2007 Unibail-Rodamco Annual Report (5,2 Mb)

UNIBAIL-RODAMCO /// ANNUAL REPORT // VALUES / SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Environmental performance
‘‘
The Group and all of its employees are keenly aware of the stakes involved
in environmental quality, pollution, climate change and the depletion of
non-renewable energy sources. The determination to limit the environmental
impact of its business is part of the Group’s code of ethics. In keeping with this
aim, Unibail-Rodamco is gradually developing a number of rules applicable to
all of its assets and projects. The term “sustainable development” naturally has
a special dimension at Unibail-Rodamco, which is primarily concerned with
investing and improving its assets over the long term.
’’
JOOST BOMHOFF /// CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER
THE GROUP’S PRINCIPLES
Unibail-Rodamco realised very early on that sustainable development
was an important aspect of value creation and a prerequisite for
the continuity of the Group’s investments. In 2003, the Group
decided to affi rm its commitment to sustainable development by
being among the fi rst to join the United Nations Global Compact
initiative and introducing an environmental charter for projects.
The issue of environmental performance offers a virtually infi nite
range of possibilities for planning and decision-making. Within this
scope, and in line with its pragmatic approach, Unibail-Rodamco
decided to focus on the issue of limiting greenhouse gas emissions
and to reduce the energy dependence of its assets by:
• choosing electricity as an energy source in preference to fuel or
gas, insofar as the electricity is produced without emitting CO 2
(nuclear power, hydroelectric power, solar power, wind power).
By late 2007, close to 75% of the energy consumption of the
shopping centre portfolio in France was produced by electricity,
more than 90% of which was generated by non-fossil energy,
• limiting the level of cooling and heating in air conditioned
environments,
• improving the energy efficiency of its buildings, especially
through an active policy of renovating old buildings and using
the most effi cient technologies and equipment in new projects,
• promoting access to public transport for all its sites through the
introduction of tramway service, for example, or by promoting
the extension of existing centres already served by public
transport,
• in general, by coming as close as possible to achieving the
objectives set by the “Factor 4” energy savings plan (1) for all
Group projects.
Compliance with these principles infl uences the Group’s investment
decisions and is regularly monitored.
(1) In France, "Factor 4" refers to the commitment made by France
to the international community in 2003 to "cut 1990-level national greenhouse
gas emissions by a factor of 4 by 2050". This objective was approved
at the 2007 French Environment Conference.
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