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Sustainability Brief for Developments
Since 2004 we have been working with our employees, consultants and contractors to implement the British Land Sustainability Brief on all our developments. This Brief ensures that our projects are designed and constructed sustainably by establishing sustainability objectives and targets, defining the processes, standards, guidance and responsibilities for each stage and raising awareness of sustainability issues and opportunities.
Objectives and targets are set for a range of sustainability issues under the following headings:
Site and neighbourhood
- Resource consumption
- Environmental quality
- User and occupant satisfaction
- Stakeholder dialogue and relations.
External commentators have recognised the value of the Brief, with the then Government’s Environment Secretary Margaret Beckett highlighting it as leading the way in sustainable development in 2005.
Examples of the effectiveness of the Brief include:
- Carbon dioxide emissions estimated to be 29% better than current standards (as defined in the Building Regulations Part L2: 2006) at 201 Bishopsgate and Broadgate Tower
- A target set to re-use 50% of all works materials at our Willis Building development, for instance through the re-use of large volumes of clay from pile arisings
- An extensive green roof being installed on over 150 square metres of roof space on our Ludgate West development
- £500,000 being invested in corporate responsibility measures at York House, including using only Forest Stewardship Council certified timber, installing cycle racks, showers, energy metering and water mains metering.
Following an independent review in 2006 we revised and improved the Brief to include:
- A stage at the beginning of each project for us to outline our sustainability expectations for that particular development
- Aspirational targets for developments to raise standards on specific areas such as energy efficiency and the re-use of materials
- Additional guidance on managing sustainability on Masterplan projects
- Improved navigability, for instance, incorporating the sustainability review appendix in the main document and improving the graphic format.
In 2006 we also developed a Sustainability Brief for Refurbishments and a Sustainability Guide for Acquisitions. View all our corporate responsibility documents on the downloads page.
The Willis Building,
London EC2
York House, London W1 British Land head office
201 Bishopsgate & The Broadgate Tower,
London EC2
Sustainability Brief for Developments
“The British Land Sustainability Brief is a commonsense and structured approach to placing sustainable development on the agenda for British Land projects, such that it is considered early enough in the process and in the context of sound commercial judgement and a responsibility to the wider society.”
Alistair Clarke, Project Manager, DMP Ltd
Sustainability Brief PDF > (6,755KB)