Comment
Published by BBP on behalf of Aneta Wiak, (Director: ESG Lead UK, M&G), and Kambridge Van Der Veur, (Environmental & Sustainability Manager, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield)
Project leads, Energy Benchmark for Large Shopping Centres

Understanding, support, and collaboration. Those were the three principles that brought us into this work by BBP and Revo, and step by step we’ve seen how valuable it could be.

The thinking behind creating an energy benchmark for the largest UK shopping centres came from a bit of a hunch. It was as much about working towards helping those places and their owners meet evolving regulation, as it was a feeling that – for different reasons – the largest schemes had very specific demands and dynamics that made applying a standard, all-encompassing energy intensity benchmark effectively irrelevant. That hunch has now been proven to be true.

The work that went in to understanding the value of an energy benchmark for the largest destinations brought together representatives of 70% of the top 60, ticking off aligning objectives to evaluate the need and enable collaboration and knowledge sharing among our peers. We want to thank everyone that did contribute, because without that depth of data, those centres would continue to have a difficult to attain benchmark, as we move into a new world of environmental regulation and expectation.

With that, we have the impetus to drive improvements, support regulatory compliance, find ways to navigate reporting complexities, build fairer comparisons, and speak to the entire scheme, not just its common parts.

We’re now in phase two of the work, with particular focus on refinement and engagement with occupiers. For the former, it’s about shaping a benchmark that is inherently fair. Every centre has its nuances, and we need to understand how we could apply the same principles when taking into account factors that clearly impact energy use, such as outdoor versus indoor, occupancy rates, tenant mix, and operating hours. The latter requires what Revo does best – collaboration. Not every destination is able to secure occupier data in the same way, so understanding why that is the case, and supporting those with the most acute challenges, becomes critical.

Importantly this isn’t a step and repeat. Following the data has set a clear path to the need for a benchmark, and indeed what we need to do to make sure it’s as fair and rigorous as possible. Applying our owner perspective, BBP’s strength in data interpretation, and Revo’s ability to bring people together, will ensure we have the appropriate evidence and expertise to positively impact conversations around energy use in our industry.