Sonae Sierra » Our Progress

Our Progress

In 2008 we continued to pursue our long-term CR objectives, fully accomplishing 63% of our CR targets and achieving some notable successes, some of which are outlined below. For a complete account of our 2008 CR performance please read our 2008 CR Report and supporting documents, available from the Reports, Policies & Feedback section of this website.

Awards

We received a number of awards in 2008, which are listed on our Awards page. We are particularly proud to have received the following CR awards which recognise our outstanding commitment in this area:

		Winner of the first Green Thinker Award, presented at the 2008 ExpoReal European Property Awards.
		1^st place in the Euronatura Climate Responsibility Ranking in Portugal for the third time.

New certifications for Environmental and S&H Management Systems

		ISO 14001 certifications achieved for the Environmental Management System (EMS) of 5 completed development projects. We also achieved this certification for further 18 operational shopping centres, totalling already 39 certifications.
		First in Europe to achieve OHSAS 18001 certification for a Safety and Health Management System covering Investment, Development and Property Management of Shopping Centres across our entire company. We also achieved certification of the local S&H Management Systems of 3 shopping centres under operation.

Improved performance across our key impact areas

In 2008 we continued to make progress towards meeting our long-term CR commitments. Below we have presented some notable achievements for each of our CR impact areas.

Climate Change	1.4% reduction in electricity consumption (per m² of mall + toilet area) in comparison with 2007.

Water	12.5% reduction in water consumption (litres/ visit) in comparison with 2007.

Waste	42% recycling rate, representing a 20% increase in comparison with 2007.

Land Use	98% of Sierra centres held a biodiversity event to raise awareness among staff and/or visitors.

Suppliers	58% of suppliers with ISO 14001 certification. Launch of the Suppliers CR questionnaire and inclusion of CR clauses in all new contracts signed with main service suppliers.

Tenants	Top tenant (management level) survey undertaken among key tenants in Portugal, Spain and Brazil.

Communities and Visitors	€2,132,667 (7.5%) of the shopping centres’ marketing budget invested in community-related initiatives; a 49% increase on last year’s investment.

Employees	Launch of our Non-Discrimination & Diversity Policy setting out our commitment to a meritocratic culture and our objective to become a best practice reference in this aspect of Corporate Responsibility.

Safety and Health	25% reduction in the number of non-conformances detected per hour of SPO in comparison with 2007.