Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) and Ingka Centres have formed the Sustainable Retail Index Association, an independent organisation to establish a standard for measuring and improving sustainability across retail real estate portfolios. The association will provide retail landlords with comprehensive data on tenant sustainability performance, allowing landlords to drive measurable progress.
The Sustainable Retail Index Association will develop a coalition of real estate stakeholders to promote the adoption of the Sustainable Retail Index, a joint assessment tool to guide landlords and retailers to enhance their understanding and execution of sustainability commitments and performance at the company, product and operational levels.
The Sustainable Retail Index has been used to evaluate more than 73% of eligible revenue at URW shopping centres since 2023, identifying opportunities for the company to work with brands on tangible sustainability improvements, informing business decisions, enabling more transparent dialogue with retailers, identifying shared opportunities for improvement and engaging consumers around more sustainable choices.
Ingka Centres, with a long-standing commitment to mapping and improving the sustainability impact of its portfolio, has deployed the SRI across its 38 meeting places in 15 markets. The next partner to join will be Portuguese real estate developer Sonae Sierra, demonstrating its shared commitment to engaging its tenants and driving critical sustainability change.
“We are delighted to partner with Ingka Centres as co-founding members of the Sustainable Retail Index Association. The Sustainable Retail Index has allowed us to measure the sustainability commitment and progress of our retailers and engage with them on a tangible and analytical basis to support their sustainable ambitions. We are proud to work with Ingka Centres, Sonae Sierra and other landlords to increase adoption of the Sustainable Retail Index, improve transparency, and engage brands and retailers to transform our industry,” Sylvain Montcouquiol, Chief Resources and Sustainability Officer at URW, said.
“The Sustainable Retail Index is a valuable tool in strengthening how we curate and future-proof our tenant mix across our meeting places. It enables us to better understand and support brands that are contributing to more sustainable and responsible lifestyles – an increasingly important priority for both our visitors and our partners,” Vasco Santos, Global Director of Leasing at Ingka Centres, added.