Our call for collaboration between retail landlords and tenants on sustainability
‘Reshaping Retail’, a recent report by Hammerson, produced in conjunction with Bioregional, identified key ways in which partnerships between landlord and tenant are vital for companies to advance their sustainability goals.
Ronan Leyden, Head of Sustainable Places, Bioregional, said:
“The report paves the way for positive relationships to deliver real sustainability gains. The cooperation between retail landlords and tenants is critical in changing the way we consume resources, enabling people to live within the Earth’s means and lead One Planet lifestyles.
“We are now challenging more retail centre owners to actively collaborate with retailers and compete with other landlords to embed sustainability innovations at the heart of their shopping centres.”
The ‘Reshaping Retail’ report was informed by a workshop organised by Hammerson and facilitated by Bioregional that included representatives from Hammerson’s sustainability, leasing and operations teams, their consultants and their retailers including Bill’s Restaurants, Clarks, Cos, Costa Coffee, Debenhams, H&M, Hoare Lea, John Lewis & Partners, Marks & Spencer, New Look, Pret A Manger, Selfridges and Starbucks.
It was the perfect space for retailers to candidly discuss barriers to landlord/tenant collaboration and to identify areas hindering their ability to embed more sustainable practices in their store portfolios. Four opportunities were agreed: regular, ongoing collaboration; a circular approach to fit-outs; data sharing on resource use; and embedding sustainability in lease clauses.
Louise Ellison, Group Head of Sustainability at Hammerson said:
“As the scope of our commitment to becoming Net Positive by 2030 included the tenanted areas of our portfolio, we recognised the need to collaborate with our tenants if we wanted to achieve our shared sustainability goals. Reshaping Retail highlights clear and practical actions we can take together to overcome the barriers that are stopping the current retail leasing process achieving our sustainability ambitions.”
Read the full ‘Reshaping Retail’ report
Read about Bioregional's sustainability consultancy services