United States
Australia
Company: Hammerson
Sector: Retail property
Hammerson, the owner, manager and developer of European retail destinations worth more than £10 billion, has ambitious sustainability targets set for 2030. Kate Neale, Environment & Energy Manager, explains how choosing our Certified Renewable product has helped contribute to their goals.
Why has your business chosen to be supplied by renewable electricity?
When Hammerson first made the decision to be supplied by 100% renewable electricity it was because it helped us to reach our target of reducing our carbon footprint by 20% by 2020. We’ve recently launched a much more ambitious Net Positive target which buying renewable energy will be a key part of.
How does buying renewable fit into your wider sustainability strategy?
Buying renewable electricity fits into Hammerson’s Positive Places strategy, which focuses on five key sustainability areas with clear targets under each. Our recently published Net Positive aim extends these targets, and sets out our ambition to become Net Positive for carbon emissions, water demand, resource use and socio-economic impacts by 2030.
Our Net Positive strategy covers everything we have control and influence over, and therefore includes not just our operational emissions but also the emissions of the tenanted areas of our assets and our development projects. We are also including the impacts of our investments so everything we do across the business and in all operating countries contributes to Net Positive.
Do you believe your sustainable approach benefits your business?
Buying renewable electricity is a way of reducing our emissions and meeting our targets, and supports the on-site renewables we have across our portfolio. Additionally, we are investigating how we can use Power Purchase Agreements with new renewable energy projects local to our shopping centres.
Have you seen benefits in building a reputation for sustainability leadership?
There is no doubt that our goal of becoming Net Positive by 2030 is a big challenge for the business but the problem we are all addressing is bigger. If we are to have any hope of achieving the target of keeping global warming below 2°C we all must do much more. Hammerson is a sustainable leader in the retail property sector, but we want to lead by example and take our peers, suppliers and customers on this journey with us.
Why did you choose to work with SmartestEnergy?
In addition to obvious cost considerations, our suppliers need to offer great data availability, customer service and responsiveness. SmartestEnergy came out as the best fit.
Does the endorsement of the Carbon Trust reassure you even further?
The endorsement of the Carbon Trust is reassuring and it’s nice to see SmartesEnergy is taking a leadership position in their industry.
How did the cost of renewable electricity impact your purchasing decisions?
The costs of renewable energy was not noticeably different from standard grid provision when we last tendered which makes it easier for us to procure it. Our electricity must be priced competitively because some of our costs are recharged to tenants through service charge, so we have an obligation to get the best value for money we can.
> Visit the Hammerson website to learn more about their sustainability commitments