CR&S Report 2009 - Stockland

OUR CR&S APPROACHCASE STUDYStockland Glenrose – Working together on the plans for a new centreSTOCKLAND GLENROSE,BELROSE, NSWOur Glenrose shopping centre onSydney’s North Shore has beenthe focus of intense communityinterest since we first lodged aredevelopment proposal in 2006.Following community concernsabout the scale of our proposedredevelopment, Warringah Councilrequested that we resubmit planswith a smaller scheme.Environmental investigations atthe time of our proposal foundcontaminated groundwaterbeneath the centre, and theDepartment of Environment andClimate Change (DECC) wasadvised. The contaminationoriginated prior to our ownershipof the centre.A revised proposal was submittedto Warringah Council in September2007 which incorporated plans forremediation of the contaminatedgroundwater.We engaged with council officerson the key issues, but ourapplication was refused becauseof concerns from local residentsabout traffic issues, designelements and the scale of theredevelopment.Further environmental testingconducted in January 2009determined that the extentof the contamination in thegroundwater was greater thanoriginally thought, and we notifiedretailers and the community thatthe majority of the centre wouldneed to be demolished to enableremediation works to take place.Responding to stakeholderfeedbackThe centre’s history ofunsuccessful redevelopmentapplications raised a degreeof community concern aboutour plans. Many stakeholdersquestioned the need to demolishall shops located within thecentre. Retailers and thecommunity had concerns aboutthe proposed timetable andquestioned our commitmentto developing a new shoppingcentre on the site to continue toservice the local area.In response to this feedback, andin consultation with the mayorand the State MP, we changedthe timetable to allow additionaltime for retailers and customersto prepare for the remediationworks. We also determined that anumber of retailers would be ableto continue trading during theremediation process, subjectto ongoing environmental analysisto ensure public safety.We acknowledge that earlierconsultation with our Glenrosestakeholders would havealleviated some of their concernsabout the remediation programand the plans for the site.Working together on the plansfor a new centreIn direct response to communityfeedback, the plans for a newshopping centre are anticipatedto be smaller than the schemespreviously proposed.We now have a formalstakeholder working group, ledby our development and centremanagement team, whichincludes a Glenrose retailer,members of the local communityaction group and local residentsand businesses. This group meetson a regular basis to discuss theremediation works and plans for anew centre. We report key issuesand action items to the group, theMayor and the local MP.This process has ensured anopen and consultative approachin the leadup to remediation andredevelopment works, and wehave received positive feedbackabout these sessions.We have learnt many lessons fromthis project and wish to maintainregular communication with ourstakeholders, including throughcommunity newsletters, retailerbriefings, website updates andbriefings for the local newspaper.Working together with ourstakeholders and focusing oncommunity priorities, we aredesigning a new shopping centrethat will be a safe and vibrantplace to shop.AVERAGERIGOUR TESTSCORE OUT OF 53.8IMPROVING OUR ENGAGEMENT PLANSThe stakeholder engagement plans for eachof our priority projects have been ratedin terms of their key elements and overallquality. The key elements include:relationship management,measures of success,Each plan receives a score out of 5 foreach criteria.The FY09 average score of 3.8 out of 5 is anincrease on our FY08 average score of 2.4,and demonstrates our increased focus onimproving the quality and effectiveness of ourplans. In FY10, we will be further developingthe rigour of our scoring to ensure the criteriareflects key elements of our stakeholderengagement approach across all propertiesand projects.Average stakeholder engagement planrigour test score out of 5FY09FY08 2.43.8COMMERCIAL PROPERTYOur evolving Commercial Propertysustainability policyIn July 2008, the office, industrial and retailbusinesses were combined to form theCommercial Property business unit.Bringing together these different assetclasses in one business revealed that weneeded a consolidated CR&S strategy forCommercial Property, and a policy consistentwith the Residential Sustainability Policy.A workshop held in May 2009 involving keyinternal Commercial Property stakeholdersidentified that stakeholder and customerengagement are important to the futuresuccess of the business unit. Other pastyear, customer engagement on sustainabilitymatters has included working with tenantson eco-efficiency through the SustainabilityAdvantage program (run by the Department ofEnvironment and Climate Change), continuingto implement our Retail Green Fitout Guideand supporting sustainable industrial propertydesign by establishing our North LakesBusiness Park Green Business Fund.Implementing revised stakeholderengagement plansDuring FY09 we developed a consistentapproach to the way we identify and prioritisestakeholders at all assets. Our aim was toempower all employees at a project levelto own and manage the relationships andengage with their local communities.As a part of this strategy, two stakeholderengagement templates were launched –one for development assets and one foroperating assets. Most of our retail centresand retail development projects now havestakeholder engagement plans (SEPs) inplace. A common approach is being adoptedacross the business with a focus on ensuringwe routinely identify key stakeholders, theirexpectations and priority issues. In supportof this, early work has been done to integratethis strategy at our largest and most complexoffice and industrial projects including ourMoorebank intermodal site in Sydney.A key challenge for the year ahead will be torevise and put these plans into operation asour needs and the needs of our stakeholderschange.Stockland Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Report 30 June 2009 17