Hammerson recognises that the built environment is a major consumer of natural resources and one of the primary sources of manmade carbon emissions. We also acknowledge and commit to understanding and addressing the immediate and longer-term challenges to our business posed by climate change.
The economic consequences of climate change directly affect real estate assets through flooding. Our assets were not affected in the most recent extreme weather events and our mitigation measures at Oracle Reading worked well. However we are highly attuned to the potential for further extreme weather and will update our flood risk assessment during 2014.
We anticipate more frequent incidence of 30degree+ days and will review our climate control strategies in our existing assets. Our new schemes will be designed to withstand extremes of temperature through fabric requirements and mixed mode ventilation. Active management strategies will be implemented to ensure efficient operation.
| 20% | Reduction in Carbon EmissionsTarget: 20% by 2020 |
Managing our own Carbon Emissions
We have set long-term targets to reduce carbon emissions and our use of natural resources in order to minimise our contribution to climate change and ensure the longevity of our operations in both the UK and France. In doing so, we aim to maintain financial efficiency by reducing operational costs for the Company and its customers and by minimising the future financial impact of carbon taxation.
Our policy, and its related targets, procedures and processes also respond to legislation, notably: the Climate Change Act 2008 (UK); the Grenelle de l'environnement (France) and the European Performance of Buildings Directive.
To develop this policy, Hammerson conducted a climate change risk assessment, which identified three key physical risks to property from climate change:
Developing our Understanding
During 2014 we will be carrying out a climate change risk analysis to understand where our key exposures lie. This will support the development of a climate change strategy to mitigate these risks for the business.
