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For the second year, Bureau Veritas has been engaged by the British Land Company PLC (British Land) to conduct an independent review of the Company’s 2007 targets, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Resource Use data.  Bureau Veritas was also requested to undertake a review of the stakeholder engagement activities conducted in 2007 to assess whether British Land is responsive to the material needs of stakeholders.  Bureau Veritas undertook this review in line with the requirements of the AA1000 Assurance Standard (AS).

The overall aim was to assure British Land’s stakeholders that the objectives and targets set by the business address the company’s material issues and that British Land is responding to stakeholders on such issues.  The aim was also to ensure that appropriate processes are in place to report accurate information on progress against targets, KPIs and Resource Use data.

This Statement applies to the information detailed in the scope of work below and contained in the Corporate Responsibility Report for 2007, on the company’s website (www.britishland.com/responsibility). Where information has been verified by Bureau Veritas, this is signposted on the web page by the Bureau Veritas logo.

Scope of work
British Land requested Bureau Veritas to review the following:

• The design, implementation and outcomes of British Land’s 2007 stakeholder consultation process (e.g with retailers and occupiers);
• British Land’s process for assessing the levels of performance achievement against its 2007 targets;
• The process by which British Land gathered its Resource Use information for two years over the period from 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2008 and the accuracy of the data published for the same period; and
• British Land’s process for setting its 2008 targets and the suitability of these targets for the year ahead.

Methodology
As part of its review, Bureau Veritas undertook the following activities:

• Interviews with a limited number of key British Land personnel, including Senior Management and other key players involved in the CR programme.  This included interviews with a consultancy business (Arup), which advises British Land on its targets, decides upon levels of target performance achievement (in consultation with the business) and assists British Land in the Resource Use data gathering process;
• As part of the assurance of the 2007 stakeholder consultation process, we: 
• interviewed the stakeholder facilitators (KLM) on the process for developing the stakeholder questionnaire, the rationale for issues included in discussions and identification of interviewees;
• attended (as an observer) two focus workshop sessions and reviewed the final outcome stakeholder and occupier reports to confirm consistency with Bureau Veritas observations; and
• reviewed how CR focus areas identified by the stakeholder consultation process have fed into and shaped the British Land Building Together Strategy, objectives, targets and resultant CR Reporting.
• Review of British Land’s system for Resource Use data aggregation and analysis.  This included sample verification of Resource Use data at source level through site visits to selected properties (e.g. Broadgate Estates) including interview with property managers responsible for data collection;
• Independent review of progress and evidence against one target from each of British Land’s CR focus areas (11 targets in total, representing 27% of the total);
• Review of selected Non Resource related KPI data produced in the CR report.  This includes waste, biodiversity, regeneration, occupiers, suppliers, community and people KPIs.  Where data has been assured this is signposted in the CR report;
• Review of the scope and specific wording of the 2008 targets to ensure that they reflect British Land’s material issues raised by stakeholders, help manage the company’s CR related impacts and promote performance improvement

Our findings and recommendations
Based on our review, it is our opinion that:

• British Land has continued to develop its process for the identification and integration of material issues into its overall CR strategy via ongoing stakeholder engagement in 2007.  This further aligns British Land’s CR strategy with the material and responsiveness aspects of the AA1000 assurance standard..  This is illustrated by the Building Together Strategy and the 2008 targets which are linked to stakeholder feedback.
• We are pleased to observe that British Land is integrating CR issues into mainstream business activities. However continued focus should be made to ensure that existing mechanisms for collating/reporting progress on CR related issues are maintained and supported throughout the business.
• Based on the sample review carried out on the 2007 targets, the % levels of performance achievement and the description of progress for the sample targets are considered to be an accurate reflection of activities and programmes carried out by the organisation during the relevant period;
• The resource and non-resource use KPI data reviewed by Bureau Veritas accurately reflects the data reported by managed properties and data collated by ARUP at a central level;
• British Land’s 2008 targets are generally considered to be SMART (Specific, Achievable, Measurable, Realistic and Time-bound), balanced and directly relate to stakeholder feedback, the management of material CR impacts and further promote performance over previous years.
• British Land has implemented some aspects of the recommendations from the previous Bureau Veritas assurance process.  This includes increasing the scope of assurance activities to check some source data reported by managed properties and development of new KPIs with increased the linkage to a number of performance related targets.  Clearly linking KPIs and targets should continue to be a focus for British Land going forward. .
• British Land has made good progress in further developing its systems and processes for capturing and reporting information on KPIs, including those newly defined KPIs relating to non-resource issues.  However, British Land should consider further developing these processes to include guidance on reporting timeframes to staff responsible for collating data; obtaining consistent baseline data (where available); and creating closer links to existing reporting systems (where possible).

Limitations
This Assurance Statement relates only to information included in the scope of work above and contained in British Land’s Corporate Responsibility 2007 Report, on the company’s website (www.britishland.com/responsibility) and within the Summary Report 2007; no other information has been reviewed by Bureau Veritas as part of this assignment.  Where information has been assured this is signposted in the CR report.

Bureau Veritas made reference to the principle of materiality as defined in the AA1000 Assurance Standard with regard to the identification of British Land’s target focus areas.  The applicability of the principles of completeness and responsiveness could not be fully assessed within the agreed scope of work for this exercise.

Whilst Bureau Veritas has examined British Land’s Resource Use data collection system, we have not systematically tested data back to source in all cases, but have verified the data collection processes and quality for one managed property in Broadgate Estates. 

During the course of our review nothing came to our attention to indicate that there was any material error, omission or misstatement in the information subject to review.  However, this review was carried out to provide reasonable, rather than absolute, assurance and we believe the scope above provides a reasonable basis for our conclusions. 

Statement of independence, impartiality and competence
Bureau Veritas is an independent professional services company that specialises in quality, environmental, health, safety and social accountability with over 170 years history in providing independent assurance services, and an annual turnover in 2007 of €2.0 billion.

Our assurance team does not have any involvement in any other Bureau Veritas projects with British Land (none of which are CR related) and there is no conflict between the other services provided by Bureau Veritas and that of our assurance team. 

Bureau Veritas has implemented a Code of Ethics across its business which is intended to ensure that all our staff maintains high ethical standards in their day to day business activities.

Competence: Our assurance team has extensive experience in conducting assurance over environmental, social, ethical and health and safety information, systems and processes in accordance with best practice.
London, May 2008

 

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