Our Approach to Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability

We take the view that doing the right thing as a property manager, owner and developer, is about dealing with risk, seeking opportunities and creating long-term value for our investors. And it’s about balancing the needs and interests of our stakeholders.

We define sustainable development in the widest sense, supporting the UN’s Brundtland definition as ‘development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”¹

To bring our commitment to life, we have a comprehensive CR&S Strategy, which we refresh each year in light of changing internal and external conditions.

Our approach is framed around our responsibilities to our stakeholders and our impact on the environment:

• Understanding and engaging with our stakeholders, which includes:
  – Engaging with and respecting our people
  – Working towards common goals with our suppliers, partners, investors and customers in the marketplace
  – Strengthening our place in the wider community.
• Taking care of the environment in which we operate – including identifying and responding to risks and opportunities associated with climate change.

CR&S Board Committee
We recognise that a sustainable future for our business depends upon the sustainability of the communities, economy, society and environment in which we operate. The purpose of the CR&S Board Committee is to assist the Board in overseeing Stockland’s commitment to operating its businesses ethically, responsibly and in a sustainable way. The Committee meets at least four times annually.

The following Directors were members of the Committee at the close of financial year:

• Mr N Greiner (Chair) – Non-Executive Director
• Mr G Bradley – Non-Executive Director
• Mr M Quinn – Managing Director.
  
  

A monthly report on CR&S, including progress made on environmental sustainability issues, is submitted to the Executive Committee and to the Board. The report includes annual greenhouse gas emissions data for the retail and office portfolios, tracked against industry benchmarks.

Management
In order to integrate sustainability practices into our business and provide leadership on CR&S matters, we have specialist sustainability managers across the organisation.

These roles over the past year included:

• General Manager (GM), CR&S
• General Manager, Health, Safety and Environment (HSE)
• National Sustainability Managers for the Retail, Residential and Office and Industrial businesses.

CR&S Employee Committee
Our CR&S Employee Committee has responsibility for shaping and annually refreshing our CR&S Strategy and action plan. A two-day workshop, held each year, helps us to prioritise our most important issues. This strategy is reviewed by our CR&S Board Committee and is then integrated into business activities.

Reflecting our people-led focus on sustainability, our CR&S Employee Committee was formed in 2004. Since then it has had a diverse membership reflecting the business and functions of our organisation. This Committee meets monthly to track progress against the CR&S Strategy.

The Committee is chaired by the GM CR&S and current members include our National Sustainability Managers as well as representatives working in Government Relations, Procurement, Health, Safety and Environment, Compliance, Audit and Risk, Strategic Urban Planning and Stakeholder Engagement.

Areas of focus
Our CR&S Strategy is driven by our relationships with our various stakeholders and our interaction with our environment.

Stockland UK
Stockland UK became part of the Group in May 2007. Our UK business developed a CR&S Strategy in December 2007 and established its CR&S Employee Committee in January 2008. Members of the UK Committee remain in frequent contact with Sustainability Managers in Australia, ensuring alignment across the organisation, while responding to local needs and opportunities. The process has had its challenges, but the first contribution of the UK business to our CR&S Report demonstrates the considerable progress we have made in a short period of time.

1 Our Common Future, Brundtland Commission, UN World Commission on Environment and Development, Section 2II