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Environment & Corporate Social Responsibility
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British Land published its first Environment and Social Report in December
2002. It has been well received with positive feed back from many of our
stakeholders, as well as from our own employees. The focus was on the
management of environmental issues, based on our Environment Policy which
has been in place since June 2000.
Since the publication of the Report, we have fulfilled our commitment
to revise the Policy in order to integrate our developing approach to
the wide range of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) issues. We have
also revised the way the Company manages CSR matters.
The appointment of Claudine Khatchik as Corporate Social Responsibility
Executive has increased our ability to respond to this fast changing CSR
agenda and to promote our commitment to sustainable development.
The Environment and Society
Policy
The new Environment and Society Policy addresses the four areas of Workplace,
Marketplace, Community and Environment, providing the basis for objectives
and targets to add value and manage risks and impacts, in a way that adheres
to British Land's corporate values.
The Policy is widely communicated through our website, intranet, internal
workshops and road shows at our properties around the Country. It also
provides a basis for dialogue with our managing agents, tenants and other
stakeholders.
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The British Land Environment
and Society Policy
The British Land Company PLC is one of the UK's largest property companies.
We recognise that environmental and social considerations should be integrated
into our everyday working practices and embedded into our corporate values.
This policy sets the framework for the way we manage our impact on the
workplace, the marketplace, the environment and in the communities in
which we operate, and our aim to continually improve performance.
The British Land Company PLC is committed to:
Adding Value
- Respecting the environment in which we operate whilst maintaining
commercial viability, long-term profitability and enhancement of our
reputation;
- Developing the corporate Environmental Management System to be
in line with relevant requirements in support of this policy;
- Setting objectives and targets and monitoring our performance
against them to ensure continual improvement;
- Using our influence to improve environmental and social performance
in our supply chain and to encourage purchasing of sustainable products
and materials;
- Continuing to support local community initiatives;
- Raising the awareness of our employees, agents, tenants, suppliers
and contractors to ensure effective management of our environmental
and social impacts.
Managing our impacts
- Managing and monitoring environmental and social issues associated
with our investments;
- Incorporating environmental and social considerations into the
design process of our development projects, including the sustainable
use of resources and materials, avoidance of harm to the local environment
and contributing to the well being of the community;
- Ensuring the construction of new developments and improvement
of existing investments is carried out with the aim of minimising disruption
and pollution;
- Promoting efficient use of resources and reduction in the production
of greenhouse gas emissions, and promoting the minimisation, re-use
and recycling of waste arising from our activities.
Corporate Values
- Complying with legislation, other relevant requirements and best
practice guidelines;
- Complying with relevant codes of corporate governance;
- Maintaining on-going dialogue with our stakeholders, including
our joint-venture partners, to identify key environmental and social
issues and developing effective strategies to manage these issues;
- Providing a good working environment for our employees and treating
all employees with fairness, dignity and respect;
- Promoting a high standard of health and safety for our staff and
contractors;
- Operating an equal opportunities policy to ensure all job applicants
are treated equally;
- Upholding International Human Rights standards through our business
principles and operations;
- Reporting on progress through our annual Environment and Social
Report.
All our employees are responsible for the implementation of this policy.
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Environment and Society Management
To implement the new combined Environment and Society Policy, the revised
management system consists of a senior level strategic Environment and
Society Committee and two review panels, one for environmental matters
and one for marketplace, workplace and community matters.
i The Environment and Society Committee
The Environment and Society Committee has responsibility for managing
the Company's CSR Strategy. The Committee's duties include: setting the
Environment and Society Policy for British Land and its subsidiary companies,
developing objectives and making sure they are met.
John Weston Smith (Chief Operating Officer) chairs the Environment and
Society Committee. External consultants provide guidance and verification
of the Company' performance and achievements.
ii The Environment Review Panel
The Environment Review Panel is responsible for setting, reviewing and
monitoring the Company's environmental targets. It is composed of representatives
from business units within the Company, including the Meadowhall Shopping
Centre, Broadgate Estates and the Eastgate Shopping Centre in Basildon.
The Panel representatives are responsible for ensuring that the business
units and their agents, consultants and suppliers adhere to the Policy
and achieve the associated objectives and targets. The minutes of the
meetings and reporting on progress against targets are made available
through the Company intranet.
 iii
The Society Review Panel
The Society Review Panel is responsible for setting, reviewing and monitoring
targets in the areas of workplace, community and marketplace. The Panel,
including representatives from Meadowhall, Blythe Valley Park and Peacocks
Shopping Centre in Woking, brings a wealth of experience in delivering
community initiatives. Representatives from head office and Broadgate
Estates offer additional expertise in the fields of workplace and marketplace.
The Panel's job is to ensure continual improvement in these areas.
Performance against targets
We will provide a detailed report on progress on our targets in the December
2003 Environment and Society Report. At this stage, nearly half way through
the year, we can report on progress so far in the following areas.
i Resource Consumption
The Resources website was set up last year to monitor energy and water
consumption, and waste recycling. This has been a useful tool in enabling
our asset managers and managing agents to track consumption and take any
necessary action to reduce consumption levels.
ii Supply Chain
We are analysing our list of suppliers and mapping the supply chain in
order to identify where our most significant impacts are likely to be.
iii Training
Internal interviews are underway with each business unit to establish
the environmental and social training needs of staff across the Company.
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Benchmarking Surveys
In the Business in the Community Survey for 2002 British Land maintains
a consistent score, coming fourth in our sector. British Land was the
only Real Estate company to participate in the first ever Business in
the Community Corporate Responsibility Survey. We achieved a score of
61.4% resulting in a position in the fourth quintile. We are using the
results to review our action programme and targets.
In the Property in the Environment Group Survey (2003) British Land was
placed in the Vanguard category, recognising those companies who lead
the industry on environmental issues.
Health and Safety
The Company is proactive in creating a safe, healthy and pleasant environment
for staff, visitors and contractors and complying with health and safety
legislation and codes of practice. All employees receive training and
are issued with a staff handbook, which contains the Company's detailed
Health and Safety Policy and procedure. All managing agents are issued
with the Company Health and Safety Manual. At construction sites regular
monitoring and review enables effective health and safety management on
all our development projects.
Communication
CSR web page
The new CSR web pages on the British Land website communicates our Environment
and Society activities and enables stakeholders and the public to provide
us with feedback:
Please visit www.britishland.com
or email us on CSR@britishland.com.
Stakeholder Communication
Two way dialogue
We continue to meet with our stakeholders to find out what they perceive
as our significant social impacts.
We also meet with Socially Responsible Investment analysts and fund managers
to understand what investors see as the key issues and to discuss our
performance in this important area.
We look forward to providing further updates on our work on CSR in the
2003 Environment and Society Report which will be published in December.
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