Business case made for sustainable design
Hammerson plc is one of Europe’s leading developers and commercial real estate managers.
One of the company’s guiding principles for promoting long-term growth is the adoption of sustainable practices company-wide. How much difference is this making in practice?
Julian Birch talked to Hammerson’s head of sustainability, Paul Edwards.
It can be all too easy to assume that the economic downturn will undermine the case for sustainable buildings. But leading developer Hammerson, with a real estate portfolio across the UK and France worth £6.5 billion, feels that the business case is clear.
‘In some ways it’s obvious,’ says head of sustainability Paul Edwards. ‘Reductions in energy, and water consumption and increased waste reuse and recycling, reduce costs and in the current climate we have to reduce outgoings to increase value.’
The attitudes of Hammerson’s customers are changing, too, says Edwards. ‘Our tenants are asking for things like more daylight, lower running costs and quantifiable carbon emissions and they are starting to embed sustainability in to their design and delivery process. The landlord tenant relationship is critical In order to achieve a high level of sustainability within a project. For the tenant space to be able to be sustainable, they need the base building to work with them. Everyone is noticing that landlords and tenants are starting to talk to each other more about delivering sustainable outcomes.’
The results, says Edwards, can be seen both in Hammerson’s existing buildings and in its new projects. In 2007 the company introduced a ‘green lease’ to provide a clear legal structure for increasing environmental accountability and to create a shared commitment to greater energy, water and waste efficiency. More than 360 green leases have now been signed in the UK for both offices and retail and another eight have followed in France. The success is due to the lease promoting collaboration and partnership and not being too prescriptive.
Hammerson also engages a sustainability consultant at the start of each new project to help deliver their sustainability implementation plan (SIP). ‘The SIP goes further than BREEAM or planning requirements,’ argues Edwards. ‘It’s a much more detailed delivery tool for us. We specify what we want to achieve both holistically and specifically for our projects, giving our teams objectives and clear targets. We ensure that we “feather the boundaries” and look to enhance the local community through our scheme not just deliver inside the thick red line of our development. This approach is a fundamental part of what we do.’
For a shopping centre project in Sheffield, Hammerson commissioned the local university to investigate green roofs. The result was that it was able to specify a reduced depth, which in turn resulted in a reduced structure and made the green roofs more viable. Edwards says that the lessons learned are being fed into SIPs across Hammerson’s programme and when the building is completed the university will use part of the green roof as a live testing facility.
Results are also demonstrable in terms of energy efficiency. Cabot Circus in Bristol was delivered 35 per cent below Part L and it was the first retail project in the UK to be rated BREEAM excellent. Hammerson has also recently delivered its first BREEAM excellent office project at 60 Threadneedle Street. And the company achieved BREEAM ‘very good’ ratings for refurbishments of two existing buildings, Highcross in Leicester and 125 Old Broad Street in London.
At Highcross, Hammerson achieved a 25 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions by taking out the air conditioning from the existing asset and converting it to a naturally ventilated mall. using louvers at high level and openings including doors at low level. The design for a new centre under construction in Aberdeen takes a similar approach, with natural ventilation through wind turrets and low level openings instead of air conditioning.
Hammerson also recognises that local authorities are putting increased emphasis on sustainability. Edwards says the keys to success for cities are ‘partnering, collaboration and plenty of engagement’ but they also need stability. ‘You need a consistent approach on both sides – whether that’s from the same person or an approach that’s set up by the council itself. Planning solutions have to be relevant, otherwise as demonstrated in some cases they will not achieve there objective. The Merton rule, for example, is too prescriptive when requesting a percentage of renewables, when the actual aim is to reduce carbon emissions, so maybe a carbon target would be a better solution, so encouraging design teams and developers to innovate.’
He believes that Sustainable Cities can be a big help for local authorities. ‘One of the things that are missing is knowledge in all areas of the property industry. Some local authorities do not have the detailed knowledge in house and it’s not easy for them to find it. So I think sustainable cities is a fantastic site for people who want more detail, or examples, or case studies, or where and how it works. If people buy into it, which I think they should do, then it could be a really strong facility.’
Hammerson says it is determined to tackle climate change within its existing business as well as on its new buildings. The company is targeting a 19 per reduction in carbon emissions at its shopping centres by 2010 against a 2006 baseline and has already achieved 15 per cent in the UK and 17.8 per cent in France. Re-lamping car park lighting at most of its UK centres from ‘T8’ to ‘T5’ fluorescent fittings last year resulted in a 35 per cent reduction in emissions. A climate change report was commissioned last year, mapping of assets through climate models, local questionnaires and feedback forms, and this information is now informing its climate change mitigation and adaptation strategy.
The company has also conducted carbon footprinting on its own headquarters, including staff business travel and commuter travel for the last two years. By improving management, measurement and monitoring and increasing engagement with staff, then implementing initiatives as simple as turning off computers to as innovative as new LEDs Hammerson has managed to reduce its carbon footprint by 26 per cent – with accompanying cost savings going on carbon offsets.
But Edwards is looking to learn lessons from elsewhere, too. Before joining Hammerson in February 2007, he spent years in Australia working for Lend Lease and Arup. What approaches to sustainability have impressed him?
‘I’m going to be biased but there was a project I was involved in over in Australia that was 64 per cent more efficient than any of the buildings adjacent to it. 30 The Bond actually delivered on all areas of sustainability. I believe it was one of the greenest buildings in the world when it was delivered and it still is.
‘Council House 2 in Melbourne is another great example of a leading edge green building delivered by a local authority with a developer. It was fantastic because it took into account pre- and post-occupancy evaluations and used productivity as a way of justifying the additional cost. The Gauge, Lend Lease’s headquarters in Melbourne, is another great example.’
Hammerson’s involvement in France gives him another international perspective. ‘In France if you put PV cells on the roof of your building you have the opportunity to lease them back to the utility company who then have to buy the power from you as well. It’s an interesting business model we’re looking at which could suit a retail park where there is a lot of roof space that you easily cover with PV cells.‘
