup Too Good To Go. The solution helps retailers prevent wastage of unsold food at the end of the day, by putting them in touch with consumers through an application offering baskets of unsold products at a discount price. After the success of an initial pilot project launched at the Westfield Euralille shopping centre (France), the Group launched early 2019 the large-scaleroll-out of this partnership across all of its French shopping centres. The initial objective of saving 50,000 meals in 2019 was exceeded with more than 126,000 meals saved during the year in the Group's French portfolio. In 2020, the Group aims at continuing food waste prevention by expanding the partnership with Too Good To Go across Europe.
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As part of its Better Events 2030 strategy, Viparis has created a new dynamic in the events industry by focusing on circular economy and initiating joint discussions with various stakeholders: event operators, event organisers, standholders and cleaning services, which led to three tests at three different-sized exhibitions at the Paris Nord Villepinte convention site. The initial results of these tests were encouraging, with up to 65% waste sorting for one of the exhibitions tested. In addition to waste flow management and figures, issues relating to waste valorisation streams and eco-design were discussed. This circular economy work will give rise to new common goals among the stakeholders of the French Union of the event industry (UNIMEV): a "Green Growth Commitment" (French ECV), will be signed between the industry stakeholders and four Ministries of the
French Government to find practical solutions to tackle the waste issue and reach concrete recycling objectives.
- RESULTS
In 2019, 37% of the waste generated by the Group's owned and managed shopping centres was sent to landfill, of which 26% valorised with energy recovery. 39% of waste was recycled (including reuse, material and bio-waste recycling), compared to 42% in 2018. In total, 68% of waste was valorised in 2019, through recycling or energy recovery. Already 2 of the Group's shopping centres, in the UK, have achieved zero waste to landfill, since the year 2012.
TOTAL WASTE GENERATED (METRIC TONNES), AND BREAKDOWN BY DISPOSAL ROUTES (%)
Total waste(1) collected on site, generated from shopping centre operations (common areas and tenants) and associated waste treatment streams.
Retail | |
2019 TOTAL WASTE (METRIC TONNES) | 138,952 |
of which recycled waste (%) | 39% |
of which recovered waste: waste-to-energy (%) | 29% |
of which not recovered (%) | 32% |
2018 TOTAL (METRIC TONNES)(*) | 144,752 |
of which recycled waste (%) | 42% |
of which recovered waste: waste-to-energy (%) | 31% |
of which not recovered (%) | 27% |
(*) Jumbo is excluded from 2018 data.
2.2.3.7 HEALTH & SAFETY, SECURITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS AND POLLUTION
The prevention of health, safety and security risks for people (employees, customers, tenants, suppliers, subcontractors and local communities) and of environmental risks linked with the operation of its assets forms an integral part of the Group's risk management policy. The Group complies with all applicable legislation in this regard and often exceeds minimum standards required by laws to ensure a higher standard of health, safety and security at its assets.
The HSE and Security management systems enable the Group to monitor and assess its performance regarding risk prevention on a day-to-day basis, and maintain a strong risk management culture embedded within operating and management teams.
- HEALTH, SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENT (HSE) RISK MANAGEMENT
The Group has drawn up an appropriate Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) risk management policy which includes rules and guiding principles at Group level, supplemented at a local level by procedures that comply with local regulations. The main areas covered by the Group's HSE risk management policy are air and water quality, asbestos, soil and air pollution, legionnaires' disease, electromagnetic radiation, classified installations, technical and safety installations, and fire extinguishing and alarm systems.
This Group policy includes, in particular, an annual review of HSE risks at standing assets for both European and American platforms through two Group Risk Management Committees, and the inspection and continuous improvement of these buildings and their technical equipment liable to have an impact on the environment or on personal safety. Technical documentation on regulatory maintenance and testing is also kept up-to-date and made available at each site. Policy monitoring is conducted by on-site teams and checked every year by external auditors or internal management.
- Waste for which URW has the legal management responsibility. The Group's waste management responsibilities and reporting scopes are guided by specific national requirements. At some assets, local authorities are responsible for waste management: in this case the Group does not control the final destination of the waste produced at these assets. The disposal of hazardous waste falls outside of the Group's legal responsibility as it is managed directly by the maintenance contractors who are responsible for it, using the appropriate disposal route. Offices & Others and Convention & Exhibition business units are excluded from the scope of waste indicators. At Convention & Exhibition venues (business operated by the Viparis subsidiary), waste is indeed managed by exhibition planners. At Offices, waste collection services, whether ensured by a private company or the local authority, are shared with other buildings and owners. Therefore, separate data tracking for the Group is not available.
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In Europe, an independent third-party audit was carried out in 2019, as it is every year, to assess HSE risks for building visitors and occupants at all of the Group's assets (shopping centres, offices, convention & exhibition centres) in all countries in which the Group operates, based on a framework that incorporates both external regulations and Group policies. This audit awards the site one of four overall scores which reflect the extent to which health, safety and environmental risks are being controlled:
A.satisfactory risk management and control;
B. satisfactory risk management and control, with improvements still needed for certain indicators;
C.records of areas of non-compliance requiring the implementation of corrective actions;
D. unsatisfactory risk management and control.
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A personalised action plan, monitored on a daily basis by operational teams, is systematically updated following each assessment in order to improve the quality of risk control as part of a process of continuous improvement. If a D rating is given, a second assessment is carried out in the month following the audit to check that all corrective actions identified have been implemented.
The Group's target is to obtain at least a "B" ranking for all its | 2. |
European owned and managed assets for the assessment of these |
risks. In 2019, 69% assets were audited Groupwide: 100% in Europe and none in the US. 100% of audited sites obtained an "A" or "B" rating level, no asset obtained a "C" rating. No "D" rating has been given for the last eight years.
ANNUAL HEALTH, SAFETY, AND ENVIRONMENTAL RISK MANAGEMENT ASSESSMENT
Convention & | ||||
Group total | Retail | Office | Exhibition | |
2019 HSE EXTERNAL ASSESSMENT COVERAGE (%) | 69% | 65% | 100% | 100% |
% of which audited sites obtaining an A or B annual score | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Internal reviews are also being held Groupwide, at asset level, to ensure the enforcement of HSE regulations and procedures, identifying actions that have been rolled-out, new action plans to be implemented and associated budget. For example: in order to reduce its exposure to the risk of legionnaires' disease, the Group is progressively replacing "open" cooling towers with systems permanently eradicating this risk on the sites in question.
One of the keystones of the Group's risk prevention approach is staff training. As such, local teams get the necessary HSE training under
the supervision of regional technical teams according to their needs, and all new employees of relevant departments attend an introductory course to review HSE policies, encompassing risk control policies and tools. On-site teams are trained in first aid techniques and maintain close relationships with local emergency services (fire brigade, paramedics and police) as well as with the relevant administrative departments. For more details, see Section 6.2.2.4 B Security, Health and Safety risks - Health & safety (H&S) (including natural disasters).
COMPLIANCE WITH HEALTH AND SAFETY REGULATION
Penalties for non-compliance related to building health and safety.
2019 | ||
2019 | Number of sanctions for non-compliance related to building health and safety | 1 |
2019 | Monetary value of associated fines (€) | 100 |
COMPLIANCE WITH ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION
Penalties for non-compliance with environmental legislation and regulations.
2019 | ||
2019 | Monetary value of fines for environmental breaches (€) | 5,768 |
2019 | Total number of non-monetary sanctions for environmental breaches | 12 |
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- SECURITY & CRISIS MANAGEMENT
Mastering the security risk is key for the Group's portfolio, made of public places welcoming a high number of visitors. In 2019, a complete department was created to cover terrorism threat, criminal activities and cyber-protection of the assets.
Monitored and managed through a Group Security Committee, the Security policy and strategy are overseen at Senior Management Team level for the whole portfolio. A regional Security Action Plan, challenged by corporate teams, assesses the security threats and directs the security measures to align them with local specificities. A security audit is performed to check the minimum required protection level is achieved and to monitor the continuous enhancement of the Group's assets. All Group employees have also been invited to complete a complementary e-learning session on the Group Security Policy.
In addition to the prevention of security related situations, the Group finalised in 2019 the implementation of the crisis management framework and the related crisis training organisation (see Section
6.2.2.4 A Security, Health and Safety risks - Terrorism & major security).
Finally, the critical risk of terrorist attacks faced by several countries has prompted the Group to develop a resolute, responsible policy for providing protection and preventing the risk of attacks, with the chief aim being to reassure the tenants' and service providers' employees who work at sites managed by the Group as well as providing a safe environment for customers and visitors. These plans, worked out in close cooperation with local authorities and the enforcement authorities, combine surveillance and detection equipment, heightened security measures, information-sharing and the training of tenants' staff in order to increase the vigilance of all site personnel and to react effectively in case of a threat.
2.2.4 DEVELOP CONNECTIVITY & SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY
As part of its Better Places 2030 programme, Unibail-Rodamco- Westfield aims at ensuring access to public transport and sustainable mobility to the visitors of its assets. The Group is committed to reduce by -40% its scope 3 carbon emissions linked with visitor transportation from a 2015 baseline (see Section 2.2.1 Address climate change) and to achieve the target of having 50% of visitors accessing Group assets by sustainable means of transport by 2030. This engagement cascades down through the Group's development pipeline, in which the Group aims at 100% development projects significantly connected to public transport solutions by 2025. See Section 2.1.4.1 Summary of the Group's CSR performance for a summary of the Group results against these strategic targets.
By taking these commitments, the Group is taking a long-term view on the evolution of mobility trends by working both on asset attractivity and actively encouraging new sustainable transport solutions and behaviours.
In order to achieve these objectives, the Group also partners with key players in the transport sector to accelerate the development of innovative and sustainable transport solutions for visitors.
2.2.4.1 CONNECTIVITY TO TRANSPORT LINKS
The Group is focusing on assets that are well connected to public transport networks and are located within major cities. The Group's selection, investment and development processes look at connected projects and sustainable mobility solutions which have a strong positive impact on the surrounding territories. Indicators such as number of electric vehicle charging spaces, bicycle spaces, connection to public transport and projected car modal share are being assessed for each project in the Group pipeline. In particular, the Group has set minimal requirements regarding these mobility indicators for all of its development projects, in its sustainability brief for development projects issued end of 2019. These requirements are to be reviewed at each key milestone of a project's development.
At 2019 year end, 100% of the Group's development projects are connected to significant public transport solutions.
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For standing assets, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield is committed to systematically providing its visitors, retailers and employees with an extended offer of sustainable transportation, such as: short-distance carpooling, testing of car-sharing solutions, increasing the number of parking spaces fitted with free charging stations for electric vehicles, developing adapted bicycle infrastructures, and providing autonomous electric transportation when available. A number of the Group's shopping centres are continuously working on improving on- site bicycle facilities: increasing the size of bicycle parks, installing electric chargers, creating dedicated lanes, etc.
Assets are also working in close conjunction with local authorities to improve their connectivity with public transport services. For example, three additional bus lines will be coming to Ruhr Park
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shopping centre (Germany) in 2020. A growing number of Unibail- | |
Rodamco-Westfield assets are also benefiting from having a direct link | |
to tram or train services, such as Westfield Carré Sénart, La Part-Dieu, | |
Lyon Confluence, Toison d'Or, Westfield Vélizy 2, Porte de Versailles, | |
Westfield Mall of Scandinavia, and Westfield San Francisco Centre. | |
Wroclavia shopping centre, which opened end of 2017 is also located | |
close to Wroclaw train station, 13 tram lines and to 15 bus routes. | 2. |
As a result, the marketing surveys conducted on a regular basis on | |
the Group's shopping centres indicate that around 38% of visitors | |
travelled by sustainable means of transport (public transport, | |
bicycle, on foot, and electric vehicles(1) to the Group's shopping | |
centres in 2019. |
BREAKDOWN OF GROUP SHOPPING CENTRES' VISITS BY TRANSPORT MEANS AND BY REGION (%)
Europe | 35% | 51% | 2% | 10% | 2% |
United States | 4% | 6% | 87% | 3% |
Total retail | 27% | 2% | 61% | 1% | 8% 1% |
0 | 20 | 40 | 60 | 80 | 100 | % |
Public transport
Electric cars
Other cars
Bicycle
On foot 2 wheels
(1) Electric vehicle breakdown is not available for European assets in 2019.
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- MOBILITY ACTION PLANS (MOBAPs)
In order to improve every aspect of its customers' mobility experience (time taken, cost, environmental impact, etc.) and to reach the ambitious mobility targets of its Better Places 2030 strategy, the Group has developed an internal tool: the Mobility Action Plan (MOBAP). This 360° tool starts with a diagnosis of transport methods offered by a shopping centre and used by its visitors, and leads to the design of an action plan with a twofold objective:
- Improve the centre's connectivity;
- Deploy "soft" transport solutions to reduce the carbon footprint of visitors.
Some short/medium-term actions that can be directly implemented are identified as part of Mobility Action Plans, such as adding dynamic signage on shopping centre approaches to improve traffic management, as well as more long-term measures involving relations and partnerships with local authorities, such as developing shopping centres connectivity with planned bicycle lanes or public transport.
The Group targets to devise Mobility Action Plans for 100% of its shopping centres by 2020. After a pilot phase in 2017, this tool was widely rolled-out across the European portfolio in 2018 and 2019, and will be extended to the US assets in 2020.
As a result, in 2019, 54% of the shopping centres owned and managed by the Group had successfully implemented their own Mobility Action Plan, among which 82% of shopping centres in Europe.
2.2.4.2 INNOVATIVE SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT SOLUTIONS
- PROMOTION OF ELECTRIC TRANSPORT
As part of its commitment to foster sustainable mobility in its CSR strategy, the Group is encouraging the use of electric vehicles by installing charging stations at its assets. The Group launched in 2018 a three-year plan to introduce electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in its European shopping centres: nearly 200 charging stations were installed or modernised in continental Europe in 2018. In 2019, additional EV charging points were created Group wide and the European electric vehicle strategy was updated. In the US, specific partnerships with EV charging operators are being implemented.
As a result, electric vehicle charging is well embedded in the Group's asset operations: in 2019, 84% of the Group's assets were equipped with EV charging facilities in Europe, and 38% in the US.
PROPORTION OF STANDING ASSETS EQUIPPED WITH CHARGING FACILITIES FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES
Charging facilities for electric vehicles include electric vehicle charging areas, stations, and car park spaces that are accessible to all visitors (operators allowing for interoperability).
Convention | ||||
Group total | Retail | Office | & Exhibition | |
2019 Share of assets equipped with charging facilities for electric vehicles | 70% | 75% | 33% | 25% |
2019 associated number of car park spaces with EV charging points | 1,096 | 1,041 | 15 | 40 |
On top of the EV charging points reported above, a European partnership was also signed with Tesla at the end of 2016 to roll out their specific charging solution in some of the Group's shopping centres, including the installation of supercharger Tesla stations in two of the Group's assets: Polygone Riviera (France) and Aupark (Slovakia). Tesla superchargers have also been implemented in the US shopping centres.
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- INNOVATIVE PARTNERSHIPS LOOKING AHEAD TO FUTURE MOBILITY SOLUTIONS
After a year of research on the future of mobility and some encouraging tests, the Group innovation lab (URW Lab) focused its research in 2019 on several topics, including the assessment of:
- potential partnership opportunities for URW to transform Group assets into mobility hubs;
- solutions to incentivise visitors to adapt their mobility behaviours, by screening the most relevant actors on soft mobility, car sharing or ride-hailing.
Some discussions have led to the signature of memorandum of understanding with key players such as Lime. The initial ambition with Lime consists in promoting micro mobility solutions in assets by offering the right services and infrastructures to create mobility hubs: the Group is currently investigating the development and creation of a partnership in and around some Unibail-Rodamco- Westfield pilot assets including Westfield Forum des Halles. This includes Inner-city B2B Charging & Maintenance hubs with the implementation of professional charging and maintenance facilities for electric scooters in "cold retail zones" such as car parks for Lime to improve its environmental standards and footprint while gaining in operational efficiency.
- LOGISTICS SOLUTIONS FOR RETAILERS
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield is aiming to reduce the impact of deliveries to retailers in urban centres by developing pooled logistics, optimising the load factor of delivery vehicles, reducing the number of round trips and using low-emission vehicles.
During the public enquiry for the Gaîté Montparnasse project, the Group was involved in devising solutions to reduce the impact of traffic related to future deliveries to the centre and the hotel. A pooled delivery organisation is planned for the creation of the Food Society, the largest Food Hall in Europe, to secure a constant supply of fresh products, under controlled temperatures, from the Rungis national interest market or from all over France. Solutions are being studied to facilitate pooled supply for all stakeholders and retailers of the site.
The food delivery trend now seems confirmed with global revenues for food delivery that will double in 6 years (from $14 Bn in 2017 to $32 Bn in 2023). URW has more than 2,600 food retailers in its portfolio that can see opportunities in partnering with food delivery platforms, in particular to increase their sales. However, malls' infrastructure are usually not fitted for food delivery: riders can face accessibility problems with a lack of dedicated spaces to park bikes or scooters, crowded aisles at peak times, entry security checks, difficulties to find restaurants in-mall, etc. In such context, URW set the ambition of facilitating food delivery uses from its shopping centres.
With the creation of a new Dining Experience at Westfield Vélizy 2 (France) in 2019, URW decided to test new omnichannel standards, including optimisation in the accessibility for riders with safe and dedicated parking slots that are well indicated with visible signage and geolocated on food delivery platforms, partnerships with delivery platforms for special offers to help restaurants leverage the rise of food delivery uses, a consistent marketing and communication action plan to advertise the launch of this service for visitors, workers, and inhabitants of the catchment area, and indicators to monitor the performance of the service. The results are very
(1) By the end of 2019 compared to retailers' food delivery revenues in 2018 in Europe.
Corporate Social Responsibility
Better spaces
promising: Uber Eats and Deliveroo (the two French leaders in the food delivery market) partnered with URW for this first proof-of- concept, with 15 food retailers engaged (out of 25 eligible for food delivery), and 9,500 orders within the first seven months following the opening of the Dining Experience.
It has been decided to scale omnichannel dining throughout 40 URW
destinations (25 in Europe and 15 in the US). This roll-out is expected 2. to generate +35% in food delivery revenues(1) within the first year. All
URW regions are currently partnering with major food delivery platforms (Uber Eats, Deliveroo but also Wolt, or Lieferando) to adapt to the specificities of each market.
2.2.5 INTEGRATE NATURE AND BIODIVERSITY
As part of its Better Places 2030 strategy, the Group commits to contribute to greener cities, by protecting biodiversity. This translates into the objectives to have 100% of its development projects, and 100% of its standing assets with high biodiversity stakes, to implement a biodiversity action plan by 2022. To reach these objectives, the Group commits to developing a new Group biodiversity strategy in 2020. Meanwhile, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield integrates biodiversity into its current development projects through requirements in its Sustainability Brief and in its standing assets with independent or certification-based actions.
- INTEGRATING NATURE AND BIODIVERSITY IN DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS
The Group will be working closely with biodiversity experts on defining and implementing a strategy for the integration of biodiversity into its activities in 2020. Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield has already incorporated biodiversity in the Sustainability Brief applicable to all development projects (see Section Project design and review stage in 2.2.2 Design sustainable buildings). For all greenfield and brownfield projects involved in a BREEAM or LEED certification process, the certification scorecard must comply with the following performances:
- BREEAM NC 2016: achieve at least 6 credits in the BREEAM land use and ecology Section
- LEED BD+C: achieve at least 2 credits in "Protect or Restore Habitat" criteria of "Sustainable Sites" Section
The development projects that are not concerned by any environmental certifications are asked to do their best efforts to improve site biodiversity through independent local actions.
An ecologist is usually appointed to the design team for greenfield/ brownfield projects. The ecologist advises the architects and designers on the most appropriate plant species to choose for the development project, taking into account their relevance to local habitats and their potential to create a positive ecological impact by enhancing and/or conserving local fauna and flora. For extension or renovation projects, the potential to foster biodiversity is explored as part of enhancement opportunities. An impact assessment, which includes an environmental/biodiversity component, is a pre-requisite for obtaining a building permit and commercial planning permission in France. A public consultation is also carried out as part of this process.
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Under the supervision of the international landscape artist Jean Mus, more than 1,000 trees were planted at Polygone Riviera, the first open-air lifestyle mall in France, opened in October 2015. The Westfield Mall of Scandinavia shopping centre (Stockholm), inaugurated in November 2015, achieved 70% of credits in the "Land Use and Ecology" Section in the BREEAM interim certification, helping it in 2014 to become the first shopping centre in Sweden to obtain an overall "Excellent" rating (design stage). The development projects (greenfield/brownfield projects and extensions) delivered in 2017 have also adopted this approach, as in the case of the Chodov and Carré Sénart extensions which have achieved 90% and 70% of credits in the "Land Use and Ecology" category.
- INTEGRATING NATURE AND BIODIVERSITY IN STANDING ASSETS
Existing assets benefit from an equally pragmatic approach as far as biodiversity is concerned. Even though the very dense urban locations of most assets severely limit the potential to enhance biodiversity, the Group's sites are committed to retaining and improving local biodiversity. As a result, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield's main focus is on creating "green" spaces, such as green roofs and green walls, and carefully selecting plant species. The Group also undertakes a biodiversity study prior to major renovations and/or extensions: a gap analysis methodology is used to measure the site's ecological potential against its initial status.
For example, the two UK centres, Westfield London and Westfield Stratford City, exhibit over 1,500 m2 of living walls containing close to 50,000 individual plants of over 20 varying species. Westfield London planted 73 mature and semi mature trees across the estate, as well as 27,000 mixed bulbs across the external shrub land. Westfield Stratford City installed 15 insect hotels to promote diverse ecology of the plant beds, and also erected internal plant displays to improve the inside air quality and add to the environment for the general public.
The Group's BREEAM In-Use certification policy (see Section 2.2.3.2 Environmental certifications of buildings during the operation phase) ensures that biodiversity issues are well addressed and promoted to achieve high standards. Once a project has been built and delivered, the Group's operating management team, particularly the on-site teams that manage each asset, are responsible for maintaining and monitoring biodiversity. The CSR team monitors the application of the Group's biodiversity policy and provides operating teams with the necessary support.
- URBAN FARMING AT URW
In keeping with its commitment to turn its assets into better places, the Group has begun research and development into urban agriculture and beekeeping projects at a number of its assets. Other than the benefits incurred from diversifying surface usage and influencing food consumption trends, this type of project also has a positive impact on promoting biodiversity in cities.
In 2019, the urban farm opened in 2018 on the roof of So Ouest in Levallois-Perret (France), was extended by 300 m². This project, developed in partnership with the start-up Sous Les Fraises, revolves around cultivating vertically fruit, vegetables and flowers, as well as welcoming small groups for educational workshops, generating a positive impact on the environment and the local communities. In 2019, the Group also opened its first Urban Farm in partnership with the start-up Peas & Love on an outdoor terrace space in Westfield Parly 2 shopping centre (France), which offers cultivated plots of land for rent to the local residents, who can come on a regular basis to collect the fruit and vegetables yielded and enjoy thematic workshops. This opening has been a success with around 300 visits to the farm on week-ends during the high season.
In 2020, the Group has the ambition to open the biggest Urban Farm in Europe with a 12,000 sqm project on the roof of Pavillon 6 in Paris Expo Porte de Versailles convention venue (France), in partnership with Agripolis and Cultures en Ville. These three projects contribute to the City of Paris target to revegetate 100 hectares in Paris by 2020, including 1/3 surfaces dedicated to urban farming, formalised in an engagement Charter "Objectif 100 hectares" which URW and Viparis have signed in 2016.
Moreover, a number of the Group's shopping centres host beehives on their premises and produce their own honey. One such example is the shopping centre Westfield Mall of Scandinavia in Sweden which has a green roof and has housed beehives with over 250,000 bees since Spring 2016. Another is the Minto shopping centre in Germany which introduced beehives and bee-attracting plants on its roof in 2017 and which sells its own honey.
A number of projects are continuously being assessed across the Group's assets.
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Corporate Social Responsibility
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2.3 BETTER COMMUNITIES
As part of its CSR strategy, the Group commits to be a catalyst for growth within the communities in which it operates.
The Group's economic success is based on the strength of its relationships with stakeholders: tenants, customers, investors, local communities, suppliers and contractors, as well as employees. The need to develop and operate assets that meet stakeholders' expectations in all respects is core to the Group's operations. Unibail- Rodamco-Westfield is aware of the leading economic role its real estate properties play in the regions where it operates. In addition of being an urban planner, providing public facilities and building unique, iconic and well connected places, the Group's plays key roles in the local ecosystem:
- economic driver: offering direct employment through construction and operational spending, indirect employment by tenants' sales and activities, suppliers' activities and local taxes;
- social integrator: services offered to visitors, charities, employment promotion initiatives, partnerships with local communities and non-profits, places for unique experiences (events, entertainment, shopping, etc.).
As part of Better Places 2030, the Group's key commitment towards local communities is to ensure 100% of its owned and managed assets have a Community Resilience Action Plan in 2020. Through this tool, the Group aims at building resilience of the communities in which it operates thanks to a structured approach throughout the Group level while leaving flexibility for each asset in order to make sure of the relevance for local communities and for the asset itself.
As part of this overarching commitment, the Group is also pursuing its engagements to:
- Foster local economic development: in 2020, 100% of the Group Flagship assets will support local entrepreneurship through commercial partnership and regional networks;
-
Supporting local partners:
◦◦ The URW for Jobs programme aims at facilitating the recruitment of people cut off from the job market. Through this programme, the Group commits to have 1,000 people per year integrating a job or a qualifying training programme by 2020.
◦◦ Local partners are also supported through locally tailored initiatives or events. Since 2018, 100% of the Group assets organise at least one event each year with a non-profit organisation. To reinforce these partnerships, the Group commits to have 100% of its Flagship assets to support at least one charity or NGO-sponsored long term project.
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield is playing a key role in supporting more responsible consumption patterns and the development of desirable sustainable consumption alternatives. Therefore, the Group commits to support and promote at least one sustainable consumption initiative in all its Flagship assets by 2022 and collaborate with tenants to increase transparency of brands on health and sustainability, while expanding healthy and sustainable alternatives in 100% of its Flagship assets by 2025.
2.3.1 PROMOTING COMMUNITY RESILIENCE
Community resilience is the ability of a community (which is made up of people, private businesses, government and non-profit organizations) to uphold a favourable socio-economic climate, anticipating incidents and unplanned events, as well as contributing to generate positive impact on the territory. It is based on building
strong and long-term local relationships to understand challenges 2. faced by community assets belong to. By generating social capital
and reducing risks in and from the community, resilience performance is a part of the business performance and essential for the long term growth of the assets in their territories. In 2019, the Group has designed a methodology and tools to help its assets seize the topic: the Community Resilience Action plan. It consists in an in- depth analysis of the key issues for the local community and the asset itself, identifying key stakeholders to work or partner with, and results in a long term strategy on how to best address the issues identified.
Concrete examples of existing Community Resilience projects throughout the Group:
- Westfield Forum des Halles: together with the non-profit CASP (Centre d'Action Sociale Protestant), Westfield Forum des Halles finds relevant and long-term solutions for marginalised people (homelessness, drug addiction...) in the area. Through strong relationships with the social workers of the non-profit, dedicated training of the security provider, individuals are identified and accompanied to the right infrastructure (medical support, social housing) towards autonomy and psychological well-being.
- Multi-centreanswer in the United States: URW employees contribute to accelerate the recovery of the local communities after the occurrence of a natural disaster by engaging with the authorities to reopen public spaces. This is made possible by securing the corresponding certification of URW engineers.
Through this process, the Group aims at reinforcing dialogue with local stakeholders and helping its communities flourish.
2.3.2 EXPAND LOCAL ECONOMIES
The Group assesses the impact of the changes its business operations naturally generate on its stakeholders and proactively integrates this element as part of its business strategy.
Be it at local level or global level, having a clear understanding of the economic and social impact induced by the activities is key to preserve a license to operate and take relevant business decision in the daily Group's operations, and notably for:
- integrating consistent procedure and right intensity of discussion throughout the supply chain and with suppliers, particularly during the purchasing process;
- evaluating the current and future socio-economic impact of development projects in the context of administrative authorisation and discussions with local authorities;
- providing relevant community programmes, to further contribute to make communities and societies thrive.
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2.3.2.1 SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT
- SOCIO-ECONOMICFOOTPRINT
The Group started to work on quantifying the socio-economic footprint of its assets in 2013 by assessing the contribution of French owned and managed Shopping Centres to the French economy. In subsequent years the Group progressively expanded the scope of this review to encompass all the shopping centres in continental Europe. The last available study was performed in 2018. This encompasses 55 centres, with a detailed study for the Carré Sénart Shopping Centre. The 2018 studies, performed by external experts, enabled to measure the following economic impacts:
- Local impacts (ranging from the city to the region level): by estimating the total paid out salaries which are tied to activities of the Shopping Centres, the number of jobs created as well as local taxes paid in relation to operational activities;
- National impact: by estimating the FTEs associated with all jobs provided by the Shopping Centres. This includes Unibail-Rodamco- Westfield employees, tenant employees, and those of onsite service providers.
For continental Europe, employment, salaries and tax contribution figures were estimated using economic modelling techniques, data provided by Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield and assessment methods and simulation based on national statistical databases. Unibail-Rodamco- Westfield's total tax contribution was based on data provided by the Group.
All results are expressed in terms of created or maintained jobs excluding "additional" effects; some jobs would have existed even in the absence of a shopping centre in the area.
In parallel, using a different methodology, a socio-economic impact study of Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield assets in the UK was conducted to evaluate the contribution of both Westfield London and Westfield Stratford City during their ten years of operations.
In 2017, 62,266 hosted jobs were created or maintained within the Group's Shopping Centres in continental Europe (including retail spaces within those shopping centres not owned by the Group). Tenants' employees accounted for 95.5% of the Group's footprint in terms of direct employment in continental Europe, with suppliers and sub-contractors accounting for 4% of this footprint and Unibail‑Rodamco-Westfield employees on-site accounting for 0.5%. France, Spain and Germany are the three main contributors to direct employment created or maintained by the Group in continental Europe.
In 2018, 25,000 jobs (FTE equivalent) were supported in London, which account for approximately 12% of all jobs in two local boroughs: Hammersmith and Fulham, and Newham. In addition to encouraging local employment through several services to tenants, a study estimated that 24% of Westfield London employees were previously unemployed.
- TAX FOOTPRINT
Tax transparency regimes
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield is a publicly traded Group dedicated to investing in commercial real estate across Europe and the US. Many countries have adopted laws on local tax transparency to encourage long-term investment in real estate. These regimes subject the Group to distribution obligations(1). The Group distributed 94% of its 2018 adjusted recurring earnings as a dividend in 2019. In 2020, subject to approval of the AGMs, 87% of the Group's adjusted net recurring result will be distributed as a dividend. Based on the tax transparency regimes, the profits made are taxed at the shareholder level directly, instead of at the level of the Group. Unibail-Rodamco- Westfield promotes the concept of a global real estate investment regime that would allow for mutual recognition and a fair share of tax revenues between the countries where the properties are located, through withholding tax payments, and the countries where shareholders are resident, through income tax payments.
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield also believes that the tax transparency regimes for real estate contribute to a responsible and sustainable approach to taxation by creating conditions for long-term investment and win-win partnerships between local communities and the real estate industry.
The tax position of Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield reflects the geographical location of its activities. The Group declares profits and pays taxes where its activities are carried out. This translates into payments to local or national tax authorities of corporate income tax, business taxes and taxes withheld on dividend payments.(2)
Taxes and social security contributions paid locally
The Group's tax position mirrors the location of its investments. Considering its €65.3 Bn portfolio and the fact that holding real estate assets requires it to pay property taxes, Unibail-Rodamco- Westfield pays significant amounts of taxes. Significant tax payments are also made to local authorities upon investment and divestment transactions, although this will vary as it depends on the number and size of transactions completed during a particular year. In addition, tenants in the Group's shopping centres employ many people locally and contribute significant amounts in taxes and social charges.
In 2019, on a proportionate basis, the subsidiaries of the Unibail- Rodamco-Westfield Group paid €338 Mn of local taxes and social contributions (€374 Mn paid in 2018). The below geographic breakdown does not include income taxes which are reported in Chapter 5.2, Notes to the consolidated financial statements, Section 8.2.
- See note 8 to the consolidated financial information in Chapter 5.2 Notes to the consolidated financial statements, Section 8.1.3. Tax regimes, for an overview on these regimes.
(2) See note 8 to the consolidated financial information in Chapter 5.2 Notes to the consolidated financial statements, Section 8.2. Income tax expenses.
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GEOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN OF TAXES AND SOCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS PAID IN 2019
33% France
United
States 36%
3% Central
Europe
UK & Italy 8% | 6% Spain |
The Netherlands 1% | 7% Nordics |
Germany 4% | 2% Austria |
Furthermore, the €1,494 Mn dividend payment made by the Group in 2019 gave rise to an immediate payment of withholding tax, the cost of which is borne by shareholders, with an estimated amount of €185 Mn paid to French tax authorities.
Combatting tax evasion
The business strategy of Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield consists in creating value with its real estate portfolio over the long term. The tax policy of the Group is completely integrated into this long-term plan and is consistent with the normal course of its business operations.
In 2019, the Group operated in 12 different countries in continental Europe, the UK and the US. The Group does not use investment routes through non-cooperative countries or territories(1) to locate income in low tax jurisdictions. As a matter of principle, Unibail- Rodamco-Westfield complies with the letter and the spirit of tax laws and regulations. Tax risks are followed and monitored by a team of internal and external tax experts and discussed with an internal committee whose members include the Group Chief Executive Officer and the Group Chief Financial Officer, the Group's auditors, the Group's Audit Committee and Supervisory Board.
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield complies with tax transparency regulations such as the United States FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) and CRS (Common Reporting Standard) and files its fiscal Country-By-Country-Report with the French tax authorities.
Further information on Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield's approach to tax is available on our website at the following link: https://www.urw.com/en/investors/taxation-information.
Corporate Social Responsibility
Better communities
- FROM AN INDUCED SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT TO AN INTEGRATED AND PROACTIVE SOCIAL IMPACT
The results of Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield's economic footprint study | ||||
in continental Europe and in the UK confirm the significant economic | ||||
contribution of the Group and its suppliers in the economy of each | ||||
region both at local and national levels. Employment and financial | ||||
contribution | to | GDP through | salaries and taxes are universal | 2. |
performance indicators followed by numerous companies to measure | ||||
the socio-economic impact. However, the contribution of the Group | ||||
activities to the development of local areas are not restricted to job | ||||
creation or tax payment. More comprehensive approaches like the | ||||
study conducted on UK assets (summarised below), or on Paris Region | ||||
assets launched in 2019, showcase how wider benefits are also | ||||
deeply changing the face of the local economy. | ||||
The ambition of the Group of being a catalyst for growth is translated | ||||
in a wide range of initiatives towards the communities ranging from | ||||
entrepreneurship projects to training programs (see following | ||||
Sections). These additional engagement towards communities | ||||
demonstrates the Group's commitment to not only contribute | ||||
through the positive impact naturally induced by its activities, but to | ||||
be proactive in creating value for its community. | ||||
In ten years, Westfield London and Westfield Stratford City have | ||||
demonstrated their major contribution to the socio-economic | ||||
development | of | London. | Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield's global |
Flagships are among the most vibrant destinations to meet, work, shop, connect and be entertained in the British capital. Westfield London and Westfield Stratford City over ten years have attracted 590 million visitors and generated over £16.7 Bn in sales. Through the creation of mixed-use developments which feature the best in retail, dining and leisure alongside offices, hotels and residential, our centres have acted as catalysts to further inward investment and have contributed to placemaking in key areas of London. An independent report by Volterra, released in November 2018, outlines Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield's contributions including:
- over £200 Mn on improving infrastructure and connectivity;
- over £13.6 Mn in education and training; Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield centres now support 32,000 jobs in the capital with over 12,000 being created through developments in Stratford and Croydon;
- Westfield London and Westfield Stratford City are estimated to directly generate £22 Bn-£30 Bn worth of gross economic activity (GVA) over the next 20 years;
- the two centres generate significant additional expenditure for the benefit of local businesses, including an estimated £18 Mn-£25 Mn annual spend by centre employees and an expected £16.5 Mn total spend by construction workers;
- the Group's plans for close to 4,000 new London homes are expected to generate £58.5 Mn in annual residential spend in local areas.
(1) Non-cooperative countries or territories are usually defined as countries or territories refusing to adhere to international tax good governance standards.
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Read the full 2018 report: https://www.urw.com/en/portfolio/standing-assets/standing-portfolio/ sh o p pin g - ce ntre s//-/m e dia/Co r p o r ate~o~Site s/U nib ail- RodamcoCorporate/Files/Homepage/PORTFOLIO/Standing- Portfolio/Shopping-Centre/Westfield-London/URW-10_Years_in_the_ Making.ashx
2.3.2.2 SUPPORT LOCAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Fostering local economies also comes through empowering entrepreneurship. The Group uses its main strengths to support entrepreneurs, mostly from the retail industry, by offering them a strong visibility towards public and tenants in attractive locations.
Since 2007, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield organises the Grand Prix Commerce (Grand Prize Retail) to foster, add value to and support retail innovation and business creation. In its 13th year in France, four bold innovative retail concepts were rewarded. A total grant of €1.5 Mn will finance their openings in one of the Group's shopping centres in France. The Grand Prix Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield was given to 2 concepts: SmÄak Natural Food, "fast casual" Scandinavian- influenced food concept, and CAVAL, a brand of mismatched eco- friendly sneakers. The Prix Boutique (or "Store Prize" was awarded to Fédération Française de l'Apéritif, a place where consumers can taste local food products for aperitif time, and Waekura, an affordable jewelry brand.
Building on the success of the Grand Prix Commerce in France, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield launched in 2019 its first Spanish edition
- the "Gran Premio Retail". The first edition gathered 50 innovative brands of which three laureates were awarded in January 2020. Fittest Freakest offering a full range of sport fashion and experiences was awarded the first place, while Wai Wai, a brand producing organic and natural soaps won the second prize. In the 3rd position was the brand Button Watch, which offers watch with interchangeable fabric straps.
With these yearly Grand Prix Commerce Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, the Group helps accelerate the development of young retail entrepreneurs, while identifying the innovative concepts that will make tomorrow's retail. Beside the Grand Prix, local initiatives are implemented to support entrepreneurs' development: The support to the "Ouvre-Boite" incubator from the French foundation Apprentis d'Auteuil in France was extended to 3 shopping centres, giving the opportunity to over a dozen of entrepreneurs from disadvantaged backgrounds to demonstrate their concepts in a real store. In addition to the provision of in-kind donation, entrepreneurs are strongly supported onsite by Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield teams on technical and marketing aspects.
Taking part in entrepreneurship networks is another valuable way to support local entrepreneurship. Those networks support local entrepreneurs through financing, counselling and networking. Amongst other, in France, 2 assets are members of the "Initiative" network. As a result the shop "la Place Ephémère" in Aéroville enables retail entrepreneurs supported by the network to conduct customer facing tests and develop their businesses.
Shopping Centres also financially supported local entrepreneurship projects through Grant Funds such as the Croydon Partnership Youth
- Entreprise Opportunity Grant fund which awards twice every year local leading grassroots projects.
The Group wishes to continue enhancing the economic vitality of its community and committed to have 100% of its Flagship assets to support local entrepreneurship through commercial partnerships and regional networks in 2020.
2.3.2.3 SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
The CSR strategy of the Group addresses fundamental challenges and encompasses a much wider footprint than its direct actions. Being a substantial buyer, the Group is aware of the importance of driving industry standards influencing its supply chain and pushes for an evolution on the way it drives its suppliers and service providers toward more sustainable operations.
Given the size of its portfolio, the Group works with a large number of suppliers and contractors. This ensures that Unibail-Rodamco- Westfield is not exposed to the risk of depending on only a few main strategic suppliers.
- PURCHASING MAPPING
Purchases at Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (continental Europe) can be split into three categories:
- corporate overheads, including office management, business travel, consultancy and audit fees, corporate communication and public relations costs, ICT and other administrative costs. This covers all Group staff and regional headquarters;
- operating costs, services provided to properties for daily on-site operations, such as cleaning, maintenance, security, waste management, energy and fluid provision, and marketing expenses (OPEX paid by the property owner and mostly passed onto tenants as service charges);
- capitalised construction works invested in properties for three main purposes: new development or enhancement works, maintenance works, or re-letting works (CAPEX paid by the property owner); these include mainly purchases from constructors, fees for architects, designers and engineering firms, and insurance premiums.
The varied nature of procurements and the diverse locations of the Group's properties result in having most of the supply chain being local companies or subsidiaries that support the local economy. In addition, wherever possible, the purchasing policy favours local purchases in the catchment area of the Group's assets in order to contribute to employment and local economic development.
Purchases consist principally of OPEX and CAPEX for the operation and development of properties (Overheads being a small part of the overall expenses). Operating expenses are spent locally. OPEX and CAPEX costs mostly comprise of labour-intensive services and to that extent are purchases that cannot be relocated. Capitalised construction works are non-recurring expenses depending on development activity.
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- SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield's procurement strategy is designed to comply with the following rules: fairness, focus on quality, long-term partnerships, reduced risk and the respect for applicable regulations. Moreover, the Group must honour the trust placed in it through property management contracts which aim to be transparent and cost-efficient.
In addition to the principles and rules detailed in the Group procedures and Compliance Book (and specifically the Code of Ethics), all purchases must comply with the applicable local laws and regulations, especially labour and environmental laws. These local laws and regulations include notably the respect of the Modern Slavery Act or anti-discrimination clauses in the US.
To secure the proper application of these rules, in the case of a tender process and over the term of a contract, the supplier can contact the Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield Compliance Officer at any time to raise and submit a complaint, in accordance with the Group's whistleblowing procedure. The Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield Corporate internal audit team carries out regular audits across the Group to validate the thorough application of the Group's procurement policy.
The CSR approach is fully integrated at each step of the supplier procurement and referencing process of Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield in continental Europe.
In 2019, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield was identified as a global leader for engaging with its suppliers on climate change, being awarded a position on the Supplier Engagement Leaderboard by global environmental impact non-profit Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield was recognised to be among the top 3% of organisations assessed by CDP.
Corporate Social Responsibility
Better communities
Also, in 2014, the Group voluntarily signed the "Responsible Procurement Charter" in France, an initiative led by the French authorities. This charter, structured around 10 commitments, aims to promote best practices for more responsible purchases and a more balanced and cooperative relationship between large companies towards their providers.
Selection of suppliers | 2. |
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield chooses its contractors with great care |
and ensures they comply with its procurement policy. The Group- wide Purchasing Procedure guarantees an optimised price for the best level of service while securing an equal treatment among providers/suppliers. It states that the suppliers of all goods and services must be selected fairly on the basis of objective, comparable criteria and, when relevant, according to procedures relating to invitations to tender.
Prospective business partners are screened in line with the "Know Your Partner" procedure of the Group. These due diligences aim at assessing the partner exposure to corruption risk, but also enable the Group to identify past international labour law or human rights breaches.
Before a new service provider joins the approved list, a substantial amount of information is required, including an overview of its CSR strategy and practices. These environmental and social factors are of particular importance to the Group's information in its choice of suppliers: they form part of the criteria considered in any tender process used to select suppliers.
Each purchasing step is duly documented for traceability.
In continental Europe, a web based solution for purchasing management was launched in the Autumn of 2017, focusing on services procurement in the standing portfolio. The use of this purchasing platform makes the procedures of Unibail-Rodamco- Westfield in continental Europe more robust, facilitates new and direct collaboration between all stakeholders, ensures the transparency required for all purchasing decisions, helps operational teams to select providers, and facilitates the sharing of best practices and risks mitigations. This solution secures the administrative management for the whole purchasing cycle and generates productivity gains.
Inclusion of CSR criteria in contractual clauses
General Purchasing Conditions apply for all the countries in which Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield operates, although they vary between continental Europe, the UK and the US, according to local requirements. A clause is also automatically included in these conditions, requiring suppliers to abide by the Group's Code of Ethics provisions, including: complying with applicable laws and regulation, prevention of all forms of corruption, prevention of all forms of discrimination, respect for human dignity and for employees' work, preservation of the environment and reporting practices that are in breach of these principles using the contact procedure provided by the Group.
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Corporate Social Responsibility
Better communities
In continental Europe, for standing assets, service providers, particularly cleaning, multi-technical maintenance and security companies, are asked to sign the General Purchasing Conditions (CGA) attached to each contract, which include a sustainability clause covering all environmental issues, notably improved energy efficiency, responsible waste management, and the use of environmentally-friendly products and materials, and which ensure the protection of social rights, including a commitment to adhere to the conventions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and local employment legislation.
In the UK, the Standard Service Agreement includes a commitment to comply with all relevant safety, labour and environment (including but not restricted to waste and water management) legislation, with the site environmental management accreditation (ISO 14001) and with best practices in these areas.
In the US, specific mention on the Modern Slavery Act requires the suppliers not to engage in any direct or indirect form of human trafficking, slavery, forced or involuntary labour. New processes and procedures for US Procurement are under definition.
In France, two addenda included in the Group General Purchasing Conditions reinforce the existing sustainability provisions, specifying the efforts and results expected in terms of environmental and social performance: an "environmental clauses addendum", and a "professional integration clauses addendum". The latter, which was introduced in July 2018, commits service providers to fostering the professional integration of people remote from the job market. It requires service providers to commit and make major efforts in this field when providing services within the Group's assets. Specific targets are set in association with the Group, to adapt professional integration ambitions to the scope and business of each supplier, to secure genuine pathways leading to careers or qualifications and diversified recruitment channels. The ambitions are regularly reviewed and challenged at national and local level. In this addendum, providers also agree to recruit most of their staff from communities located close to the place where the contract is being fulfilled, and to take part in the Group's "URW for Jobs" recruitment events (see Section 2.3.3 Engaging with local stakeholders). Finally, signatory providers agree to prepare and send to the Group a summary of the professional integration actions implemented and results obtained in each of the Group asset in which they operate. At the end of 2018, the "professional integration clauses addendum" had been signed by 11 of the Group's key suppliers, resulting in over 179,000 hours of professional integration provided in the Group assets.
In continental Europe, for projects under construction, the contracts signed with suppliers state that the Group and the companies it controls are committed to reducing their carbon footprint of the project, particularly during the development phase of the assets. A clause indicates that the construction companies involved in the Group's projects must take this into account when selecting construction techniques, materials and technical solutions. After each project review and at all project stages, an arbitrage should be taken for carbon footprint impact for the proposed solution to be submitted to the Customer. The principles and action plans used to select the most sustainable materials with a reduced carbon content are specified in Section 2.2.2.3 Construction materials in this report.
Raising awareness amongst existing suppliers
To encourage existing suppliers and contractors to improve sustainable operating practices and use environmentally sustainable materials, the Group shared its CSR policy and related environmental and social targets with all of its main service providers Group-wide through official communication letters including contents and ambitions of the Group CSR strategy and the announcement of further supplier engagement on CSR topics. The Group confirmed its willingness to work hand-in-hand with its supply chain in its Better Places 2030 journey.
As part of the Group's continental Europe "4 Star" label criteria, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield regularly conducts training in customer service skills for the staff of security and cleaning suppliers at all shopping centres with the "4 Star" label. In France, maintenance suppliers are trained in the Group's Environmental and Health & Safety processes, free of charge.
The Group has also introduced initiatives concerning incentives for energy savings and waste selection performance. These site-by-site practices challenge suppliers and serve as a basis to involve them in a process of continuous improvement for all managed assets.
From 2020 onwards, CSR related topics will be addressed in dedicated supplier meetings or reviews to ensure the inclusion of sustainability issues in operational practices.
Assessing the CSR performance of suppliers
In continental Europe, internal annual supplier assessment of compliance with environmental clauses, management modes and service quality are performed on key services (multi-technical, health and safety, mechanical transport, cleaning, and waste management).
The supplier assessment process allows for the evaluation of supplier compliance with contractual requirements and to anticipate tender needs. Data collected through these assessments, once consolidated, are also shared with contractors during Steering Committees.
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2.3.3 ENGAGING WITH LOCAL STAKEHOLDERS
2.3.3.1 SUPPORTING THE COMMUNITY
Each of the Group's assets is fully committed to creating social value for communities and contributing to the sustainable economic development of the areas in which it operates. This commitment is made real through community-oriented activities to raise awareness, mobilise and actively provide tangible solutions to local area needs. URW for Jobs and URW Community Day are two major social initiatives held every year in collaboration with public partners and local charities. Additional long-standing partnerships with non-profit organisations further contribute to fostering our communities throughout the year. These initiatives are supported by the commitment of Group employees who volunteer during their working hours. In 2019, 84% of Group employees volunteered to support the social and environmental development of local communities. This represents more than 18,000 volunteering hours delivered by the Group.
- URW FOR JOBS
URW for Jobs is one of the Group's major social initiatives.
Its goal is to create job opportunities within the Group's assets for local people facing barriers to employment, for example due to economic, social or family issues.
Beneficiaries who join the programme receive free training support designed to meet the requirements of retailers in the Group's shopping centres. Participants attend a training programme, and receive coaching from Group employees. At the end of this process they are introduced to tenants from the shopping centre and employers from the surrounding area through job interviews, and complete job applications.
These actions are delivered with local public employment services and charities with which the Group builds long-term partnerships.
The Group's goal is to support 1,000 local people to find a job or a certified training programme as a result of the URW for Jobs programme by 2020.
In 2019, URW for Jobs was delivered by 40 centres in continental Europe and the UK. These 40 centres have helped to train 1,428 beneficiaries. Through over 18,800 training hours (on average 13 days training per candidate), the beneficiaries were able to rebuild self- confidence, crystallise their career plans and develop skills in the customer service sector.
In 2019, the 4th running year of the URW for Jobs initiative, 758 local people were hired in a job or enrolled in a certified training course in the 2 months following the programme. This includes 527 candidates trained through the programme and a further 231 candidates who were able to gain entry to the initiative without prior training and found a job at the shopping centres job fairs.
In the US, at least 3 three job fairs were organised in the Group shopping centres in 2019. The comprehensive URW for Jobs initiative will be rolled-out in the US starting in 2020.
Corporate Social Responsibility
Better communities
- URW COMMUNITY DAY | |
The URW Community Day engages a large number of employees in | |
volunteering for a local charity in the vicinity of an asset. In 2019, | |
over the course of one week, each of the 12 countries where the | |
Group operates held a full day where employees contributed more | |
than 12,000 hours of volunteer service to local communities. Over | |
2,000 employees dedicated one day to support 80 initiatives, in | 2. |
partnership with non-profit and public partners. | |
Some of the initiatives included:
- In France, over 450 employees volunteered. From paintwork to upcycling and forest preservation, they had the opportunity to dedicate time to one of 12 different initiatives, in support of many non-profit partners like Association Aurore (partner of the Ateliers Gaîté project in Paris), Secours Catholique-France (Westfield Rosny 2 and Westfield Vélizy 2), and La Cravate Solidaire (Aéroville). In the Marly forest, close to the Westfield Parly 2 shopping centre, 100 employees joined the French Office National des Forêts to maintain and protect the fauna and flora.
- In Poland, 70 employees conducted renovation works for the Society for the Care of the Blind, a charity dedicated to the care, education and rehabilitation of visually impaired people, located close to the Arkadia shopping centre.
- In Spain, the teams took action in support of CEMU - Ciudad Escuela de Los Muchachos, a long-term partner of the Parquesur shopping centre. While some employees painted and decorated the premises next to the shopping centre, others hosted games and workshops for the children in the area.
- In Sweden, more than 70 employees dedicated their day to the Stockholm natural reserve Skärgårdsstiftelsen, repainting equipment and cleaning paths, beaches and ditches, sponsored by the Nacka Forum and Westfield Mall of Scandinavia shopping centres.
- In the UK, the URW Community Day brought together 300 employees. Some worked at Wormwood Scrubs Park and Pony Centre and the Lambourne End Outdoor Centre, building fences, painting enclosures, cutting back vegetation and more, to assist the teams at these recreational and inspirational spaces for the communities surrounding the Westfield London and Westfield Stratford City shopping centres. Others dedicated their time in support of disadvantaged people through job workshops, skill training and mock interviews with the Palace for Life Foundation.
- In the US, 700 employees were actively involved in 50 activities across the country. Amongst the many initiatives, colleagues from Los Angeles prepared gift bags for mothers of sick children to be delivered on the occasion of international Mother's Day at a children's hospital. Others spent the day building a home for an underprivileged family in Newark, New Jersey with the charity Habitat for Humanity in partnership with the Westfield Garden State Plaza shopping centre.
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Corporate Social Responsibility
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- LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS
In addition to the URW for Jobs and URW Community Days initiatives, local or national partnerships give rise to a wide range of additional initiatives, in which Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield employees can regularly dedicate time and expertise.
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield has committed to 100% of Flagship assets supporting at least one local charity or NGO-sponsoredlong-term project (>2 years) by 2022.
In 2019, 938 social and environmental initiatives were delivered through the provision of spaces, donations, collection of materials or donations, volunteering and educational events. They benefitted 812 partners of which, 585 were non-profit and 227 were public community partners such as schools, nurseries, sports clubs, etc. At a corporate or national level, the Group has also directly participated in philanthropic projects through donations and contribution, amounting to €1.9 Mn, while shopping centres contributions amount to €5.1 Mn.
In total, philanthropic contributions from Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield amount to €9.8 Mn Group-wide.
Although the Group tries to always answer positively to non-profit requests for one-off events, it encourages to establish long terms collaboration to improve impact and collaboration efficiency. In 2019, at least 34% Flagship assets had partnerships with charities or NGOs for at least 2 years, while 85% of them had committed to support partners for the next 2 years.
Example of local partnerships:
In 2019, the Groups' French Shopping Centres celebrated the 11th consecutive year of partnering with the network of Écoles de la 2e chance ("second-chance schools") which, aside from financial support, benefited from operational support to enable their young beneficiaries to secure their social and professional integration.
In the US, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield has a longstanding commitment to supporting military veterans and their families. In 2019, employees volunteered throughout the year to provide veterans with one-on- one mentoring, counselling and career development assistance aimed at facilitating reintegration into civilian life. Employees also worked with Habitat for Humanity to help build homes for disadvantaged military families in need. Westfield UTC in San Diego hosted a veterans-focused job fair in partnership with the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation's "Hiring Our Heroes" initiative.
In the UK, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield partners with WISE and Stemettes, two organisations which enable and inspire gender balance from education to business in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. UK volunteers regularly engage with local schools to demystify and inspire young women about STEM career opportunities. The team supports the programme through workshops, personality quizzes, telling success stories and mentorship.
As industry leader, alongside the main stakeholders of the French real estate sector, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield is involved in promoting and driving forward education and research in the fields of real estate and urban planning. As a founding member of the Palladio Foundation, the Group has taken part in its annual programme of conferences sponsored by the President of the Île-de- France Region, Valérie Pécresse, on the topic of "Exchanging innovative goods and services in the City of tomorrow" aimed at identifying the major challenges of contemporary societies to invent the town/city of tomorrow.
In addition to these working groups and task forces, the Foundation also finances the brightest students in the real estate field, helping them to continue their higher education or pursue research projects: in 2019, 10 post-graduate students were awarded grants by the Foundation.
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Corporate Social Responsibility
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COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
OUR CENTRES CREATE BETTER COMMUNITIES
2.
CREATING JOB OPPORTUNITIES FOR | SUPPORTING NON-PROFITS | GETTING INVOLVED | |||||
PEOPLE SEEKING EMPLOYMENT | IN OUR COMMUNITIES | LOCALLY | |||||
1,428 | 80 | 938 | |||||
CANDIDATES TRAINED | INITIATIVES | SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL | |||||
INITIATIVES DELIVERED | |||||||
758 candidates found a job or | Supported by each of | 34% of Flagship assets with | |||||
certified training programme | the 12 countries | long-term (>2 years) | |||||
40 shopping centres involved | partnerships with non-profits | ||||||
SUPPORTED BY 84% OF GROUP EMPLOYEES CONTRIBUTING
MORE THAN 18,000 VOLUNTEERING HOURS
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Corporate Social Responsibility
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2.3.3.2 OPEN DIALOGUE WITH TENANTS AND VISITORS
To strengthen the dialogue with tenants, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield Europe (continental Europe and UK) conducts annual tenant satisfaction surveys in each shopping centre, holds one-on-one meetings with tenants, and participates in retail industry round tables and conferences.
The "Connect" application importantly improves day-to-day relations between centre staff and tenants and suppliers. The application is regularly used to engage and get feedback of tenants and their satisfaction regarding new services or events.
Launched in 2016, and currently used in 66 of the Group's shopping centres in continental Europe, the application will be further rolled out in 2 shopping centres in the US in 2020.
The Group is continuously adding to and adapting its customer service strategy. To improve the quality of service to its customers and measure progress in this area, the Group conducts annual customer satisfaction surveys for each of its shopping centres. In parallel the Group regularly updates its "4 Star" label, a framework for continental shopping centres to provide customers with a unique shopping experience through a range of services and infrastructures. This "4 Star" label is summarised in a 680 point review.
In continental Europe, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield is also doing its utmost to ensure its assets are welcoming and accessible to all citizens. Special provisions are made for customers with disabilities, as well as for elderly customers and families. On November 12, 2019, the Group and 19 of its assets in 6 countries partnered with Purple Tuesday, a day dedicated to awareness on the customer experience of people with disabilities. This action enabled more discussion with visitors and the Group committed on this occasion to train all customer-facing employees on how to welcome and engage with visitors in continental Europe. In 2020, a pilot will be conducted on the Flagship asset Westfield Vélizy 2 to explore new services towards people in need of assistance to identify best practices to extend to further assets.
2.3.4 PROMOTE RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION
Request for social and environmental responsibility is a growing trend in the consumption behaviour. The Group aspires to play an active role through its assets to foster the change in society and in the industry by promoting healthier and more responsible consumption. This is materialised through a diversified shopping offer, but also through non-retail initiatives such as new services or events.
2.3.4.1 FACILITATING CHANGE IN BEHAVIOURS THROUGH SERVICES AND PEDAGOGY
- ECOFRIENDLY HABITS
With 1.2 billion annual visits, the Group assets are critical to make change happen. As such, several initiatives were implemented to encourage visitors to concretely take action. These activations are made possible through new infrastructures such as bike parking or Electrical Vehicle charging points to promote an eco-friendlier mobility or through collect points of used batteries, bulb or small electronics equipment to facilitate recycling.
- SMART FOOD WASTE
Consumers are also encouraged to take action through innovative solutions such as the Too Good To Go application.
The partnership with Too Good To Go, a platform where food retailers can sell their unsold products at a discount for customer at the end of the day, was launched in 2018 and extended to all French shopping centres in 2019. This initiative offers a turnkey solution to the Group tenants while generating additional revenues and raising awareness amongst visitors.
By the end of 2019, over 126,000 meals were saved thanks to this partnership in all French shopping centres. Building on this success, the Group aims at rolling out similar initiatives accross all regions, with the ambition to save 250,000 meals by the end of 2020.
- URBAN FARMING
While rooftop beehives continue to flourish on assets' rooftop, initiatives on local food production were pursued with Sous les Fraises on the rooftop of the SOouest or with Peas & Love at Westfield Parly 2. For more details on urban farming project within the Group, refer to the Section 2.2.5 Integrate nature and biodiversity.
- ECO-FASHIONAND CIRCULARITY IN FASHION
Circularity in fashion was addressed with projects implemented to collect and recycle textile in partnership with visitors and retailers. 20 of the Group assets facilitate the recycling of used clothes with containers to collect clothing and the management of partnership with resellers and recyclers. This enabled in 2019 to collect 187 tons of textile, to give them a second life, reusing them through second hand market or charity donations or recycling them. Additional events on circular fashion led to an additional collection of 10 tons of fashion products.
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Amongst other, a pilot was launched with the French Red Cross to create a "reversed" shop in Westfield Vélizy 2: for 10 days, visitors could visit the pop-up store to donate their clothes, while being informed about the second life of their donation. This pilot resulted in to 6.5 tons of textile collected. The experience will be renewed and extended to 8 additional shopping centres in 2020.
In total, 197 tons of textile were collected to be given a second life through Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield assets.
- USING MARKETING TO RAISE AWARENESS
The Group also addresses this topic through marketing: several events and campaigns were led in partnership with local actors to raise awareness amongst visitor on sustainable behaviours in consumption choices. Amongst other:
- In the Czech Republic, reusable coffee cups were circulated in collaboration with coffee selling tenants and Otoc Kelimek;
- In Poland, the use of biodegradable straws, cuttlery & re-usable cups on the food courts were promoted together with Plastic Passe;
- In Sweden, in Westfield Mall of Scandinavia, eco-fashion shows were conducted and recycled bags were distributed during events with the company Sellpy;
- In the UK, in Westfield London, an installation promoting the benefits of organic cotton was implemented displaying how much water it takes to make a conventional cotton t-shirt.
In 2020, infrastructures and services to encourage the shift towards circularity in fashion and reduction of food waste will be increased in the Group asset, while sustainability and responsible consumption initiatives have been integrated in the Marketing roadmap of each asset and will be rolled out in 2020. The Group's ambition, is to have 100% of Flagship assets supporting and promoting sustainable consumption initiatives by 2022.
Corporate Social Responsibility
Better communities
2.3.4.2 AN ATTRACTIVE, DISTINCTIVE AND SUSTAINABLE OFFERING
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield devotes considerable energy to create extraordinary and sustainable places where people meet, relax, shop, work and share memorable experiences. The Group constantly works to meet the increasing needs of its visitors and communities
by offering a wider range of services, by animating the community 2. through tailored programmes of entertainment and events and by
providing a prime and relevant tenant mix.
To diversify its offer and answer to the growing demand for more responsible products and services, the Group sources sustainable retailers: innovative retail formats which convey sustainability benefits and have a positive impact on consumption behaviour are being implemented in various sectors. Regarding food, the Group accompanies the evolution of customer demand for a more healthy and diversified food offers, by introducing in its shopping centres organic, vegetarian offers such as Fafelle in Sweden, or local offers like with Letzt Sushi in Denmark, etc. The Group integrated new eco‑fashion and ethical brands in its portfolio such as Movesgood (bamboo-based products) in Täby Centrum, Pooow (an "umbrella" brand for 220 creators "made in France") in Westfield Carré Sénart, SoOuest and Westfield Parly 2, or REBAG (luxury bags) in Westfield World Trade Center.
Finally, visitors could also discover sustainable home furniture with Norrgavel in Nacka Forum and second hand electronic equipment with AFB (shop offering repair services whilst supporting the professional integration of disabled people).
In October 2019, the Group opened a brand new pop-up store, Pyramid, in Carrousel du Louvre, that gathers 20 French digital native vertical brands that all have strong CSR commitments (produced locally, produced without toxic chemicals, 100% organic etc.). For the Carrousel du Louvre, Pyramid is a way for the Group to renew its retail offer while offering a unique eco-conscious shopping experience to visitors.
In addition, the Group aspires to collaborate with tenants to enhance transparency of brands on health and sustainability in 100% of its Flagship assets by 2025.
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Corporate Social Responsibility
Better together
2.4 BETTER TOGETHER
KEY FIGURES
EMPLOYMENT BY COUNTRY
Workforce as at December 31:
The Group has 3,626 employees as at December 31, 2019.
1,200 | 1,091 | 1,089 | 1,058 | 1,074 | ||||||||||||||||||||
1,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
800 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
600 | 453 | 468 | 466 | 407 | ||||||||||||||||||||
400 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
200 | 66 | 64 | 83 | 93 | 72 | 77 | 139 | 137 | 106 | 103 | ||||||||||||||
63 | 11 | 1 | 56 | 11 | 10 | 26 | 30 | 9 | 7 | |||||||||||||||
0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Austria | Australia | Czech Republic | Denmark | Italy | France(1) | Germany | The Netherlands | Poland | Slovakia | Spain | Sweden | United Kingdom | The United Statesof America | |||||||||||
2018 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
2019 |
EMPLOYMENT BY COUNTRY
Average monthly headcount (total employees on the last day of each month divided by 12) for 2019.
1,200 | 1,083 | 1,061 | |||||||||||
1,000 | |||||||||||||
800 | |||||||||||||
600 | 461 | 439 | |||||||||||
400 | |||||||||||||
200 | 89 | 75 | 137 | 107 | |||||||||
63 | 4 | 60 | 11 | 28 | 8 | ||||||||
0 | |||||||||||||
Austria | Australia | Czech Republic | Denmark | Italy | France(1) | Germany | The Netherlands | Poland | Slovakia | Spain | Sweden | UnitedKingdom(2) | The United Statesof America |
2019 |
- Average monthly headcount for the Group in 2019 is of 3,625 employees, including 375 Viparis employees.
- This figure includes 1 CAML employee
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EMPLOYMENT BY ACTIVITY
Workforce as at December 31, 2019
Corporate Social Responsibility
Better together
31% | 10% |
ON SITE | CONVENTION & |
EXHIBITION | |
VENUES |
EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS
Workforce as at December 31
25% |
OPERATIONS |
2.
34%
SUPPORT FUNCTIONS
2018 | 96.6% | 3.4% | |
2019 | 96.7% | 3.3% | |
Permanent contract | |||
Fixed-term contract |
2018 | 96% | 4.0% | |
2019 | 96.4% | 3.6% | |
Full-time contract | |||
Part-time contract |
2.4.1 EMPOWERING OUR PEOPLE
2.4.1.1 TALENT DEVELOPMENT AND CAREER MANAGEMENT
- ATTRACTING THE BEST TALENT
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield have always been committed to attracting the best Talent by fostering professional development, promoting cross-functional and international mobility opportunities and offering exciting career opportunities at all levels, be it for graduates or professionals. The Group's International Graduate Program has been a longstanding proof of this promise, a key lever in terms of external attractiveness and an efficient onboarding and training path for new comers. As we continue to focus on recruiting the best graduates from top European and American schools, we have also intensified our efforts in recruiting experienced profiles. Bringing new sets of capabilities and diversifying our leadership and management styles are key factors for the success of the Group.
International Graduate Programme (IGP)
Following the extension of the program to the UK and the US, the European Graduate Programme (EGP) was renamed International Graduate Program (IGP). In 2019, 6 IGPs rotated in the UK and 9 IGPs rotated in the US.
The International Graduate Programme (IGP) allows recent graduates to discover Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield's business and approach to commercial real estate, acquire the company's business fundamentals, build a network and prepare their future career. Participants gain unparalleled exposure to diverse areas of the Group's business functions, completing at least 3 assignments, one of them being abroad. The program lasts for 12 to 14 months in Europe, up to 18 months in the US.
The programme's framework is as follows:
- 1 year, 2 countries, 3 assignments in 3 different departments for the European cohort
- Up to 18 months, 2 countries, 4 assignments in 4 departments for the US cohort
In 2019 51 IGPs were hired from 35 schools and 13 different nationalities.
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Senior recruitments
While maintaining the focus on internal mobility, several key senior management-level recruitments were made in 2019, bringing to the Group a broader experience and a deeper expertise where needed. At Group level, 43 people were hired at Senior Management level.
To continue expanding its international scope, the Group paid special attention to the recruitment of candidates in countries other than their country of origin.
WeHire
URW consider its employees as the Group's best ambassadors and have developed the global programme WeHIRE to foster employee referral initiatives across the Group. WeHIRE offers our employees the opportunity to refer someone from their professional or personal network for open positions in the Group. If the recommended person is hired, the referring employee receives a bonus, with an additional amount given to a charity of her/his choice. In 2019, 101 new recruits were hired thanks to WeHIRE across the Group. €36,000 was donated all over Europe to charities.
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield Corporate LinkedIn page strengthened its presence. Its audience was multiplied by seven from 10,000 followers in 2018 up to 70,000 followers in 2019. The Group now showcases weekly series such as "Better Tuesday" to promote CSR initiatives within the Group and regularly update its audience through short videos.
- TALENT MANAGEMENT
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield's career development programs are designed to develop the best Talent in the market. The Group is committed to offering employees a working environment that fosters diversity and equal opportunities to offer each individual the experience needed to build an exciting career that creates value for the Company.
Employees receive regular support and advice on career development. They meet with their managers once a year for year-end evaluations, have the opportunity to provide and receive ongoing feedback throughout the year, which gives them the opportunity to discuss their performance, objectives, career advancement and training needs. Apprentices also benefit from this program, with 22.2% of them having been offered a permanent employment contact in 2019 at the end of their apprenticeships.
Internal mobility and career evolution
Career evolution in the Company is strongly linked with the Group's competency model. The latter is based on the six corporate values of Excellence, Teamwork, Ethics, Boldness, Passion and Ownership rolled out in June 2019 for the new URW Group (see Section 2.4.2 Bringing together). The competency model not only enhances communication, consistency and transparency in managing mobility across the Group, it also recognizes the experience and expertise employees are developing on their position. It is as well embedded in the annual performance evaluation process.
Internal mobility between functions is strongly encouraged and is conceived as a collaborative process involving employees, managers and HR department. It gives employees a more in-depth understanding of the Group's various activities and priorities. International mobility also helps employees to build and consolidate networks and share best practices among the various regions.
The international mobility policy, enriched in 2018, covers all mobility schemes, increases awareness of the related benefits and provides full support to expatriate employees and their families. In 2019, 5.7% of employees made a lateral career move within the Group, 13.1% of employees were promoted and 2% of employees conducted an international mobility.
A comprehensive Succession Planning programme was designed and launched for all executive and leadership positions in the Group. 118 positions and identified successors to the latter were reviewed by the Senior Management Team at a dedicated Group Succession Planning review, preceded by in-depth reviews done in every country, led by HR and Regional Managing Directors. The Succession Planning program helps the HR teams and managers in building talent pools, clarifying development needs of the identified successors and foreseeing possible career paths for them.
The Group largely enhanced its career and development planning processes thanks to the Succession Planning and the newly rolled-out common approach to talent and performance review. The cornerstone of the program was a 360-degree feedback approach, where every employee benefited from the evaluation of their annual performance by their direct manager and received feedback from colleagues, direct reports (if any) and functional managers/reports (if any). The reviews were later carried out in a committee setting with presence of key leaders in the organization to ensure fairness and consistency in evaluating performance cross-functionally. The program resulted in an in-depth discussion of employees' annual performance, potential for professional growth and retention, while fostering creation of more comprehensive action plans and structured follow- up processes. 2,983 employees (92%) had an annual review at the end of 2019.
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Several talent development initiatives took place in 2019, such as:
-
A "Personal Impact Trail", an in-company talent development programme was rolled out in the Netherlands. 11 talents were selected on their potential and were offered a six-month learning journey with a focus on Personal Leadership and Teamwork. The programme entailed Talent working on their own development with peers of six different functions, aiming at speeding up readiness for succession and creating a strong peer network in the Dutch organisation. The program consisted of a number of training events and coaching sessions in close cooperation with managers
- leading up to a final presentation to the Country Management Team.
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- The Group continued to develop its Innovation Champions network through its internal "Innovation Champion Graduate Programme" to harness collective intelligence and innovation, open new career perspectives and promote diversity within teams. A stronger involvement at country level was achieved in 2019, with overall 13 participants to the program (compared to 6 in 2018), Participants received specific training and coaching in areas such as
brainstorming techniques and design thinking, and pitched their | 2. |
project's outcomes at various innovation meetings and workshops. |
They have also participated in a dedicated, two-day learning expedition discovering trend-setting and innovative concepts in retail and entertainment in London.
RECRUITMENT
Overall recruitment rate in 2019 for the Group was 18.9%, with the following specifications:
Employees by contract type | 2018(2) | 2019(2) | 2019(3) |
Permanent contracts | 396 | 368 | 663 |
Fixed-term contracts | 64 | 65 | 106 |
Apprenticeships(1) | 28 | 30 | 30 |
TOTAL | 488 | 463 | 799 |
- Excluding traineeships.
- Excluding ex-Westfield entities.
- Including ex-Westfield entities.
DEPARTURES
Total number of departures (excluding trainees)
Reasons for departure | 2018(5) | 2019(5) | 2019(6) |
Resignations | 188 | 216 | 462 |
Dismissals | 54 | 37 | 139 |
Mutual agreements | 38 | 45 | 50 |
Retirements | 11 | 12 | 17 |
Departures during trial period | 29 | 27 | 30 |
Expiry of fixed-term contracts | 60 | 68 | 105 |
Outsourcing | 24 | 14 | 14 |
Death | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Other(4) | 9 | 0 | 0 |
TOTAL | 413 | 419 | 817 |
- Including Group transfers to ex-Westfield entities.
- Excluding ex-Westfield entities.
- Including ex-Westfield entities.
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TURNOVER
Employee turnover in 2019, as measured by dividing the total number of resignations, dismissals, departures under mutual agreement, retirements, departures during trial periods and deaths by the number of permanent employees at the end of 2019, stood at 19.9% (compared to 17.3% in 2018 excluding ex-Westfield entities).
2.4.1.2 TRAINING
One year into the new URW Group, the URW Academy plays a key role in sharing knowledge and practices while accelerating the creation of a learning culture with training at its core.
This year the Academy was focused on ensuring that relevant business expertise is shared through training and that new training opportunities were initiated across all regions including the US and the UK Another key focus was on how to support the new corporate values "Together at URW" (see Section 2.4.2 Bringing together), with the design and development of new leadership and soft skill programs that integrate the Together at URW values framework and associated expected capabilities and behaviours. The URW Academy is also committed to train 100% of employees on CSR by 2022.
The Learning Management System (LMS) was launched in 2017 in continental Europe. Preparations are well underway for the launch of this LMS in the US and UK in 2020. This new system is a strong lever for our learning culture as it allows employees to access the
Academy's training offer and to plan and register for trainings accordingly. The Academy monitors the usage and access and works closely with all HR teams across the Group to promote the training offer and use of the system and its alignment with business needs. In 2019, Business training represented 74% of total training hours. These trainings are delivered by Group in-house experts and Senior Managers. Highlights this year included the URW Fundamentals programme - a two-day onboarding event that is organised every quarter for all newcomers - which was both delivered in Europe and launched in the US. The programme was updated to include latest key global strategic topics, new Together at URW values framework as well as a new welcome video from the URW CEO. Trainings have also been deployed to align local teams on Group processes and policies, such as Better Places 2030, Anti-Corruption, Security or Asset valuation, E-learnings are also in high demand, with 17 different modules now available.
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield has committed to developing and rolling- out Group-wide leadership & management programmes integrating CSR and for 100% of Group employees to have participated in CSR training by 2022. In 2019 URW Academy contracted a new global partner for a new senior leadership programme to be rolled out in 2020 and held several major international training events to foster diversity and leadership skill.
Management and leadership programmes will integrate CSR topics by 2022 at the latest, as one of the pillars of Better Places 2030.
TRAINING
Total training hours attended by employees on permanent and fixed-term contracts.
2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
Total hours attended | 43,832 | 42,070 | 53,292 |
Average number of hours per employee(1) | 22.8 | 20.8 | 14.8 |
TOTAL OF PEOPLE TRAINED | 2028 | 2252 | 4,711 |
(1) Based on average headcount for the year.
Number of | ||
participants in | Total hours in | |
Name of training programme | 2019 | 2019 |
Inclusive leadership and unconscious bias | 169 | 483 |
Unlocking Potential of Leaders/Women @ URW | 112 | 1,406 |
Intercultural Training | 136 | 796 |
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2.4.1.3 AWARDS
Rewarding the quality of the Group's career opportunities and attractiveness, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield received in 2019 a number of awards:
- Unibail-Rodamco-Westfieldis proud to have received 1st prize for the high level of responsibility offered to its employees in the 2019 Universum ranking of the Most Attractive Employers in France for French students. The Company receives this special prize for the 4th time (2011, 2012, 2017, 2019), demonstrating the Group's ability to sustain and renew its distinctive employer value proposition over time.
- URW was also certified once again by Universum as one of the "Most Attractive Employers, France 2019" for experienced professionals. For Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, these prizes celebrate its People strategy, which aims at providing the Group's talent with exceptional leadership opportunities to help them achieve their potential.
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- In the UK, URW won the Working Families 2019 Top UK Employers award for Best for Fathers and Best for Line Manager Support.
- In Germany, the IGP programme achieved the 2019 Fair Graduate Programme Certification in recognition of its status as one of the best programmes of this type.
- The Group received the Top Employers Certification for Germany for 2019.
• URW is committed to train young talents and was selected among | 2. |
2,000 companies to receive the Happy Trainees label for the 6th |
year in a row in France. Some 89% of our trainees and apprentices recommend the Company, giving the Company an overall score of 4.05/5 in regards to their experience with the Group.
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2.4.1.4 COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
Our remuneration policy is defined at Group level, taking into account the specificities of local markets.
It is designed to encourage individual achievements and contribution to collective results, supporting the long-term growth of the Group.
It aims to attract, motivate, reward and retain the best Talent in the market, with strong drive, engagement and loyalty. The founding principles of Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield's Remuneration Policy are:
COMPETITIVENESS | DIFFERENTIATION | FAIR AND STRUCTURED |
AND SELECTION | PROCESS | |
based on a global | approach based on | common to all Regions |
approach, combining | ||
fixed salary. Short-Term | merit and individual | to ensure fairness and |
Incentive (STI), | performance | accurate comparisons |
Long-Term Incentive | ||
(LTI) and benefits |
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
(race, gender,
nationality or any other
personal criteria)
- A COMPETITIVE TOTAL REMUNERATION
The Group Compensation and Benefits team and Regional Human Resources Directors use benchmarks from established external consulting firms and ad-hoc studies to ensure the URW remuneration competitiveness against relevant markets.
Significant salary increase and STI budgets are allocated to each country in order to stay competitive:
2016/2017(1) | 2017/2018(1) | 2018/2019 | |
Like for like increase in average salary, including STI | 5.03% | 6.39% | 6.50% |
(1) Excluding ex-Westfield entities |
- DIFFERENTIATED AND SELECTIVE INCENTIVES
The STI (Short Term Incentive) rewards individual annual performance, personal engagement, team spirit, and adherence to the Group's values.
The LTI (Long Term Incentive) aims to attract, reward and retain key talent for the future of the Group, engaging beneficiaries with Unibail- Rodamco-Westfield'slong-term performance.
2017(2) | 2018(2) | 2019 | |
Proportion of employees receiving STI(1) | 78.3% | 79.9% | 81.2% |
Proportion of employees receiving LTI | 16.3% | 17.3% | 12.6% |
- STI paid in year Y to employees on the payroll at December 31 of year Y-1.
- Excluding ex-Westfield entities.
In addition, the Group employer contribution to the employee savings plan in 2019 was €875,447. As at December 31, 2019, 80.3% of eligible employees (excluding Viparis) were Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield shareholders through the Group's Savings Plan.
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- COLLEGIAL DECISION MAKING PROCESS
Fixed salaries and STI are decided at year end for all employees. Every decision carefully balances the role, seniority, performance, and contribution to Group initiatives and the Group's values. The Group assesses achievements, and also how they are carried out.
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield's remuneration policy is applied consistently, through a comprehensive process, with no compensation decision taken by only one person. Once a year, a 360° review provides employees and managers with feedback on their strengths, development areas, training needs and career planning. Employees also have the opportunity to discuss contributions made to Group initiatives and projects
outside their direct scope of responsibility. Each employee's performance is reviewed annually by a Talent Review Committee in the presence 2. of HR teams, managers across functions and often members of the Senior Management Team.
2.4.2 BRINGING TOGETHER
2.4.2.1 TOGETHER AT URW
The new corporate set of values for Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield - Together at URW - was unveiled in 2019. These values represent the excellence in Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield's standards as a high performance company and culture.
- EXCELLENCE - We only aim for the best
- TEAMWORK - We unite talent as a team
- ETHICS - We build on trust and transparency
- BOLDNESS - We dare with vision and agility
- PASSION - We go the extra mile
- OWNERSHIP - We are empowered to deliver
2.4.2.2 DIVERSITY & INCLUSION
EMPLOYMENT BY GENDER | EMPLOYMENT BY AGE | |||||||||
Workforce as at December 31, 2019 | Workforce as at December 31, 2019 | |||||||||
2018 | 50.4% | 49.6% | 2018 | 23% | 58.1% | 18.9% | ||||
2019 | 51.1% | 48.9% | 2019 | 23.3% | 57.6% | 19% | ||||
Women | < 30 years old | |||||||||
Men | 30-50 years old | |||||||||
> 50 years old | ||||||||||
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PROPORTION OF SENIOR MANAGEMENT LEVEL POSITIONS HELD BY WOMEN
Workforce as at December 31, 2019
2018 | 2019 | |
Proportion of Senior Management level positions held by women | 30.9% | 33.4% |
RATIO AVERAGE COMPENSATION MEN/WOMEN
Workforce as at December 31, 2019
2019 | |
Senior Management Level | 117.8% |
Other levels | 115.7% |
In its Better Places 2030 strategy, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield committed to ensuring full equal opportunities (e.g. gender, nationality, sexual orientation) in HR practices and processes group- wide. In 2019, 100% of URW regions ensured full equal opportunities by having the URW Equal Opportunity statement included in formalised HR policies relating to Recruitment practices, Compensation & Benefits, Talent Review, and Learning & Development. The URW Equal Opportunities statement ensures that HR policy & processes are applied without discrimination on the basis of race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, age, disability, national or ethnic origin, military service status, citizenship, or other protected characteristics.
Be You at URW is the network that focuses on Diversity and Inclusion and is represented in all regions. The key focus for 2019 has been gender equality and in 2020 Be You at URW will focus on all forms of diversity in the workplace and initiatives to promote an inclusive culture. In 2020, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield will introduce a new group framework to improve employee engagement on Diversity and Inclusion.
In 2019, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield introduced the Group's ambition and key priorities on gender equality. This framework is a commitment to take action on gender equality around women's leadership development, diversity enabling infrastructures for all, promotion of an inclusive mindset and processes, and the close monitoring of these actions.
Since 2012, a European Diversity Charter has been promoted throughout the Group to fight all forms of discrimination and harassment. In 2019, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield signed the #StOpE initiative, to raise awareness against sexism within companies.
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield has put in place a whistleblowing policy to encourage all company staff and contractors to reveal or report
any fact relating to a crime, offense or a serious and manifest violation of the law or regulation to the Compliance Hotline.
The Group is developing initiatives to promote diversity in its Talent Management and Recruitment strategies. Action plans involving monitoring of Key Performance Indicators have been launched on a region-by-region basis under the sponsorship of the Human Resources Department.
11 Inclusive Leadership & Unconscious Bias sessions were delivered in 9 regions. 169 top managers, all Country Management Team members or key HR stakeholders were trained. A two-day leadership development course designed in conjunction with McKinsey was held for the seventh consecutive year and 76 women were trained in 2019.
Disability support: Disability Awareness training is offered to employees in some regions including autism awareness training for front-line staff and contractors in the UK In 2019, the France team signed the Manifesto for the Inclusion of Disabled People into Economic life, and organised a number of actions to support the employment opportunities for disabled people.
In 2019, the UK team formed a partnership with Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO) where an event was held for 35 students from top universities in the UK to promote future URW career opportunities. SEO is a charitable organisation that helps prepare talented students from ethnic minority or low socioeconomic backgrounds for career success. In France, the team has signed and committed to PAQTE, a partnership with the French government to promote the inclusion of young people living in specific neighbourhoods.
The Group stands for a fair overall outcome that rewards individual and collective performance and does not discriminate on race, gender, nationality or any other personal criteria.
2016/2017 | 2018/2019 | |||
Female | Male | |||
Female | Male | |||
Salary increase beneficiaries(1) | 53.6% | 49.6% | 69.7% | 68.2% |
STI beneficiaries(2) | 80.5% | 79.3% | 77.5% | 85.0% |
- Based on like-for-like headcount.
- STI paid in year Y to employees on the payroll at December 31 of year Y-1.
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2.4.3 INSPIRING OUR PEOPLE
2.4.3.1 EMPLOYEE COMMITMENTS AND CSR
- INDIVIDUAL CSR OBJECTIVES
- The Group has committed to 100% of employees having yearly individual CSR objectives by 2020, in order to make each and every employee accountable for the collective success of the CSR ambition. In 2019, 64% of Group employees(1) set at least one individual CSR objective, used to determine their annual Short- Term Incentive. This comprises 86% of employees in continental Europe, and 41% of employees in the UK, Italy and the US where the target of setting individual CSR objectives was not formalised in 2019. In 2020 the target will be rolled out to the entire organisation. Appropriate initiatives and targets aligned with Better Places 2030 were identified in close cooperation with each department within the Group: Investment, Development, Finance, Operations, Technical Management, Marketing, Leasing, Legal and Human Resources. A toolkit with key examples of general and functional CSR targets will be shared with Unibail-Rodamco- Westfield employees group-wide.
- In 2019, quantifiable CSR targets were included in the short-term variable Remuneration Policy of members of the Group's Senior Management Team and Group top management teams, and management teams of the countries in which Unibail-Rodamco- Westfield operates in continental Europe. These CSR targets were set using specific CSR criteria. These criteria for the Management Board are as stated in Section 3.5.2 Corporate officers remuneration
- Remuneration Report for 2019 Financial Year - Say on Pay. The relevant member of the Senior Management Team is fully responsible for reaching the CSR objectives and delegates that responsibility to the Managing Director of each region of Unibail- Rodamco-Westfield, who in turn ensures the smooth integration of the tools and processes required in the operations of the regional teams. From 2019 onwards, the Long-Term Incentive awards also include 10% of CSR-related objectives, for all eligible Group employees (see Section 3.3.1.1 Management board remuneration policy - Long-term incentive (LTI)). - A number of (both general and specialist) training courses have been updated through URW Academy to raise employees' awareness of the importance of their actions and the relevance of the strategy on a day-to-day basis (see CSR Trainings and Education paragraph below).
- CSR TRAININGS AND EDUCATION
In order to ensure the implementation of the Group's CSR strategy and processes, training sessions are regularly organised. The CSR ambition and related action plan are systematically introduced to newcomers in the "URW Fundamentals" training. In addition, dedicated technical trainings are offered to all relevant staff members. These trainings cover, for example, environmental certification, regulations and the carbon footprint assessment
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methodology for development projects (for more information, refer to Section 2.2.2.1 Environmental Management System). Manuals and training materials related to new CSR topics are also drafted regularly, shared with the relevant teams, and made freely accessible on the Group's training platform ("Carbon Footprint" presentation, instructions on "the reporting of green leases", etc.).
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield has committed to developing and | 2. |
rolling‑out Group-wide leadership & management programs |
integrating CSR and 100% of Group employees to have participated in CSR training by 2022.
- THE GROUP VOLUNTEERING PROGRAMME
The Group has committed to 100% of Group employees taking part in the URW Volunteering Programme annually by 2020. The URW Volunteering Programme offers all employees the opportunity to dedicate at least one workday to support social initiatives developed by the Group In 2019 employees were able to choose between the 185 initiatives implemented this year in all regions of the Group, including support for local people facing barriers to the job market through the URW for Jobs programme or supporting local non-profits through the URW Community Days and local partnership activities. More information on the results of these initiatives is included in Section 2.3.3.1 Supporting the community.
At the end of the year, 84% of the Group employees(2) volunteered to support the local social and environmental development of the communities in which the Group operates. This represents more than 18,000 hours offered by the Group to actively contribute to supporting communities.
Volunteering initiatives will continue to be rolled out in 2020 with the target of 100% of Group employees taking part in the URW Volunteering Programme annually.
- BUSINESS TRAVEL OF EMPLOYEES
The Group travel policy aims to reduce the associated carbon footprint. Employees are encouraged to travel by train when possible and give preference to videoconferencing rather than physical meetings involving travel.
The carbon emissions from business travel by train or plane are offset through carbon credits generated either via a reforestation or ecosystem preservation programmes.
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield has not set a quantitative target for reducing emissions associated with business travel, as it is highly dependent on the Company's level of activity and can fluctuate significantly from one year to the next (prospection, acquisitions, sales, meetings with international retailers, etc.).
- All employees having formalised objectives in the Group Human Resources performance assessment tool.
- All employees excluding employees on leave of more than 6 months, newcomers (joining after 01/10/2019) and Viparis employees.
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CO2 EMISSIONS FROM EMPLOYEES' BUSINESS TRAVEL BY TRAIN AND PLANE (TONNES CO2EQ)
The indicator is given both as an absolute value and as the ratio between CO2 emissions from business travel and the average number of employees in 2019. Data and methodology are provided by referenced travel agencies for each region.
Total 2019 | |
TOTAL EMISSIONS (TCO2EQ) | 9,015 |
kg CO2eq/employee | 2,774 |
In addition, since October 2016, all new company vehicles must either be hybrid or electric. As at the end of 2019, 59% of the Group's vehicle fleet was hybrid or electric in continental Europe.
- WORK GREENER
- The Group has committed to 100% of Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield's countries implementing Work Greener programmes by 2020. The Work Greener programme offers employees the work environment and tools to reduce the environmental impact of their day to day work. The programme enables employees to make URW offices more sustainable and environmentally friendly, implementing initiatives such as tackling waste management, promoting responsible consumption, or sustainable mobility. In 2019, 100% of our countries delivered at least one Work Greener initiative. Initiatives from the programme to date have resulted in:
- An improved waste management
◦◦ Improved waste sorting infrastructure in office kitchens
◦◦ Getting rid of single use plastic with the installation of filter taps, glass bottles or other options
◦◦ Reusing old IT equipment through donations to non-profit organisations or through IT collection programmes
◦◦ Replacing "waste producing" fittings like paper towels with hand dryers. - More eco-friendly mobility
◦◦ New electrical vehicle charging points in our car parks ◦◦ Compensation of carbon emissions from business travel
◦◦ Electric bicycle sharing programmes or biking to work contests -
Towards better energy and water efficiency in our offices
◦◦ Lighting equipment is being progressively replaced by LED lighting and intelligent detectors
◦◦ Team challenges such as 'black-out' campaigns (reducing electricity consumption at home) and reduced use of lifts
◦◦ Reducing water consumption, for example by reducing flush volumes in the toilets -
Reducing paper
◦◦ Digitisation and e-invoicing continued in 2019 as well as other processes such as electronic pre-paid lunch card and electronic pay slips - Awareness programmes among employees
◦◦ "Work Greener" ambassadors animated regular eco-challenges such as bicycle runs and "speed recycling" etc.
2.4.3.2 WELL-BEING
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield's vision is to support a healthy working environment. The Group has committed to 100% of its countries implementing employee well-being programmes by 2020. In 2019, each URW country delivered well-being activities relating to at least one of three areas of focus: Healthy Culture, Healthy Minds and Healthy Bodies. In 2020, each country is targeted to roll out a minimum of five well-being initiatives relating to all three of these areas of focus.
- HEALTHY CULTURE
- Work-lifebalance: Better collaboration and work-life balance were identified as areas of improvement in the 2018 UR Experience survey. The topic of work-life balance has been introduced in Performance Reviews to encourage conversations with managers. Flexi working practices are in place in all regions.
- Best practice and policies to support a positive and healthy work environment: The Group signed the parenthood charter in 2013. Working parents training takes place in the Netherlands, Spain, France, the UK and US. The UK team was ranked Top 30 employers for Family Friendly Workplaces and received Best for Fathers award from Working Families association in 2019.
- Social and team events take place in all regions throughout the year to help foster wellbeing and togetherness.
- HEALTHY MINDS
- Mental health resilience, mindfulness and flexible thinking: Mental wellbeing support is offered in all regions including training sessions, crisis support and employee assistance programmes, with plans to improve the offer in all countries in 2020.
- Planning for the future: a number of regions offer sessions on personal finances e.g. retirement, and further coaching is planned to ensure employees have a clear sense of purpose and job fulfilment.
- HEALTHY BODIES
- Sleep well, exercise and nutrition: Health workshops and fitness events are offered in a number of regions, and most countries in which the Group operates offer their employees fresh fruit or complimentary drinks.
- Healthcare benefits: Health insurance is offered to all employees, with a number of regions also offering flu vaccinations, eye examinations and full health screenings.
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2.4.3.3 OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY
The Group pursued its risk prevention training strategy in 2019, with a focus on "HR toolbox" training. These sessions enable to raise new managers' awareness of working regulations in France (paid leave, working hours, etc.) and of internal HR processes. Training on psychosocial risks have also been provided to new managers all year long.
ACCIDENTS
Accident type
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In 2019, sick leave represented 19,185 working days (2.4% of total working days) and days of absence for work-related/commuting accidents or illness represented 1,399 working days (0.2% of total working days):
- absenteeism is monitored in each region and information is sent to management on a regular basis;
- causes of work-related accidents are analysed and measures are
taken to prevent them recurring. Injury frequency and severity | 2. |
rates in 2019 were 2.72% and 0.06%, respectively. |
2018(1)2019
Number of Number of
incidents incidents
Work-related accidents causing injury | 11 | 17 |
Work-related/commuting accidents causing death | 0 | 0 |
ABSENTEEISM
2018 | 2019 | |||
Number of | 2018 | Number of | 2019 | |
working days(1) | Ratio(2) | working days | Ratio(2) | |
Lost days for work-related/commuting accidents | 721 | 0.2% | 1,399 | 0.2% |
Lost days for work-related illness | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% |
Lost days for sick leave | 11,377 | 2.6% | 19,621 | 2.4% |
Lost days for personal/family events | 1,516 | 0.3% | 2,284 | 0.3% |
TOTAL | 13,613 | 3.1% | 23,304 | 2.8% |
- Excluding ex-Westfield entities.
- The absenteeism ratio is calculated in working days: total number of days absent in 2019 divided by the average number of working days in 2019 multiplied by average headcount in 2019.
2.4.3.4 HUMAN RIGHTS AND LABOUR CONDITIONS
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield complies with the labour standards set by the International Labour Organization (ILO). The Group only operates in countries where social regulations are well developed through democratic frameworks. Internally, specific frameworks set up by the Group define and manage additional regulations that reinforce employee rights and strongly endorse respect and ethical conduct in business dealings (collective agreements, Code of Ethics, Compliance Book, anti-corruption program, etc.).
Since 2004, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield has been a member of the UN's Global Compact, which promotes ethical conduct and fundamental moral values in business. URW strives to adopt, support and apply in its particular sphere of influence the ten principles of the Global Compact concerning human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption.
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield works with employee representatives in each of the European countries in which it operates and respects local labour laws. In 2009, Unibail-Rodamco became a European company following the creation of a European representative body, the European Employees Committee (EEC). The EEC meets twice a year and is provided annually with information regarding the market at large and the Group's economic situation (presentation of the Group's financial results, development and investment projects, etc.).
This committee also discusses all issues regarding the Group's employees with implication at EU level. Through workshops, it regularly contributes to the exchange of best practices related to employment issues. For example, the committee helped define the new Group's values. For the first time this year, the UK and Italy were included in the election process and now have representatives in the EEC.
The Group also organized various meetings on different topics with works councils, the CHSCT (in France), and the trade union organizations representing each region. Recently, a part of the French Group combined work council with CHSCT to become a unique and gender balanced staff representative entity, composed of two- thirds of new members. To fulfill this statutory requirement, professional elections were organized to elect the new work council's members with a participation rate of 70%.
A total of 721 agreements are currently signed or in force with trade unions in France (including Viparis). These agreements cover a variety of topics like gender equality, senior and youth employment, working time flexibility and mandatory annual collective bargaining.
As at December 31, 2019, 40% of employees were covered by a collective agreement.
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2.5 GREEN FINANCING OF THE GROUP ACTIVITIES
2.5.1 GREEN LOANS
In April 2017, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield took out a green loan of €650 Mn with a banking syndicate. This was the first "green" syndicated credit facility in Europe. In addition to the usual credit rating, the credit margin for the facility is dependent on the green covenants entered into by the Group. If the green covenants are adhered to, the "green" margin, which is lower, will be applied, whereas in the case of a failure to adhere to the covenants the penalty margin will be applied. This is an innovative system whereby environmental performance has a direct impact on the price of the credit facility. This approach also entails an obligation of transparency for the Group, as monitoring indicators for these green commitments must be reviewed by an independent verifier. In May 2018, and in accordance with the same principles, the Group took out a new €400 Mn "green" revolving credit facility, bringing the Group's total green loans to €1.05 Bn.
2.5.2 GREEN BONDS
2.5.2.1 GREEN BOND ISSUANCES
The Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield CSR strategy and performance have been recognised in the industry for many years now, and as part of its strategy to diversify its financing sources, the Group has decided to develop a stringent "Green Bond" framework to finance new development projects, and/or standing assets which meet all social and environmental criteria for the construction and operational phases defined in the "Use of Proceeds" procedure, and specified hereafter. Green bonds are only used to finance resilient "best in class" assets, in line with a clear procedure for allocating funds ("Procedure for asset analysis, selection and monitoring under the "Green Bonds" system").
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield issued the industry's 1st Green Bond on the Euro market in February 2014, and was the 1st international non- Swedish corporate to issue a Green Bond on the SEK market in May 2014. In April 2015, the Group issued its second Green Bond on the Euro market. These issuances are testament to the success of the teamwork between the Group's departments: CSR, legal, finance and communications. In total, the three issuances raised €1.25 Bn and 1.5 Bn SEK. In 2019, the green bond issued by the Group on the SEK market reached maturity, leaving the Group with outstanding Green Bond issuances of €1.25 Bn.
GREEN BONDS ISSUED BY UNIBAIL-RODAMCO-WESTFIELD(1)
Outstanding Green Bonds | Mature Green Bond | ||
Green Bond I (EURO) | Green Bond III (EURO) | Green Bond II (SEK) | |
Issuer (legal entity name) | Unibail-Rodamco SE | Unibail-Rodamco SE | Rodamco Sverige |
Date | February 19, 2014 | April 8, 2015 | May 23, 2014 |
Size | €750 Mn | €500 Mn | SEK 1.5 Bn |
Maturity | 10 years | 10 years | 5 years |
Coupon | 2.5% | 1% | Stibor 3 months +78 bps |
2.5.2.2 RIGOUROUS AND AMBITIOUS SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CRITERIA
The social and environmental criteria associated with the Green Bonds were developed and approved by Vigeo. They are aligned with (i) the "Green Bond Principles" (GBP) updated in March 2015 and (ii) fit in with the Group's CSR strategy. The funds raised from Green Bond issuances are used to finance (via loan or investment) development projects. The environmental and social performance requirements for the assets apply to both their construction and operating phases. The following criteria are used to define "eligible assets":
- i. Greenfield/Brownfield project or reconstruction project (redevelopment and/or extension/renovation project) and/or standing asset managed by Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield SE or its subsidiaries which:
◦◦ a. achieved BREEAM certification(2) (or any other equivalent certification) at a level of "Very Good" or higher in the design phase,
◦◦ b. and have been or will be awarded a "BREEAM In-Use" certification (or any other equivalent certification) for Asset Performance ("Part 1") and Building Management ("Part 2") according to the BREEAM evaluation framework, at a level of "Very Good" or above within a reasonable time after the start of operation;
- ii. in addition to the certification (which is a prerequisite), eligible assets must meet additional criteria structured into five principles: respect for human rights, contribution to local development, monitoring of environmental impacts, promotion of responsible relationships with tenants and visitors, and promotion of responsible relationships (including social and environmental aspects) with suppliers. In total, 17 sub-criteria are analysed for the construction phase, and 13 sub-criteria are analysed for the operating phase.
(1) Green Bond issuances and the allocation of funds are approved by the Group's ALM Committee (see Section 6.2.2.2.A. Access to capital and financial market disruption risks), using a specific procedure formalised internally.
- BREEAM is an environmental assessment method and rating system for buildings launched in 1990. BREEAM sets a standard for best practice in sustainable building design, construction and operation and a measure of a building's environmental performance. It encourages designers, clients and others to think about low-carbon and low-impact design, minimising the energy demands created by a building before considering energy efficiency and low-carbon technologies (please see www.breeam.org for more information).
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Additional criteria and indicators to be monitored for eligible assets are published on the issuer's website at the following link: https://www.urw.com/en/investors/financing-activity/green-financing
2.5.2.3 CURRENT ALLOCATION OF GREEN BOND PROCEEDS
In line with the Group's internal Green Bond analysis, selection and monitoring procedure, the funds generated by Green Bonds issuances are allocated to the selected assets based on a previously-defined
Corporate Social Responsibility
Green financing of the group activities
list of "eligible assets" (criteria presented in the previous paragraph). | |
In the case of an asset disposal during the funding period (i.e. prior | |
to the bond issue maturity), the proceeds initially allocated to the | |
disposed asset shall be reallocated to another "eligible asset" held | |
by the Group, based on the same process. This was the case in 2019: | |
on July 3, 2019, the Group disposed of the Tour Majunga office asset | |
(France), to which 68% of the Green Bond III proceeds had been | 2. |
allocated for a funding period lasting until 2025. Therefore, the | |
proceeds allocated to Tour Majunga were reallocated to two new |
assets: the Westfield Chodov shopping centre extension (Czech Republic) and Wroclavia shopping centre (Poland).
The 2019 allocation of the proceeds from the two outstanding Green Bonds is illustrated below:
Green Bond I | Green Bond III | |||||
EUR 750 Mn | EUR 500 Mn | |||||
Westfield | Westfield | |||||
Lyon | Carré Sénart | Chodov | ||||
Confluence | So Ouest | Aéroville | extension | extension | Wroclavia | |
Business | Shopping Centre | Shopping Centre | Shopping Centre | Shopping Centre | Shopping Centre | Shopping Centre |
Proceeds allocated to projects(1) | 20% | 40% | 40% | 8% +24% | 2% | 40% |
GLA scope of consolidation (m2) | 53,800 | 52,100 | 84,900 | 31,320(3) | 39,000(3) | 72,500(2) |
Opening date to public | April 4, | October 16, | October 16, | October 25, | October 10, | October 17, |
2012 | 2012 | 2013 | 2017 | 2017 | 2017 |
- Allocation carried out through internal loans.
- Including a bus station of 7,200 sqm.
- GLA as at December 31, 2017.
2.5.2.4 AUDITED CRITERIA
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield engaged an independent auditor to verify that the assets financed meet the eligibility criteria. The reporting on these criteria and the independent auditor's reasonable assurance report are presented in Section 2.5.2.5 Annual reporting on Green Bonds in compliance with the environmental and social criteria of the Use of Proceeds and Section 2.5.2.6 Independent third party's report on Green Bond Criteria.
In 2019, the audit covered: Aéroville, Lyon Confluence, So Ouest, Carré Sénart extension, Westfield Chodov extension and Wroclavia.
2.5.2.5 ANNUAL REPORTING ON GREEN BONDS IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL CRITERIA OF THE USE OF PROCEEDS (FOR THE TWO OUTSTANDING ISSUANCES OF UNIBAIL-RODAMCO- WESTFIELD)
- CONSTRUCTION PHASE CRITERIA
PREREQUISITE: MINIMUM BREEAM RATING OF "VERY GOOD"
Green Bond I | Green Bond III | ||||
Westfield | Westfield | ||||
Lyon Confluence | So Ouest | Aéroville | Carré Sénart extension | Chodov extension | Wroclavia |
Very Good(1) | Excellent(2) | Excellent(3) | Excellent(4) | Excellent(5) | Excellent(6) |
- achieved an interim overall score of 59.92% and a BREEAM rating of "Very Good" under the 2008 version of BREEAM international framework.
- achieved a final overall score of 78.4% and a BREEAM rating of "Excellent" under the 2009 version of BREEAM Europe commercial retail framework.
- achieved a final overall score of 70.5% and a BREEAM rating of "Excellent" under the 2009 version of BREEAM Europe commercial retail framework.
- achieved an interim overall score of 78.1% and a BREEAM rating of "Excellent" under the 2009 version of BREEAM Europe commercial retail framework.
- achieved a final overall score of 71.9% and a BREEAM rating of "Excellent" under the 2013 version of BREEAM International retail framework.
- achieved a final overall score of 77.1% and a BREEAM rating of "Excellent" under the 2013 version of BREEAM International new construction retail framework.
Universal Registration Document 2019 / UNIBAIL-RODAMCO-WESTFIELD115
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17 SUB-CRITERIA
Green Bond I | Green Bond | III | |||||
Westfield | Westfield | ||||||
Commitments/ | Lyon | Carré Sénart | Chodov | ||||
supporting elements | Criteria | Confluence | So Ouest | Aéroville | extension | extension | Wroclavia |
Select the countries in | Integration, signature or | 97.22/100(1) | 97.22/100(1) | 97.22/100(1) | |||
which eligible assets are | ratification of | ||||||
located based on human | conventions related to | ||||||
rights and governance | Human Rights, and | ||||||
Labour Rights. | |||||||
KPI: country score | |||||||
Vigeo (out of 100) | |||||||
Press freedom, stability | 88.79/100(1) | 87.73/100(1) | 77.73/100(1) | ||||
and political freedom; | |||||||
corruption prevention, | |||||||
independence of the | |||||||
judiciary system and | |||||||
legal certainty. |
KPI: country score
Vigeo (out of 100)
Contribution of the eligible assets to the development and well-being of communities in which they are located
Existence of information | | | | | | |
on projects to | ||||||
neighbours | ||||||
Absence of material | | | | | | |
public recourse on the | ||||||
project preventing the | ||||||
completion of the | ||||||
project | ||||||
Accessibility of the asset | 30 m | 45 m | 40 m | 150 m | 20 m | 0 m |
by public transport | Tramway | Bus line | Bus line | Bus line | Metro line | Bus terminal |
(within 500 metres) | ||||||
35 m | ||||||
KPI: Distance to a | Railway station | |||||
public transport | ||||||
mode (m) |
Promote the potential | | | | | | |
use of alternative | ||||||
transport solution and | ||||||
sustainable mobility | ||||||
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Green Bond I | Green Bond | III | |||||||
Westfield | Westfield | ||||||||
Commitments/ | Lyon | Carré Sénart | Chodov | ||||||
supporting elements | Criteria | Confluence | So Ouest | Aéroville | extension | extension | Wroclavia | ||
Monitoring the | Involvement of an | | | | | | | ||
environmental impacts | external environmental | ||||||||
of eligible assets | consultant | 2. | |||||||
Commissioning Report | | | | | | | |||
Environmental impact | | | | | | | |||
assessment and | |||||||||
implementation of | |||||||||
appropriate measures if | |||||||||
necessary | |||||||||
Promote applicable | | | | | | | |||
Considerate | |||||||||
Construction Charter to | |||||||||
minimise environmental | |||||||||
impact of building sites | |||||||||
during construction | |||||||||
phase | |||||||||
Optimise intrinsic | -34%(2) | -57.7%(2) | -55%(2) | -53.1%(3) | -9%(4) | -14%(5) | |||
energy performance of | |||||||||
the asset in view of | |||||||||
applicable regulatory | |||||||||
constraints | |||||||||
KPI: Percentage | |||||||||
improvement over | |||||||||
national standard | |||||||||
building energy | |||||||||
performance (%) | |||||||||
Involvement of an | | | | | | | |||
ecologist during the | |||||||||
Project Phase | |||||||||
Promoting sustainable | Promote "Green Leases" | 91% | 86% | 98% | 97%(6) | 90% | 99% | ||
and enduring | signature before opening | ||||||||
relationships with | KPI: Percentage of | ||||||||
tenants and visitors | |||||||||
green leases signed (%) | |||||||||
Promote social and | Promote if possible | | | | | | | ||
Environmental factors | health & safety | ||||||||
with suppliers/service | coordinator contract (or | ||||||||
providers | equivalent) | ||||||||
Promote access control | | | | | | | |||
to building site | |||||||||
Promote the application | | | | | | | |||
of the Considerate | |||||||||
Construction Charter or | |||||||||
equivalent to minimise | |||||||||
environmental impact of | |||||||||
building sites | |||||||||
E-learning for Unibail- | | | | | | | |||
Rodamco-Westfield's | |||||||||
employees on its Code | |||||||||
of Ethics |
- Source: Vigéo country score - January 2020
- According to dynamic thermal simulation aligned with RT 2005 requirements
- According to dynamic thermal simulation aligned with RT 2012 requirements
- According to dynamic thermal simulation aligned with ASHRAE Energy Standard 90.1-2010 and local standards 78/2013Sb. and ČSN 730540
- According to dynamic thermal simulation aligned with local regulation
- Green leases V1 and V2 signed as at December 31, 2017 (opening year)
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- OPERATION PHASE CRITERIA
PREREQUISITE: MINIMUM BREEAM-IN-USE SCORE "VERY GOOD" FOR ASSET PERFORMANCE (P1) AND BUILDING MANAGEMENT (P2)
Green Bond I | Green Bond III | ||||
Westfield Carré Sénart | Westfield Chodov | ||||
Lyon Confluence | So Ouest | Aéroville | extension | extension | Wroclavia |
Obtained:19/12/2013 | Obtained: 19/12/2014 | Obtained: 28/07/2015 | Obtained: 29/11/2017(1) | Obtained: 19/10/2015 | (P1) & (P2): Expected in |
(P1): Outstanding | (P1): Excellent | (P1): Excellent | (P2): Excellent | Re-certified: | the 2020 Registration |
Document | |||||
21/12/2018(1) | |||||
(P2): Excellent | (P2): Outstanding | (P2): Outstanding | (P1): Expected in the | ||
Re-certified: | Re-certified: | Re-certified: | 2020 Registration | (P1): Outstanding | |
Document | |||||
17/12/2019(1) | 21/12/2017(1) | 21/12/2018(1) | (P2): Outstanding | ||
(P1): Excellent | (P1): Outstanding | (P1): Outstanding | |||
(P2): Excellent | (P2): Outstanding | (P2): Outstanding | |||
(1) According to BREEAM In Use International 2015 scheme |
13 SUB-CRITERIA
Green Bond I | Green Bond III | ||||||
Westfield | Westfield | ||||||
Commitments/ | Lyon | Carré Sénart | Chodov | ||||
supporting elements | Criteria | Confluence | So Ouest | Aéroville | extension | extension | Wroclavia |
Contribution of the eligible assets to the development and well-being of the communities in which they are located
Assess local employment 869(1) | 735(1) | 1,387(1) | 2,189(1) | 1,896(2) | 1,484(2) |
through tenants' activities (e.g. follow-up of number of jobs created in the catchment area)
KPI: Total tenants supported job (FTE)
Monitor the | Environmental action | | | | | | |
environmental impacts | plan and follow-up with | ||||||
of eligible assets | regular reporting (from | ||||||
1 year after opening) | |||||||
Annual audit of health | A(3) | A(3) | A(3) | A(3) | A(3) | A(3) | |
and safety risks (from | |||||||
2 years after opening) | |||||||
Indicator: annual risk | |||||||
audit | |||||||
(Rating from A to D) | |||||||
Assess energy | -49% kWh/visit | -34% kWh/visit | -28% kWh/visit | -9% kWh/visit | -8% kWh/visit | +10% kWh/visit | |
consumption and CO2 | -75% gCO e/ | -65% gCO e/ | -52% gCO e/ | -2% gCO e/visit | -11% gCO e/visit | NA(4) gCO e/visit | |
emissions with potential | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
action plan if needed | visit | visit | visit | (2019/2018) | (2019/2018) | (2019/2018) | |
Indicator: energy | (2019/2013) | (2019/2014) | (2019/2015) | ||||
intensity | |||||||
(kWh/visit) since | |||||||
measured baseline | |||||||
Indicator: carbon | |||||||
intensity | |||||||
(gCO2eq/visit) since | |||||||
measured baseline | |||||||
118 Universal Registration Document 2019 / UNIBAIL-RODAMCO-WESTFIELD
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Green Bond I | Green Bond III | ||||||
Westfield | Westfield | ||||||
Commitments/ | Lyon | Carré Sénart | Chodov | ||||
supporting elements | Criteria | Confluence | So Ouest | Aéroville | extension | extension | Wroclavia |
Promote sustainable and enduring relationships with tenants and visitors
Organise on site | | | | | | | |
Sustainability Committee | |||||||
2. | |||||||
Conduct satisfaction | 67/100 | 78/100 | 70/100 | 76/100 | 81/100 | 64/100 | |
survey with retailers |
KPI: Overall satisfaction score (out of 100)
4-Star labelling or | | | | | | | |
equivalent if applicable | |||||||
Conduct satisfaction | 82/100 | 81/100 | 82/100 | 83/100 | 87/100 | 87/100 | |
survey | |||||||
KPI: Overall satisfaction | |||||||
score (out of 100) | |||||||
Relevant safety | | | | | | | |
management (e.g. video | |||||||
protection plan) | |||||||
Promote social and | Promote labour rights to | | | | | | |
environmental factors | suppliers via contractual | ||||||
with suppliers | documentation | ||||||
Promote environmental | | | | | | | |
and social factors to | |||||||
suppliers (via | |||||||
contractual | |||||||
documentation) | |||||||
Promote ethics to | | | | | | | |
suppliers | |||||||
Assess regularly | | | | | | | |
compliance with | |||||||
contractual clauses by | |||||||
the main suppliers |
- Source: Shopping centre economic impact study performed by an external third party
- Source: Shopping centre retailer survey performed by shopping centre management
- Source: HSE risk audit performed by an external third party - see methodology in Section 2.2.3.7 Health & Safety, security and environmental risks and pollution
- 2018 Carbon intensity = 2019 Carbon intensity = 0 gCO2e/visit (100% renewable energy)
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2.5.2.6 INDEPENDENT THIRD PARTY'S REPORT ON GREEN BOND CRITERIA
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield has commissioned EY as a third-party auditor to check the compliance of the financed assets with the eligibility criteria set and reported above. This check includes an in-depth review of the documentary evidence for each domain and criteria (for each phase). The EY reasonable assurance report is available below.
- INDEPENDENT REPORT OF ONE OF THE STATUTORY AUDITORS ON COMPLIANCE WITH ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL CRITERIA FOR SELECTION AND MONITORING OF ASSETS ELIGIBLE FOR GREEN BONDS AND THE ALLOCATION OF FUNDS RAISED UNDER THESE OBLIGATIONS
This is a free translation into English of the original report issued in the French language and it is provided solely for the convenience of English speaking users. This report should be read in conjunction with, and construed in accordance with, French law and applicable regulations in France.
Year ended December 31st, 2019
To Mr. Christophe Cuvillier, Chairman of the Management Board,
In our capacity as statutory auditor of the company, we hereby present our report on environmental and social criteria for selection and monitoring processes, defined in the "Use of Proceeds"(1) requirements of Green Bonds "Selection and Monitoring Criteria" for the assets selected for Green Bonds in effect on December 31st, 2019 and on the allocation of funds.
Responsibility of the company
It is the responsibility of the Company's Chairman to establish the Selection and Monitoring Criteria and ensure their implementation.
Independence and quality control
Our independence is defined by regulatory requirements and the Code of Ethics of our profession and the conditions laid down by Article L. 822-11-3 of the French Commercial Code. In addition, we have implemented a quality control system, including documented policies and procedures to ensure compliance with ethical standards and applicable laws and regulations.
Responsibility of the statutory auditor
- It is our role, based on our work to express a reasonable assurance as to whether the assets selected for Green Bonds in effect on December 31st, 2019 comply, in all material aspects, with the Selection and Monitoring Criteria (reasonable assurance report).
- to attest to the allocation of funds raised under Green Bonds to the selected assets and attest to the concordance of funds allocated to these assets with the amount in the accounts, knowing that no new "Green Bond" was issued in 2019, that the Green Bond issued in 2015 (allocated to Mall of Scandinavia asset) has come to an end in 2019 and that the funds allocated to Majunga asset, sold in 2019, have been reallocated to Centrum Chodov extension and Wroclavia assets.
We conducted the work described below in accordance with the international standard ISAE 3000 (International Standard on Assurance Engagements) and the professional doctrine of the French Compagnie Nationale des Commissaires aux Comptes in relation to this intervention. We called, to assist us in performing our work, on our experts in sustainable development, under the responsibility of Mr. Philippe Aubain, Associate Partner.
- "Criteria" and "Indicators" press releases published on February 19th, 2014, about Selection criteria ("Additional criteria") and Monitoring Criteria (Indicators) for Green Bonds, available at www.urw.com
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1. REASONABLE ASSURANCE REPORT ON ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL CRITERIA FOR SELECTION AND MONITORING
Nature and scope of work
In order to be able to express our conclusion, we undertook the following work, between November 2019 and March 2020:
- We assessed the suitability of the Selection and Monitoring Criteria regarding their relevance, completeness, clarity, neutrality and reliability, taking into consideration the "Green Bonds Principles"(1).
- We undertook interviews at the main office of the Company in order to understand selection and monitoring procedures and to verify the compliance with Selection and Monitoring Criteria, based on the documentary evidence available at the company main office relating to the four assets monitored in the framework of bonds issued during the previous financial years (Lyon Confluence, So Ouest, Aéroville, and Carré Sénart extension).
- We have conducted a site visit of the two new qualified assets in 2019 (Centrum Chodov extension and Wroclavia) in order to verify, through interviews with the local management, the compliance with the Selection and Monitoring Criteria, in particular for the operational phase.
Information or explanations on the Selection and Monitoring Criteria
- The Selection and Monitoring Criteria only cover environmental and social aspects of eligible assets, and exclude their economic aspects. These criteria are the minimum requirements to be met by eligible assets in order to be considered as Green Bonds. They are related to construction and operating phases and the monitoring of assets. The company also publishes the justification or the confirmation of the compliance with each criterion for the selected assets in the chapter « 2.5.2 Green Bonds » of the Management Report.
- For the operating phase, part of the criteria cannot be applied and verified before one or several years of operation (e.g. certification BREEAM-In-Use). For assets still under construction or recently delivered (e.g. Carré Sénart extension), the expected date of compliance with these criteria is specified in the detailed table by asset in the chapter 2.5.2 of the Management Report.
Conclusion
In our opinion, the assets selected for Green Bonds in effect on December 31st, 2019 comply, in all material aspects, with the Selection and Monitoring Criteria.
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2. ATTESTATION ON FUNDS ALLOCATION
It is also our responsibility to express our conclusion on the funds allocated to the assets that were selected and on the consistency between the amount of funds allocated to these assets within the framework of the Green Bonds issuance and the accounting records and their underlying data, knowing that no new "Green Bond" was issued in 2019, that the Green Bond issued in 2015 (allocated to Mall
of Scandinavia asset) has come to an end in 2019 and that the funds 2. allocated to Majunga asset, sold in 2019, have been reallocated to
Centrum Chodov extension and Wroclavia assets.
However, it is not our responsibility to express a conclusion on the use of the funds allocated to the eligible assets following their allocation.
In our capacity as statutory auditor of Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, we conducted jointly with the co-statutory auditor, the audit of the consolidated financial statements of the company for the year ended December 31st, 2019. Our audit, conducted in accordance with the professional standards applicable in France, aimed at expressing an opinion on the consolidated financial statements considered globally and not on specific elements of these statements used to establish this information. Therefore, we did not perform any audit tests or sampling to this purpose and we do not express any opinion on these isolated elements.
(1) The Green Bond Principles (updated version of June 2018) are available on the website of the ICMA (International Capital Market Association) http://www.icmagroup.org
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Our intervention, which is neither an audit nor a limited review, was performed in accordance with the professional doctrine of the French Compagnie Nationale des Commissaires aux Comptes in relation to this intervention, in order to:
- understand the procedures that the company put in place so as to determine the information provided in chapter "2.5.2 Green bonds" in the 2019 Management Report;
- verify that the internal loans or financing contracts signed with the subsidiaries owning Lyon Confluence, So Ouest, Aéroville, Wroclavia, Centrum Chodov extension and Carré Sénart extension are still running on 31 December 2019, knowing that in date of the issuance of our report, on the respect of environmental and social Selection and Monitoring Criteria for the selected assets for "Green Bonds" and on the allocation of funds raised for these obligations in date of 31 December 2015, we verified that these contracts mention the source of the funds. The Majunga asset,
selected for a Green Bond since 2015, was sold in 2019. The funds initially allocated to this asset have been reallocated to two other eligible assets (Centrum Chodov extension and Wroclavia);.
- verify the consistency between the information provided in the introduction of chapter "2.5.2 Green bonds" of the 2019 Management Report for the year ended December 31st, 2019 and the data from the consolidated financial statements of the company for the same year.
Based on our work, in the context of the Green Bonds issuance, we have nothing to report with regard to the allocation of the funds to the assets selected or to the consistency of the amount of funds allocated to these eligible assets with the accounting records and underlying data, knowing that no new "Green Bond" was issued in 2019.
Paris-La Défense, the March 24, 2020, | |
French original signed by: | |
One of the Statutory Auditors | |
Ernst & Young Audit | |
Jean-Yves Jégourel | Philippe Aubain |
Partner | Associate Partner, Sustainable Development |
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Appendices
2.6 APPENDICES
2.6.1 UNIBAIL-RODAMCO-WESTFIELD'S REPORTING METHODOLOGY
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield uses a variety of tools, processes and indicators to monitor the performance of the assets owned and managed by the Group. These methods are used to structure an environmental, social and societal management approach, track results and to inform its stakeholders about performance.
The Group continuously improves its reporting tools and processes in order to fine-tune the quality and accuracy of its consolidated data. This enables the Group to manage its data collection processes more efficiently, track and analyse performance at all levels (site, region, Group) on a regular basis, assess results against targets, and implement suitable corrective measures.
In 2019, the Group updated its CSR reporting framework in alignment with its expanded CSR Better Places 2030 strategy, to cover all of the Group's regions and track performance against each of its engagements: environmental (pillar 1), societal (pillar 2) and social (pillar 3).
This new framework was co-constructed by teams coming from both European and American platforms, to capitalise on existing data collection frameworks from both entities, and by representatives of all departments concerned by the operational implementation of the CSR agenda to ensure its applicability: development and construction teams, marketing teams, leasing teams, technical teams, shopping centre management teams, controlling teams, etc.
2.6.1.1 DEFINITIONS AND REPORTING VALUES
Indicators are expressed in absolute value (e.g., energy and water consumption, CO2 emissions, amount of waste generated) or in the form of ratios to express efficiency and comparable trends. Intensity ratios are calculated using different types of denominators, depending on the type of information:
-
Denominators related to floor area (m2):
◦◦ Square meters operated served with energy: the area of common and private spaces supplied with asset level managed energy. This denominator is used to calculate the energy efficiency of assets in operation (see Section 2.2.3.4 Energy management) and the energy related scope 1&2 carbon intensity of operations (see Section 2.2.1.2 Carbon assessment) for shopping centres and offices;
◦◦ Total operated area: total standing asset floor area, including both private and common areas. This denominator is used to calculate energy related scope 1, 2 & 3 carbon intensity of operations, including tenant emissions (see Section 2.2.1.2 Carbon assessment);
◦◦ Consolidated building area, corresponding to:
−− the Gross Leasable Area (GLA) of the property owning companies for shopping centres
−− the total floor space according to consolidation for Offices
−− the total floor space according to consolidation for Convention and Exhibition Centres
This area is used to calculate data coverages.
-
Denominators related to intensity of use, adapted to each business unit:
◦◦ Footfall for Shopping Centres: the annual number of visitors coming to an asset;
◦◦ Occupants for Offices: the number of occupants during the period, corresponding to the maximum office capacity multiplied by the asset occupancy rate;
◦◦ Areas occupied per days of occupancy (sqm DOCC) for Convention
- Exhibition venues: the annual total cumulative surface occupied by the tenants when the venues are open (including assembly, exhibition and disassembly phases of a fair).
2.6.1.2 REPORTING SCOPE | 2. |
The information presented in Section 2.1.4 Summary of the Group's CSR achievements and in the following Sections (2.2 Better Spaces,
2.3 Better communities, 2.4 Better together) cover Unibail-Rodamco- Westfield's consolidated scope - unless explicitly stated otherwise. 2019 is the first year following the acquisition by Unibail-Rodamco of Westfield company that a complete report on CSR performance is being released, covering the new Group consolidated scope and including both of the Group's platforms:
• European platform: France, Germany, Spain, Austria, the Netherlands, the Nordics (inc. Sweden, Denmark, Finland), Central Europe (inc. Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia), and the UK;
• American platform: the US.
Detailed scoping rules per indicator family are presented in the next paragraphs. Exclusions from the reporting scope are specified in the description of each indicator or in footnotes where applicable.
- REPORTING SCOPE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIETAL INDICATORS IN STANDING ASSETS
The environmental and societal indicators relating to operations cover the scope of assets in the Group's standing portfolio which are owned and managed by the Group, and that have been in the Group portfolio for at least one and a half (1.5) fiscal years at the reporting date. By default, this information covers all of the Group's asset categories: Shopping Centres, Offices and Convention and Exhibition venues. When an indicator covers a narrower scope, this is specified in its description. This CSR reporting scope represents 89% of the total Group portfolio of standing assets in area (sqm) in 2019.
Scoping exceptions for energy-related indicators: Energy-related
indicators include the following types of information: energy consumption, energy intensity, scope 1 et 2 GHG emissions, and share of renewable energy. Are excluded from the CSR reporting scope of energy-related indicators assets that are under significant works (net impacted GLA > 1,000 sqm) during the reporting period, due to the fact that works may affect the energy consumption of an asset in an unusual way that is not representative of normal operations and compromise data reliability and comparability. Assets under significant works are re-integrated in the CSR reporting scope of energy-related indicators 1.5 years after the works have stopped. The reporting scope for energy-related indicators represents 81% of the total Group portfolio of standing assets in area (sqm) in 2019.
However, in practice, CH Ursynow and Gropius Passagen have been excluded from the 2019 reported data, while the office parts of Gera Arcaden, Nacka Forum, Täby Centrum and Solna Centrum, Westfield San Francisco Centre, Westfield Wheaton, Westfield Old Orchard, Westfield Topanga and the hotel part of the CNIT (Hilton) have been included in the reported data. Resulting overall CSR and energy reporting scopes coverage represent 90% and 81% of total area respectively.
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STANDING ASSETS INCLUDED IN THE 2019 OVERALL REPORTING SCOPE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIETAL KPIs
Reporting floor | |||||||
areas for | |||||||
standard energy | |||||||
and carbon | Denominators for | ||||||
Number | intensity | intensity of use | Consolidated | ||||
Asset type | Regions | of assets | Assets | indicators(1) | indicators(2) | building area(3) | |
Austria | 2 | Donau Zentrum (including Dux), Shopping City Süd | 257,866 m2 | 35,181,229 visits | 265,200 sqm | ||
(including Mux) | |||||||
Central Europe | 8 | Aupark, Centrum Cerný Most, Westfield Chodov, | 495,572 m2 | 112,578,140 visits | 562,800 sqm | ||
Metropole Zlicin, Westfield Arkadia, Galeria | |||||||
Mokotów, Galeria Wilenska, Wroclavia | |||||||
France | 18 | Aéroville, Westfield Carré Sénart (including | 726,716 m2 | 298,285,335 visits | 1,255,200 sqm | ||
Shopping Parc), Carrousel du Louvre, CNIT | |||||||
(including CNIT offices and CNIT convention), | |||||||
Westfield Euralille, La Part-Dieu (including Cour | |||||||
Oxygène), Westfield Forum des Halles, Westfield | |||||||
Les Quatre Temps, Confluence, Westfield Parly 2, | |||||||
Polygone Riviera, Alma, Westfield Rosny 2, So | |||||||
Ouest, Toison d'Or, Ulis 2, Westfield Vélizy 2, | |||||||
Villeneuve 2 | |||||||
Germany | 8 | Gera Arcaden, Höfe am Brühl, Pasing Arcaden, | 470,814 m2 | 82,889,904 visits | 678,500 sqm | ||
Paunsdorf Center, Ruhr Park, Minto, Palais Vest, | |||||||
CentrO | |||||||
The Netherlands | 4 | Citymall Almere, Stadshart Amstelveen, Stadshart | 75,684 m2 | 27,856,535 visits | 274,100 sqm | ||
Zoetermeer, Leidsenhage | |||||||
Retail | |||||||
Nordics | 5 | Fisketorvet, Nacka Forum, Westfield Mall of | 377,287 m2 | 49,351,549 visits | 352,700 sqm | ||
Scandinavia, Solna Centrum, Täby Centrum | |||||||
Spain | 7 | Bonaire, Equinoccio, Garbera, La Maquinista, | 200,956 m2 | 80,056,674 visits | 401,800 sqm | ||
Glòries, Parquesur, Splau | |||||||
The UK | 2 | Westfield London, Westfield Stratford City | 342,387 sqm | 84,086,946 visits | 419,300 sqm | ||
The US | 29 | Westfield Garden State Plaza, Westfield Topanga, | 1,114,324 sqm | 303,337,239 visits | 1,811,400 sqm | ||
Westfield Southcenter, Westfield Old Orchard, | |||||||
Westfield Santa Anita, Westfield Valley Fair, | |||||||
Westfield UTC, Westfield Annapolis, Westfield | |||||||
Century City, Westfield Galleria at Roseville, | |||||||
Westfield San Francisco Centre, Westfield Culver | |||||||
City, Westfield Montgomery, Westfield Fashion | |||||||
Square, Westfield World Trade Center, Westfield | |||||||
Wheaton, Westfield Countryside, Westfield North | |||||||
County, Westfield Mission Valley, Westfield | |||||||
Brandon, Westfield Citrus Park, Westfield Trumbull, | |||||||
Westfield Broward, Westfield Plaza Bonita, | |||||||
Westfield South Shore, Westfield Valencia Town | |||||||
Center, Westfield Palm Desert, Westfield Oakridge, | |||||||
Westfield Meriden | |||||||
Office | France | 3 | 7 Adenauer, Le Sextant, Les Villages de l'Arche | 67,400 m2(2) | 2,939 occupants | 67,400 sqm | |
France | 8 | Espace Champerret, Espace Grande Arche, Palais | 63,794,725 sqm | 63,794,725 sqm | 613,300 sqm | ||
Convention & | des Congrès de Paris (including Les Boutiques du | DOCC | DOCC | ||||
Palais), Paris Nord-Villepinte, Paris Nord-Le | |||||||
Exhibition | |||||||
Bourget, Porte de Versailles, Palais des Congrès | |||||||
d'Issy-les-Moulineaux, Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild | |||||||
(1) Shopping centres and Offices: see the definition of Square meters operated served with energy in Section | 2.6.1.1 Definitions and reporting values). | ||||||
Square meters shared with energy only include assets in the energy-related scope. | |||||||
Convention & Exhibition: see the definition of Areas occupied per days of occupancy (sqm DOCC) in Section | 2.6.1.1 Definitions and reporting values). | ||||||
(2) | See the definition of denominators related to intensity of use per business unit in Section 2.6.1.1 Definitions and reporting values. | ||||||
(3) | See the definition of consolidated building area in Section 2.6.1.1 Definitions and reporting values. |
124 Universal Registration Document 2019 / UNIBAIL-RODAMCO-WESTFIELD
- REPORTING SCOPE FOR SOCIAL INDICATORS
Social indicators regarding Human Resources cover all Group employees with a direct employment contract with the Group, in all regions where the Group operates, and in all of the Group's business units and subsidiaries, regardless of whether they are located in head-offices or on site: Shopping Centres, Offices, Convention & Exhibition (Viparis), and Airports.
- REPORTING SCOPE FOR CSR INDICATORS IN DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS
As part of its Better Places 2030 strategy, the Group is committed to track its CSR performance beyond the scope of its direct operations. This includes measuring its CSR performance from the design stage of projects under development.
The CSR reporting of development-related KPIs covers all projects in the Group pipeline whatever their type (greenfield and brownfield projects, extension and renovation projects) which have reached a mature enough development stage to have implemented the Group CSR strategy (committed and controlled projects) and that are exceed the following thresholds in terms of minimal net impacted GLA and Total investment cost:
-
For Europe:
◦◦ Retail projects of over €50 Mn or over 10,000 sqm GLA
◦◦ All other projects (offices, convention and exhibition centres) - For the US:
◦◦ All projects of over $100 Mn or over 20,000 sqm GLA.
In 2019, 5 projects were removed from the reporting scope because of their advancement status and consequent unavailability of the data.
- REPORTING SCOPE OF THE GROUP CARBON FOOTPRINT
As part of its Better Places 2030 strategy, the Group is committed to track its CSR performance beyond the scope of its direct operations, and this encompasses the Group carbon footprint calculation approach, which covers an extended reporting scope.
To calculate its total carbon footprint, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield has chosen the "operational control" approach for its entire value chain: consolidation of all the greenhouse gas emissions linked with the operations over which the Group has the full authority to implement its operational policies.
The Group's carbon footprint measure includes the emissions of the following six greenhouse gases designated by the Kyoto protocol: carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), sulphur hexafluoride (SF6), hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) and perfluorinated hydrocarbons (PFC). These greenhouse gas emissions are expressed in carbon equivalent (CO2eq).
The Scope of the Group's carbon footprint is defined as follows:
-
Organisational scope:
◦◦ Owned and managed standing assets: shopping Centres, offices and convention & exhibition venues (selection rules identical to reporting scope for environmental and societal indicators in standing assets, see above);
◦◦ Development projects: all greenfield/brownfield, extensions and renovation projects whatever their size and development stage (broader scope than the reporting scope for CSR indicators in development projects described above);
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Appendices
◦◦ Group employees and headquarters: all employees with a direct employment contract with the Group (selection rules identical to reporting scope for social indicators, see above)
- Operational scope: all the activities over which the Group has direct operational control or that it can influence.
The detailed emission sources accounted for in the Group carbon
footprint are presented in Section 2.2.1.2 Carbon assessment. | 2. |
2.6.1.3 CHANGES IN REPORTING SCOPE AND | |
CALCULATION OF EVOLUTIONS | |
In 2019, the scoping rules for reporting CSR-related information | |
(presented in Section 2.6.1.2 Reporting scope) have been reviewed in | |
order to integrate changes linked with the new Group perimeter and | |
organisation. In order to enable data comparability, these updated | |
scoping rules have been applied retroactively to previous year | |
portfolio compositions: 2015 baseline year figures and 2018 previous | |
year figures have been re-calculated accordingly. | |
Changes in reporting scope may also occur as a result of the start or | |
end of a management mandate; acquisitions or disposals of assets; | |
development of new assets or major renovations and extensions. To | |
compare data from one year to another, a "Like-for-like" scope is | |
used when calculating data evolutions: the like-for-like scope | |
corresponds to a restricted scope of assets that are both present in | |
the CSR reporting scopes (as defined in Section 2.6.1.2 Reporting | |
scope) of the year 2019, and of that of the year 2018. It is used to | |
assess an indicator's evolution over time, based on a comparable | |
portfolio. |
2.6.1.4 REPORTING PERIOD AND REFERENCE YEAR
Most environmental, social and societal data are reported as at December 31 of the reporting year ended, for one calendar year. However, given the scheduling requirements for the release of the Group Registration Document (Q1 of the following year), some environmental data are reported on a rolling 12-month period (Q4 of the previous financial year and Q1, Q2 and Q3 of the reporting year ended): data related to energy, Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions, and water consumption.
The CSR strategy Better Places 2030 sets 2015 as its reference year for measuring progress against energy and carbon related CSR objectives. 2015 baseline data have been recalculated in 2019 to take into account the new Group consolidated scope, including UK and US regions. Plaisir, Zlote Tarasy, Jumbo, Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild and CH Ursynow assets are excluded from the calculation of the 2015 baseline.
2.6.1.5 CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT OF DEFINITIONS AND DATA QUALITY IMPROVEMENT
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield continues to improve the quality and comparability of its data, develop internal benchmarks, introduce sub-metering to collect information for environmental data, and fine-tune the accuracy of the data analysis.
As a consequence, adjustments may occur on data from the previous years whenever relevant.
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-
IDENTIFYING UNCERTAINTY AS REGARDS THE GROUP CARBON FOOTPRINT
Scope 1 & 2 emissions
Regarding Scope 1 & 2 emissions, the reporting methodology developed by the Group, the sources of the data used for calculation (invoices for energy consumption and published supplier data and country data for emissions factors) as well as the long history track of Group data published ensure a high level of reliability of the presented results.
Small margins of error may remain, linked to:
- the estimation of energy consumption in some invoices from energy suppliers, which may result in under or over-estimations. These are usually resolved during the following year;
- the carbon emission factors provided by energy providers based on their energy mix: these factors are usually verified and made public, but may be released after URW reporting closure date. In that case, emission factor from the previous year is used, which ensures data consistency in the long-term.
Scope 3 emissions
Regarding scope 3 emissions, processed information can only be partially managed. A qualitative analysis of margins of error is therefore presented hereunder for the three main areas of Construction, Operation and Mobility.
Construction
Margins of error may be related to:
- the quality of the environmental data used (Environmental Product Declaration);
- the quantities of materials used for each new development project;
- the tracking of construction cost trends over time (economic ratios) based on a like-for-like approach.
In order to reduce uncertainty, quantities of materials used are questioned by construction managers during product reviews (to optimise construction costs and carbon impact).
Operation
Margins of error for energy sources non-managed by the Group (energy directly purchased and managed by the tenants) may be linked to energy consumption or to the carbon emission factors:
- private energy consumptions are calculated by using ratios from the Group's portfolio, where the landlord provides electricity directly to the tenants. To limit uncertainty, the sample size and the number of measured data points have been increased in 2019, to be representative of the Group's centres (all 12 shopping centres delivering electricity to the tenants, 845,000 sqm GLA and 2,200 shops, with 203 GWh of energy);
- the exact energy mix each tenant is using is not known by the Group. To address this issue, the carbon emission factors are calculated based on conservative assumptions (residual emissions factors).
Mobility
Margins of error may be related to the number of visitors to each site, to the assessment of modal shares, to the assessment of the distances covered by each mode of transport (catchment areas), to the occupancy rate for cars and finally to the emission factors used for each mode of transport.
To strengthen the reliability of the data inputs, the Group has updated its reporting methodology and tools in 2019: evolutions of over 5% in the data are being tracked and verified. Furthermore, to limit the sources of errors on data evolution, 3 of the 4 above parameters listed above have been fixed, to focus only on the data collection and verification of modal shares reported through customer marketing surveys. Other parameters are being updated on a lower frequency basis.
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2.6.2 INDEPENDENT THIRD PARTY'S REPORT ON CONSOLIDATED NON-FINANCIAL STATEMENT
This is a free translation into English of the original report issued in the French language and it is provided solely for the convenience of English speaking users. This report should be read in conjunction with, and construed in accordance with, French law and professional standards applicable in France.
Year ended the 31st December 2019
To the General Assembly,
In our quality as an independent verifier, accredited by the COFRAC under the number n° 3-1681 (scope of accreditation available on the website www.cofrac.fr), and as a member of the network of one of the statutory auditors of your entity Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield SE (hereafter "entity"), we present our report on the consolidated non- financial statement established for the year ended on the 31st December 2019 (hereafter referred to as the "Statement"), included in the management report pursuant to the requirements of articles
- 225 102-1, R. 225-105 and R. 225-105-1 of the French Commercial Code (Code de commerce).
The entity's responsibility
The management board is responsible for preparing the Statement, including a presentation of the business model, a description of the principal non-financial risks, a presentation of the policies implemented considering those risks and the outcomes of said policies, including key performance indicators.
The Statement has been prepared in accordance with the entity's procedures (hereinafter the "Guidelines"), the main elements of which are presented in the Statement and available on request at the Entity's headquarters.
Independence and quality control
Our independence is defined by the requirements of article L. 822-11-3 of the French Commercial Code and the French Code of Ethics (Code de déontologie) of our profession. In addition, we have implemented a system of quality control including documented policies and procedures regarding compliance with applicable legal and regulatory requirements, the ethical requirements and French professional guidance.
Responsibility of the independent third party
On the basis of our work, our responsibility is to provide a report expressing a limited assurance conclusion on:
- the compliance of the Statement with the requirements of article
- 225-105of the French Commercial Code;
- the fairness of the information provided in accordance with article
- 225 105 I, 3° and II of the French Commercial Code, i.e., the outcomes, including key performance indicators, and the measures implemented considering the principal risks (hereinafter the "Information").
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However, it is not our responsibility to comment on the entity's compliance with other applicable legal and regulatory requirements, in particular the French duty of care law and anti-corruption and tax avoidance legislation nor on the compliance of products and services with the applicable regulations.
Nature and scope of the work
The work described below was performed in accordance with the | 2. |
provisions of articles A. 225-1 et seq. of the French Commercial |
Code, as well as with the professional guidance of the French Institute of Statutory Auditors ("CNCC") applicable to such engagements and with ISAE 3000(1)
- we obtained an understanding of all the consolidated entities' activities and the description of the principal risks associated;
- we assessed the suitability of the criteria of the Guidelines with respect to their relevance, completeness, reliability, neutrality and understandability, with due consideration of industry best practices, where appropriate;
- we verified that the Statement includes each category of social and environmental information set out in article L. 225 102 1 III as well as information regarding compliance with human rights and anti-corruption and tax avoidance legislation;
- we verified that the Statement provides the information required under article R. 225-105 II of the French Commercial Code, where relevant with respect to the principal risks, and includes, where applicable, an explanation for the absence of the information required under article L. 225-102-1 III, paragraph 2 of the French Commercial Code;
- we verified that the Statement presents the business model and a description of principal risks associated with all the consolidated entities' activities, including where relevant and proportionate, the risks associated with their business relationships, their products or services, as well as their policies, measures and the outcomes thereof, including key performance indicators associated to the principal risks;
-
we referred to documentary sources and conducted interviews to ◦◦ assess the process used to identify and confirm the principal risks as well as the consistency of the outcomes, including the key performance indicators used, with respect to the principal
risks and the policies presented, and
◦◦ corroborate the qualitative information (measures and outcomes) that we considered to be the most important presented in Appendix 1; concerning certain risks (non-resilience of assets facing physical phenomena, limited availability and increase in prices of fossil fuels, corruption, agreements or fraud), our work was carried out on the consolidating entity, for the others risks, our work was carried out on the consolidating entity and on a selection of entities: Paris Le Bourget, Le Forum des Halles, Wroclavia, Centrum Chodov, Donauzentrum, Stratford City, San Francisco Center, Galleria at Roseville and Santa Anita; - we verified that the Statement covers the scope of consolidation,
i.e. all the consolidated entities in accordance with article L. 233-16 of the French Commercial Code;
- we obtained an understanding of internal control and risk management procedures the entity has put in place and assessed the data collection process to ensure the completeness and fairness of the Information;
(1) ISAE 3000 - Assurance engagements other than audits or reviews of historical financial information.
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-
for the key performance indicators and other quantitative outcomes that we considered to be the most important presented in Appendix 1, we implemented:
◦◦ analytical procedures to verify the proper consolidation of the data collected and the consistency of any changes in those data; ◦◦ tests of details, using sampling techniques, in order to verify the proper application of the definitions and procedures and reconcile the data with the supporting documents. This work was carried out on a selection of contributing entities and covers between 11% and 16% of the consolidated data relating to the key performance indicators and outcomes selected for these tests (11% of the gross leasable area of owned and managed portfolio as of December 31st, 2019 and 16% of energy
consumption) and Central Europe and the United States of America that represents 34% of the workforce at the end of the year;
- we assessed the overall consistency of the Statement based on our knowledge of all the consolidated entities.
We consider that the work we have done by exercising our professional judgment allows us to express a limited assurance conclusion; an assurance of a higher level would have required more extensive verification work.
Means and resources
Our verification work mobilized the skills of six people and took place between September 2019 and March 2020 on a total duration of intervention of about eleven weeks.
We conducted six interviews with the persons responsible for the preparation of the Statement including in particular CSR, Synergies and Expertise, Human Resources, National Operations and Sustainable Development (United States of America).
Conclusion
Based on the procedures performed, nothing has come to our attention that causes us to believe that the consolidated non- financial statement is not presented in accordance with the applicable regulatory requirements and that the Information, taken as a whole, is not presented fairly in accordance with the Guidelines, in all material respects.
Paris-La Défense, the March 24, 2020. | |
French original signed by: | |
Independent third party | |
Ernst & Young et Associés | |
Philippe Aubain | Jean-François Bélorgey |
Associate Partner, Sustainable Development | Partner |
128 Universal Registration Document 2019 / UNIBAIL-RODAMCO-WESTFIELD
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Appendix 1 : The most important information
Social Information
Quantitative Information (including key performance indicators) | Qualitative Information (actions or results) | ||
Total workforce. | Employment (attractiveness, retention). | ||
Turnover rate. | Employees' health and well-being. | ||
Women representation in the Group and proportion of senior management level | Employees' commitment to the CSR policy. | 2. | |
positions held by women. | |||
Employee engagement rate in the Group URW volunteering programme. | |||
Percentage of employees trained on security. | |||
Percentage of Group employees with annual CSR individual objectives. | |||
Environmental Information | |||
Quantitative Information (including key performance indicators) | Qualitative Information (actions or results) | ||
Total energy consumption. | Improvement of energy efficiency and development of the | ||
Production of renewable energy. | use of renewable energies. | ||
Share of electricity used generated from renewable sources. | Improvement of development projects carbon footprint. | ||
Greenhouse gas emissions (scopes 1 and 2 and scope 3 assessment). | Environmental certification process of assets | ||
Total quantity of waste generated (non-hazardous). | in development and operation phases. | ||
Share of sorted managed waste and the recovery rate (non-hazardous). | Implementation of waste sorting and recycling solutions. | ||
Water consumption. | Prevention of Health, Safety and Environment risks, | ||
Percentage of assets in operation that conducted a Health & Safety and | including environmental pollution. | ||
Environmental third-party risk assessment and share of assets in operation that | |||
obtained an A or B annual score in their assessment. | |||
Societal Information | |||
Quantitative Information (including key performance indicators) | Qualitative Information (actions or results) |
Percentage of Flagship assets that had a partnership with a charity or NGO since at least 2 years.
Number of people that integrated a job or a qualifying training certification through the URW for Jobs programme.
CSR governance and deployment of Better Places 2030. Reinforcement of green value and environmental quality (certifications, green financing).
Promotion of a safe and healthy environment in shopping centers. Promotion of local economic development.
Measures related to business ethics. Consideration of social and environmental responsibility of suppliers and subcontractors.
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WFD Unibail Rodamco NV published this content on 30 March 2020 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 30 March 2020 13:32:01 UTC