Sustainable by nature
Sustainability, along with creativity and innovation, has become one of the key drivers behind our responsible entrepreneurship.
Our 'Road to Making it Green' started off with the issuance of our Green Financing Framework in 2022 and continues with a list of concrete sustainability objectives for 2023. We only claim what we can prove. As always, our word is our bond.
STEPS TAKEN IN 2022
- Conducting a sustainability analysis of all our activities
- Establishing a sustainability committee
- Identifying our stakeholders
- Mapping and analysing the value chain
- Conducting a materiality analysis
- Implementing our code of conduct
- Lowering the energy consumption in our warehouses through technical improvements (SMART LED usage everywhere, motion detection, solar control glass…)
OBJECTIVES FOR 2023
- Train 100% of our employees on sustainability
- Finalise and evaluate our materiality analysis
- Apply for a BREEAM ‘very good’ certificate for 100% of our in 2022 delivered warehouses
- Roll out smart monitoring for 100% of our in 2022 delivered warehouses
- Analyse our Scope 1, 2 & 3* CO2 emissions
- Install solar panels on the roofs of our warehouses (goal: 5 MWp, amounting to a reduction of +/- 2,594 tonnes CO2)
- Introduce a charter for responsible supplier relations
- Include a biodiversity plan in all our development projects
- Exploring circular building materials with our main contractor(s)
- Implement a project-assessment tool
- Conduct a customer-satisfaction survey
- Conduct an employee-satisfaction survey
- Continue to improve the well-being of our employees through initiatives such as healthy meals and sports infrastructure
- Implement an energy-efficiency program for our tenants/customers
- Further digitalisation
How we contribute to the SDG's
We are committed to play our part by developing unique real estate projects in the most sustainable way to meet current and future needs in logistics, offices, retail and residential property. Our inhouse development and construction teams are continuously committed to tailor projects to the specific requirements of our clients.
As the SDGs are interlinked, we would ideally contribute to all of them at once. Yet, we will focus on the goals where we, as a real estate developer, can make a real difference. In 2022, we have reviewed our contribution and alignment to 7 of the 17 SDGs and their respective targets.
Lowering the impact of our projects
We design our real-estate projects to be multifunctional, with semi-industrial production halls, offices, SME-units, meeting rooms, restaurants, facilities for truck drivers and bike commuters... That way, our designs can prevent unnecessary mobility and related environmental pollution. They also positively impact the end users’ well-being and contribute to energy and resource efficiency in operations.
By focusing on brownfield sites, on unused, abandoned industrial sites, we are able to redevelop and repurpose land in urban proximity and prevent the huge environmental impacts of greenfield development. On top of that, we further develop the blue-green infrastructure of the site in connection with the surrounding ecological infrastructure. The enhanced biodiversity does not only benefit the environment – it also has a positive effect on the wellbeing of the end users.
Considering that every logistic project is situated in a hinterland, we make sure our sites are opened up to different modes of transportation, such as boat, train, truck, car, bike, or foot. That way, we give end users the opportunity to choose a mode of transport with a small footprint.
Our key areas of focus to minimise the impact of our buildings
- Minimum obtaining a BREEAM 'Very Good' rating
- Decarbonising real-estate investment
- Focussing on energy consumption
- Stimulating circularity & resilience
- Increasing biodiversity
- Promoting health & social impact for different stakeholders
