RESPONSIBLE

ASSET

MANAGEMENT

How we’re reducing our carbon footprint across our portfolio.

COMBINED OPERATIONS

The energy and other resources that our buildings consume in their day-to-day operations can be reduced on two main fronts: initiatives we can take directly as a landlord through good property management; and influencing our occupiers to make their behaviour more sustainable.
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The demands of decarbonisation are core to all our property management projects – every building has its own Net Zero Carbon Action Plan. And, one by one, we’re helping our occupiers with their own very different paths to sustainability, from walking office floors and suggesting energy-saving measures to spotting opportunities for waste reduction.
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There’s a wide array of interconnected factors affecting the energy consumption of our managed properties, from their age and size to the kind of businesses using them. Through careful, continuous management and active engagement with occupiers, we’re reducing our portfolio’s energy consumption year-on-year.

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Setting standards:

DEVELOPING BEST PRACTICE

Among property developers, we’ve been setting the pace in enshrining good practice and setting the standards that can guide actions on the ground, in our managed properties.
01/02
Setting standards:

Developing best practice

Our recently refreshed Responsible Asset Framework sets out all the activities and responsibilities needed to achieve a higher level of performance in our managed properties.
As well as providing guidance on developing Net Zero Carbon Action Plans, it outlines how we’re engaging occupiers on our Net Zero Carbon Pathway and what’s expected of buildings in other areas, such as water and waste management.
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To help keep annual water consumption below our target of 0.51 m3 per m2 floor area across our managed portfolio, we’ve introduced a water management guide that sets out our strategy for reducing water consumption and for reviewing our performance.
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Promoting good practice among our suppliers is intrinsic to our push for net zero. We’ve been embedding our sustainability requirements in our contracts with suppliers of services such as cleaning, front-of-house reception and security. Our cleaning suppliers, for example, must commit to the use of sustainable cleaning products and energy-efficient equipment, and have their own net zero pathways in place.
02/02
01/02
Setting standards:

Developing best practice

Among property developers, we’ve been setting the pace in enshrining good practice and setting the standards that can guide actions on the ground, in our managed properties.
01/04
Setting standards:

Developing best practice

Our recently refreshed Responsible Asset Framework sets out all the activities and responsibilities needed to achieve a higher level of performance in our managed properties.
02/04
Setting standards:

Developing best practice

As well as providing guidance on developing Net Zero Carbon Action Plans, it outlines how we’re engaging occupiers on our Net Zero Carbon Pathway and what’s expected of buildings in other areas, such as water and waste management.
‍
To help keep annual water consumption below our target of 0.51 m3 per m2 floor area across our managed portfolio, we’ve introduced a water management guide that sets out our strategy for reducing water consumption and for reviewing our performance.

03/04
Setting standards:

Developing best practice

Promoting good practice among our suppliers is intrinsic to our push for net zero. We’ve been embedding our sustainability requirements in our contracts with suppliers of services such as cleaning, front-of-house reception and security. Our cleaning suppliers, for example, must commit to the use of sustainable cleaning products and energy-efficient equipment, and have their own net zero pathways in place.
04/04
01/02
Dialling it down:

Property management

From developing action plans for each building to reach net zero carbon to installing motion sensor-controlled lighting, we’re addressing unnecessary energy consumption wherever we find it.
01/02
Dialling it down:

Property management

Net Zero Carbon Action Plans are our way of embedding sustainable practices within our properties. Each building has its own plan, with knowledge and data about the property baked into practices and targets designed to reduce energy, water and waste.
The plan encourages a more vigilant and proactive approach by building managers including, for example, monthly check-ins with M&E contractors to identify possible energy conservation measures.
‍
Many of our energy-cutting measures are portfolio-wide. We’re installing long-life LED lights in all common areas and PIR sensors to switch off lighting when spaces are empty for a length of time. And on heating, we’re lowering temperature set-points in common areas to reduce demand.
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Around our portfolio of managed properties, we’ve brought together a group of Sustainability Champions – building managers passionate about sustainability and supporting our net zero carbon agenda. By sharing information and data, introducing new practices and coordinating workshops with experts, they’re having a tangible impact on operations across our properties.
02/02
01/02
Dialling it down:

Property management

From developing action plans for each building to reach net zero carbon to installing motion sensor-controlled lighting, we’re addressing unnecessary energy consumption wherever we find it.
01/04
Dialling it down:

Property management

Net Zero Carbon Action Plans are our way of embedding sustainable practices within our properties. Each building has its own plan, with knowledge and data about the property baked into practices and targets designed to reduce energy, water and waste.
02/04
Dialling it down:

Property management

The plan encourages a more vigilant and proactive approach by building managers, including, for example, monthly check-ins with M&E contractors to identify possible energy conservation measures.
‍
Many of our energy-cutting measures are portfolio-wide. We’re installing long-life LED lights in all common areas and PIR sensors to switch off lighting when spaces are empty for a length of time. And on heating, we’re lowering temperature set-points in common areas to reduce demand.
03/04
Dialling it down:

Property management

Around our portfolio of managed properties, we’ve brought together a group of Sustainability Champions – building managers passionate about sustainability and supporting our net zero carbon agenda. By sharing information and data, introducing new practices and co-ordinating workshops with experts, they’re having a tangible impact on operations across our properties.
04/04
01/02
Getting it together:

Occupier

engagement

Keeping a check on the day-to-day energy consumption of our properties is as much about encouraging good practice among our current occupiers as it is about property management.
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Many of our occupiers are already making big strides, while others need more input from us to improve their understanding. It’s all about building good relationships and providing support to help our occupiers reduce the energy they use, recycle more and communicate good practice across their businesses.

Read in full

Our Occupier
Engagement
‍Case Studies

03
02
01
03
/03
Morelands
Across our portfolio there are standout occupiers who, by working hand-in-hand with us, are making continuous improvements to their performance.
Read more
3-5 Rathbone Place and Oliver’s Yard
At 3-5 Rathbone Place W1, we’re supporting our occupier Atelier Capital Finance achieve their Planet Mark sustainability certification.
Read more
80 Charlotte Street
Occupiers have gone above and beyond, lifting monthly recycling rates (ratio of recycled to total building waste) from 50% in February 2022 to an annual average of 72% by the end of the year.
Read more
Meeting of minds:

New occupiers

We’re working hard to engage better with companies on achieving net zero carbon workplaces from the moment they become occupiers.
01/02
Meeting of minds:

New occupiers

Adding more responsible clauses to our standard heads of terms and lease agreements makes clear what our future occupiers can expect from us and what we expect from them in areas such as energy efficiency and renewable energy procurement.
The aim is greater collaboration – sharing data, working together to reduce energy consumption, and combining landlord and occupier services.
‍
It’s vital that we, as a major Real Estate Investment Trust, support occupiers on their own sustainability journeys. For our existing occupiers, our new Tenant Charter sets out both our commitments, as a landlord, to minimising our environmental impact, and the commitments we wish to see our new and existing occupiers sign up to, with our support.
02/02
01/02
Meeting of minds:

New occupiers

We’re working hard to engage better with companies on achieving net zero carbon workplaces from the moment they become occupiers.
01/03
Meeting of minds:

New occupiers

Adding more responsible clauses to our standard heads of terms and lease agreements makes clear what our future occupiers can expect from us and what we expect from them in areas such as energy efficiency and renewable energy procurement.
02/03
Meeting of minds:

Developing best practice

The aim is greater collaboration – sharing data, working together to reduce energy consumption, and combining landlord and occupier services.
‍
It’s vital that we, as a major Real Estate Investment Trust, support occupiers on their own sustainability journeys. For our existing occupiers, our new Tenant Charter sets out both our commitments, as a landlord, to minimising our environmental impact, and the commitments we wish to see our new and existing occupiers sign up to, with our support.
03/03
01/02
Staying strong:

Climate resilience

We’re doing our best to minimise our impact on global warming. But being a responsible property company also means making sure our buildings are prepared for changes in climate.
01/02
Staying strong:

Climate resilience

This year, we revisited our climate risk assessments to support our Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). This update includes the measures we’d need in working towards a 1.50C temperature rise.
The exercise concluded that, again, our risk profile is relatively low, thanks to the confined geographic spread of our portfolio compared to other property companies.
‍
As the climate changes, property owners need strategies in place to protect buildings and occupiers against risks such as heat stress, flooding and windstorms. As a signatory to the Better Buildings Partnership’s Climate Commitment, we align with the BBP’s definition of climate resilience, we report in line with TCFD, and we’re developing a Climate Adaptation Plan that will detail how we’re safeguarding existing buildings and occupiers, and how the design of our future buildings will alter.
‍
The record temperatures of summer 2022 underlined the urgency to develop futureproof climate resilience measures. What was encouraging for us, though, was how well our properties – and our occupiers – were able to cope with temperatures approaching 400C. Even allowing for the fact that occupancy rates were down during the heatwave, due to the rise in remote working – it was positive news that there were very few complaints about working conditions.
02/02
01/02
Staying strong:

Climate resilience

We’re doing our best to minimise our impact on global warming. But being a responsible property company also means making sure our buildings are prepared for changes in climate.
01/04
Staying strong:

Climate resilience

This year, we revisited our climate risk assessments to support our Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). This update includes the measures we’d need in working towards a 1.50C temperature rise.
02/04
Staying strong:

Climate resilience

The exercise concluded that, again, our risk profile is relatively low, thanks to the confined geographic spread of our portfolio compared to other property companies.
‍
As the climate changes, property owners need strategies in place to protect buildings and occupiers against risks such as heat stress, flooding and windstorms. As a signatory to the Better Buildings Partnership’s Climate Commitment, we align with the BBP’s definition of climate resilience, we report in line with TCFD and we’re developing a Climate Adaptation Plan that will detail how we’re safeguarding existing buildings and occupiers, and how the design of our future buildings will alter.
03/04
Staying strong:

Climate resilience

The record temperatures of summer 2022 underlined the urgency to develop futureproof climate resilience measures. What was encouraging for us, though, was how well our properties – and our occupiers – were able to cope with temperatures approaching 400C. Even allowing for the fact that occupancy rates were down during the heatwave, due to the rise in remote working – it was positive news that there were very few complaints about working conditions.
04/04
01/02