Lend Lease | Every Action Adds Up
Environment
Detail
Contents
- Environment Policy
- Informing Our Decisions
- Managing Our Environmental Impacts
- Atmosphere and Climate Change
- Land and Biodiversity
- Water
- Waste
- Built Environment
Environment Policy
Lend Lease aspires to be a sustainable organisation that goes beyond sustaining the natural environment on which we depend for our commercial activity, to a long-term goal of restoring the environment in which our projects and operations are placed.
To achieve this aspiration, we will interrogate every opportunity to demonstrate a positive impact on the environment in all our activities and developments, as well as those of our supply chain.
We will always comply with environmental legislation and regulation as a minimum, but sustainability is beyond compliance for Lend Lease — we seek to exhibit leadership in our environmental performance.
In order to drive continual improvement, we will monitor and report our impacts and our environmental performance against global standards.
Please click here to access the Lend Lease Environment Policy Statement
Informing Our Decisions
Our aspiration is to interrogate every opportunity to demonstrate a positive impact on the environment.
Our approach to risk is guided by the Australian/New Zealand Risk Management Standard, AS/NZS 4360, and the Committee of Sponsoring Organisations of the Treadway Commission's (COSO) "Enterprise Risk Management — Integrated Framework", which we continue to refine, strengthen and develop.
Environmental risks associated with our existing and potential operational activities are managed through the following components of our Risk Management System:
- Corporate Risk Register
- Investment Pipeline — Environmental Risk Considerations
- Investment Management — Environmental Due Diligence
- Operations Management — Environment and Health and Safety Management System
Corporate Risk Register
Lend Lease maintains a Corporate Risk Register which lists all corporate risks. Our Corporate Risk Matrix categorizes risks as:
Critical; Major; Medium; Small or Minor.
The Corporate Risk Matrix enables consistent interpretation of the different levels of environmental risk across the following five categories:
- Critical Environmental Risk — Catastrophic or irreversible environmental harm
- Major Environmental Risk — Major environmental hazard with long-term recovery likely
- Medium Environmental Risk — Measurable or serious environmental harm with medium-term recovery
- Small Environmental Risk — Short-term, localized and minor impact on the environment, limited to site
- Minor Environmental Risk — Transient environmental effects limited to site
All environmental risks that get included in our Corporate Risk Register are managed and monitored closely by responsible persons including Risk Managers, Business Unit Executives and the Corporation.
Investment Management — Environmental Due Diligence
Since June 2007, Lend Lease's Investment Management Business Unit has operated in accordance with a Sustainable Responsible Investment Policy. This was reinforced in February 2008 when Lend Lease Investment Management became a signatory to the PRI — the first global property investment manager to become a signatory.
The Business Unit's Sustainable Responsible Investment Policy includes a requirement for formal evaluation of the impacts and risks of environmental, social and safety issues in its investment and management decision making, as well as for measuring and reporting on environmental and safety criteria.
The Investment Management Business Unit also conducts due diligence audits on all property acquisitions and divestments, including environmental regulatory compliance, building energy efficiency performance and green building ratings.
Investment Pipeline — Sustainability Risk Considerations
We have a process for assessing proposals for investment which we call our Investment Pipeline.
All investment proposals must be subjected to the following environmental and social sustainability considerations:
- Biodiversity - Threatened or endangered species (Flora or Fauna), Protected or Sensitive Ecosystems (Terrestrial, Aquatic or Marine)
- Climate Change - Severe weather at risk geographies i.e. Lands highly susceptible to severe wind, flooding - including flash flood, drought, hurricane or cyclone, extreme seismic activity.
- Natural Resources - Constrained by natural resources i.e. Water supply, large scale non-renewable resource consumption (heavy engineering or mineral extraction)
- Land Quality - Prime agricultural land (high value food crops), Contaminated Land Risks (soil or groundwater and migration), Dry land salinity.
- Stakeholder Opposition - subject to environmental lobby group opposition
- Waste & Emissions - Generation of toxic or significant solid/ liquid/ gas wastes or emissions i.e. radioactive waste, industrial waste, greenhouse gas emissions
- Human Rights - Human right sensitive regions.
- Communities – Impacts to indigenous and sensitive communities
- Heritage & Archaeology - Items of heritage protection, artefacts or cultural significance
Our construction and project management business, Bovis Lend Lease, uses a Project Conversion Process that includes "Go/No-Go" approval gates to assess the risk to potential projects. This process includes the identification and assessment of potential environmental and social risks and opportunities. The assessment process informs the decision as to whether the project is approved for commencement.
Managing Our Environmental Impacts
Lend Lease recognises that its design, construction, operation and investment activities, and those of its supply chain, could all have the potential to negatively impact on the environment.
We accept that, collectively, we have a responsibility to future generations for the restoration of the environment.
Potential environmental risks encountered or impacts associated with our organisation's activities might include:
- Dangerous Goods such as bulk fuels, chemicals or solvents
- Hazardous Substances which may include materials (such as asbestos), products (MDF) or chemicals (polychlorinated biphenyls)
- Waste including solid, liquid and gaseous
- Contaminated Land Risks such as contaminated soil, groundwater or gas
- Stormwater and Erosion Hazards
- Noise and Vibration
- Air Quality and Emissions
- Light and Visual Amenity
- Traffic and Parking
- Community Engagement
- Heritage and Archaeology
- Conservation and Natural Habitat
To ensure we comply with our obligations under environmental legislation and deliver environmentally sustainable outcomes in all our activities and developments, we have implemented an Environmental Management System which identifies these aspects and details their potential for environmental impacts.
Environmental Management System
All Lend Lease Business Units operate an integrated Environment, Health and Safety Management System that ensures audits, inspections and management reviews are routinely completed to ensure environmental, health and safety performance.
Within this system, our Environmental Management System—which meets the requirements of the International Standards Organisation (ISO) 14001—provides a framework for Business Units to comply with global regulatory and compliance requirements through routine environmental risk analysis. The Environmental Management System also allows Business Units to monitor and report their environmental performance against targets and objectives, including those set by our Sustainability Aspirations.
Our Environmental Management System is integrated with our Health and Safety Management System and includes:
Environmental Procedures
Prior to conducting any project operations or activities, our employees complete an Environment, Health and Safety Risk Assessment. This process identifies the potential environmental aspects and impacts of the project. Once identified, the risks are documented and a plan is developed to avoid or mitigate the impacts. The Environmental Management Plans for each project respond to this procedure.
Compliance Reporting
Lend Lease Executives and Directors have a responsibility to publicly report significant breaches of environmental legislation or regulations that are a consequence of our operations.
Our Environmental Management System includes reporting environmental compliance information for all Business Units. This includes informing Directors and Executive Management of any significant environmental incidents. Lend Lease uses smart systems for compliance reporting, and our WebCare information and communication technology tool is our smart incident reporting system. WebCare is used to report actual and potential incidents and generates automatic reporting and notification. All Environment, Health and Safety Managers and relevant Senior Managers in both Corporation and Business Units are trained in the use of WebCare.
Environmental performance reports are provided to Lend Lease Executive and Non-Executive Directors quarterly, and overall compliance is disclosed within our Annual Report.
We also commission independent environmental auditors, where required, to ensure our Environmental Management System continues to meet our own and external benchmarked quality and system standards.
Performance Monitoring
Environmental inspections, visits and audits of our projects and procedures are regularly performed by appropriately trained Lend Lease employees. This also ensures compliance with our Environmental Management System requirements. Monitoring our environmental performance using our Environment, Health and Safety Management System enables us to continually improve our operations and processes.
We also commission independent environmental auditors, where required, to ensure our Environmental Management System continues to meet our own and external benchmarked quality and system standards.
Atmosphere and Climate Change
Lend Lease accepts the consensus of the global scientific community that climate change is real and that its impact is likely to be significant. We therefore advocate that action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to climate change, must start now.
We also note the assessment of the United Nations Sustainable Buildings & Construction Initiative that buildings contribute 40 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, and the company therefore recognises that the real estate and construction sector has a significant role to play in the response to climate change.
We therefore believe there are real risks to our business associated with climate change. The Board and Executive Management Team also recognise that there are significant opportunities should we maintain our market-leader status in initiating and implementing solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through efficient building design, operation and energy generation.
As outlined in our Environment Policy, we aspire to:
- Eliminate the release of harmful or toxic emissions, including greenhouse gases and other known atmospheric pollutants, into the atmosphere
- Improve indoor air quality through the creation of green buildings and atmospherically safe workplaces
- Take responsibility to reduce our contribution of human-induced Climate Change
- Achieve zero net carbon (including greenhouse gas equivalents) on all our projects
Understanding Our Greenhouse Gas Emissions
As a global company, we are faced with the challenge of being across a range of different greenhouse gas accounting standards and regulations, and as such we strongly advocate global standards and common carbon metrics in all our markets.
Until such international coordination, we continue to monitor our greenhouse gas emissions according to a range of approaches, including:
- Financial control — where we own, have a majority interest or act as trustee for a facility
- Operational control — where we have authority to introduce or implement environmental or operational policies at a facility
- Equity share — where we own a share in a facility
- Other — where a facility might be included in other emerging regulations or standards
Our Performance
Lend Lease Corporation ensures that all of our Business Units and assets record and report on energy consumption and other greenhouse gas emissions on a monthly basis.
To assist, we are developing smarter systems for data collection and analysis which will allow us to monitor performance and implement strategies that avoid impacts and maximize opportunities.
We currently record the following key metrics:
- Total electricity use (Tenancies only)
- Total natural gas use (Tenancies only)
- Other energy purchased (Heating Oil, Steam, Petrol, Diesel)
- Total investment to achieve zero net carbon initiatives
- Refrigerant use
- Total on-site power generation by type
- Total Greenhouse Gas Offsets purchased
- Total air travel
- Total Company-owned vehicle use
Some of our indirect emissions, including emissions generated by third parties relating to Lend Lease activities, are estimated or projected based on commonly accepted methods such as the WRI/WBCSD GHG Protocol. This global greenhouse gas information is then reported annually in the Carbon Disclosure Project along with risks, opportunities and management response.
Refer to our complete CDP7 submission from May 2009 here: (link to CDP)
A breakdown of greenhouse gas emissions is outlined below:
Where Lend Lease can initiate energy savings in development and investment decisions by using all of the above techniques coupled with our in-house skills, working in partnership with our clients, building users and supply chain.
One example is the Vita Lend Lease UK work with the Carbon Trust, Building Research Establishment and supply chain members to provide energy efficiency solutions for the buildings they operate and to provide their clients with options to increase their energy efficiency and reduce overall consumption. Emissions Trading Schemes only exist within one geography in which Lend Lease operates: the European Union. Vita Lend Lease has traded with three assets: Bluewater Shopping Centre (UK) and Calderdale and Worcester Hospitals (UK). Due to systems efficiency improvements, Worcester left the scheme in October 2006, and Calderdale left the scheme in March 2008.
Our Global Carbon Footprint
In order to develop a more holistic understanding of our greenhouse gas emission impacts, we commissioned WSP Environmental to develop a Global Supply Chain Carbon Footprint of the Company's global activities. The aim of our Global Supply Chain Carbon Footprint was to identify our greenhouse gas emissions by both interrogating our own data as well as applying academic research findings.
In order to further develop our Global Supply Chain Carbon Footprint, our Business Units then mapped greenhouse gas emissions to show the contribution of various activities. This mapping was completed in accordance with the World Resources Institute and World Business Council for Sustainable Development Greenhouse Gas Protocol, as follows:
Scope 1 Emissions, or Direct Emissions: include any greenhouse gas emissions that occur on-site or from Lend Lease–owned or operated assets. This includes the on-site combustion of fuels, process emissions and refrigerant leakage directly by Lend Lease activities.
Scope 2 Emissions, or Indirect Emissions: include any greenhouse gas emissions created directly on behalf of the Company in the off-site generation of electricity or the delivery of energy, including construction sites, owned or operated assets and our offices.
Scope 3 Emissions, also Indirect Emissions: represent other greenhouse gas emissions resulting from products or services provided to Lend Lease, or in the use of Lend Lease products or services. We have attempted to focus our immediate reporting efforts on emissions we consider to potentially represent the most significant environmental impacts. Within our Scope 3 Emissions, Lend Lease includes embodied energy within the raw materials and products we use and employee travel.
Legacy
Our Global Supply Chain Carbon Footprint also identified the future greenhouse gas emissions that would come from tenants operating the buildings we constructed for clients other than Lend Lease. These buildings were constructed for external clients in one year, and the future greenhouse gas emissions were estimated from operating energy consumption over a 60-year period. We are calling these emissions "legacy emissions".
The legacy greenhouse gas emissions and their significant impact highlights the need for us to influence green building design decisions that would reduce the environmental impact.
We provided WSP Environmental with significant amounts of data to achieve a Global Supply Chain Carbon Footprint. From the data provided and the assumptions made, the overall Lend Lease carbon footprint per annum has been calculated as 8.3 million tonnes of CO2e/year.
As can be seen by the graphs below, this is broken down into the following amounts:
- Direct—66,000 tCO2e/year
- Downstream—3,356,680 tCO2e/year
- Upstream—418,000 tCO2e/year
- Legacy—3,956,860 tCO2e/year
The findings of the Global Supply Chain Carbon Footprint are shown below:
This information provided us with valuable insights as to where the big greenhouse gas emissions come from in a building's life cycle, including the contribution of materials and products.
The information provided by the Global Supply Chain Carbon Footprint work will help us meet our mandatory and voluntary reporting commitments, inform our strategic supply chain re-engineering decisions and allow us to measure our performance in achieving the aspiration to implement zero net carbon initiatives.
The Way Forward
The challenge facing Lend Lease is implementing strategies that reduce the greenhouse gas emissions in our operations — some operations we can control and others we only influence.
With Lend Lease now measuring and reporting it’s Carbon Footprint at a global and Business Unit level, we recommissioned WSP Environmental to develop a dynamic Carbon Footprint Modelling Tool which was completed in August 2009. The Tool is now being used by Corporation and each of our Business Units as an in-house carbon calculator.
Throughout the past year, Lend Lease has engaged with regulators and policymakers in every available forum to advocate consistent regulation and standards in our various markets and, where possible, global standards, as well as policies that will effectively and cost-effectively drive greenhouse gas abatement across the sector.
To this end, Lend Lease is a strong global advocate for the recognition and promotion of energy efficiency in buildings through a sector-specific complementary trading scheme that is based on common carbon metrics.
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