First Pan-European Retail Sustainability Standard Launched
on October 7th, 2008 at 6:50 amThe first ever pan-European sustainability standard for retail property developments has been launched by BRE Global, supported by The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), the global retail property association.
The new BREEAM standard is undergoing pilot assessment on large-scale shopping centre development projects in Germany and Turkey, and the outcome of these pilots will be incorporated into the standard later this year.
ICSC and BRE Global are also currently seeking other projects from European-based developers. Interested parties should contact a licensed BREEAM (Bespoke) assessor, details of which are available via the BREEAM website, www.breeam.org.
Jaap Gillis, chair of ICSC’s European Advisory Board and Chief Operating Officer at Redevco said “We looked at a number of international sustainability standards and chose to support BREEAM because of strong existing awareness of its high environmental standards and its adaptability to local markets. Developers are increasingly working across European boundaries and they want a common methodology that they can roll out across all their operations.”
Martin Townsend, Director of BREEAM at BRE Global said “BREEAM’s coverage is being extended throughout Europe. The pilots will give us invaluable data to ensure we have a very robust methodology that is flexible and can be adapted to a truly pan-European application.”
Elsa Monteiro, Head of Institutional Relations, Environment, and Communication for ICSC member Sonae Sierra commented “Due to the international dimension of its main players, the shopping centre industry clearly needs ‘Green Shopping Centre Standards’ suitable to be applied on an international context. That is why we are participating with ICSC in the launch of a pan-European scheme.”
Derk Welling, Manager, Sustainability, Environment and Energy at Redevco said “BREEAM gives us and our stakeholders insight into the performance of our buildings encompassing a broad range of environmental issues, including use, energy use, water, building materials, waste, occupant health and well-being, transport, pollution. We are happy with the development of a common pan-European standard, rather than dealing with a patchwork of national and local standards’.
The project was developed with the support of a project advisory group comprising ICSC’s Sustainability Working Group, BRE Global, a number of independent environmental consultants and experienced BREEAM assessors.
