Lend Lease | Partnerships Detail
Environment
Detail Continued
Contents
- Our Environmental Performance Indicators
- Monitoring and Reporting
- Innovation & Environmental Excellence
Our Environmental Performance Indicators
Potential environmental risks encountered or impacts associated with our organisation's activities might include:
| Dangerous Goods such as bulk fuels, chemicals and solvents | Hazardous Substances such as materials (such as asbestos), products (MDF) or chemicals (polychlorinated biphenyls) |
| Waste including solid, liquid and gaseous | Contaminated Land (soil, groundwater, leachate or gas) |
| Stormwater and Erosion Hazards | Air Quality & Emissions |
| Light and Visual Amenity | Traffic Management |
| Community Engagement | Heritage and Archaeology |
| Conservation and Natural Habitat | Noise & Vibration |
Lend Lease uses representative global environmental indicators to annually measure and report on our operational environmental performance. Currently, our environmental indicators comprise atmosphere and Climate Change; Land and Biodiversity; Water; Waste and Environmental Incidents.
To enable the data to be collected, verified and managed for analysis and reporting purposes, these environmental indicators are supported by over 78 environmental metrics and 69 supporting environmental attributes.
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.
We currently measure the following atmosphere and climate change related metrics:
- Electricity & natural gas use
- Other energy purchased (Heating Oil, Steam, Petrol, Diesel)
- Refrigerant use
- On-site power generation
- Employee Business Travel – Air, taxi and company vehicle travel
- Emissions from waste
- Embodied emissions from products and materials
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
Our Performance
A breakdown of Lend Lease’s Scope 1 and Scope 2 Energy consumption and Greenhouse Gas Emissions (Carbon Footprint) is outlined in the graphs below:
ENERGY
*Full chart only available in Flash web site
GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
*Full chart only available in Flash web site
Refer to our complete 2010 Carbon Disclosure Project submission here: (link to CDP)
Key notes for 2009
From reviewing Lend Lease's energy consumption and associated greenhouse gas emissions, the following observations are noted:
- The majority of our energy use is from electricity and natural gas consumption associated with large assets under operational control (i.e. hospitals, universities, office buildings) as opposed to construction site fuel use.
- Our global energy intensity remained stable or decreased on average across all regions between 2008 and 2009.
- Our total global energy use is expected to increase in 2010 financial year due to recent acquisition of Lend Lease Primelife retirement villages and additional retail assets.
Land and Biodiversity
The negative impacts on the earth's biodiversity, ecosystems and landscapes from human activities are well known and documented. With great concern, we note suggestions
that one in four mammals and one in eight birds are threatened with extinction, half the world's reef-building corals will be lost, some 13 million hectares of the
world's forests are lost each year and more than 30 percent of the earth's land surface has been converted for agriculture and urbanisation.
With buildings alone using up to one-third of the world's natural resources, we understand that the buildings we construct, materials we use and activities
we conduct have a direct impact on the natural environment. This is why we, at Lend Lease, aspire to protect and enhance biodiversity and land quality through
assessment and management of our impacts. We also aim to create opportunities to restore degraded environments and ecosystems where we operate.
We currently measure the following land and biodiversity related metrics:
- Materials consumption (timber, concrete, steel etc)
- Environmental site condition (ecological significance) of land prior to our activity
- Timber from sustainable and certified sources
Our Performance
Lend Lease completed its first Global Ecological Footprint Assessment in December 2009. The exercise highlighted our need for more detailed environmental metrics data from our operations and the complexity in ecological foot printing.
The Global Ecological Footprint measures our environmental impacts by quantifying the amount of bio-productive space required to produce all the resources consumed and absorb all the wastes produced by our organisation and the activities of our businesses. The results were expressed in global hectares and normalised to reflect global average biomass yields.
The collection and reporting our global consumption of timber use on our sites that is sourced from sustainable forestry certified organisations is improving in Lend Lease. Future developments in our Supply Chain Management System aim to improve our reporting and performance for this environmental indicator.
Water
Water is a critical resource in the development and construction industry, with buildings accounting for the use of some 12 percent of the world's water.
We recognise our dependence on water for a range of activities and purposes associated with our business, including for the manufacturing or use of construction materials, the operation of the asset or facility and the maintenance of built or natural features, as well as for the health of ecosystems on a site.
In responding to the need to conserve this natural resource, Lend Lease aspires to be zero net water in what we design, construct and develop, for the communities we build and influence, for what we manage and for what we own.
We currently measure the following water related metrics:
- Potable water consumption (offices and assets only)
- Non-potable water consumption (offices and assets only)
- Black and grey water recycling (office, assets or projects)
Our Performance
In terms of monitoring the water consumption of our activities and determining future performance, we report the following progress:
*Full chart only available in Flash web site
Key notes for 2009
From reviewing Lend Lease's water consumption within our assets, the following observations are noted:
- The majority of water use is from mains water consumption associated with assets under operational control in Australia and Europe (i.e. hospitals, universities, office buildings).
- Our global energy intensity remained stable or decreased on average across all regions between 2008 and 2009.
- Our average Lend Lease's total water use and intensity for assets slightly increased between 2008 and 2009, which is likely attributable to recent acquisition of the Lend Lease Primelife business and additional retail assets.
Waste
We know that buildings use one-third of the world's resources and some 40 percent of waste to landfill comes from construction and deconstruction activities.
Taking into account the contribution of our activities to the generation of waste, it is our long-term aspiration to be zero net waste in what we design, construct and develop, for the communities we build and influence, for assets we manage and for those we own.
We currently measure the following waste related metrics:
- Total Waste generation (projects, offices and assets)
- Recycled waste (projects, offices and assets)
- Landfill disposed waste (projects, offices and assets)
- Soils – Contaminated and uncontaminated
Our Performance
Waste Management Plans are part of Environment Health and Safety Plans, which are implemented by all Lend Lease projects. Waste Management Plans include information relating to key management issues, site controls, pre-construction, waste minimisation, segregation and diversion, monitoring and inspection.
We separately monitor waste and recycling for our office tenancies, investment assets and assets under management, including a range of commercial, retail, industrial, hotels and health facilities.
In terms of monitoring the waste generation from our activities and determining future performance, we report the following progress:
*Full chart only available in Flash web site
Key notes for 2009
From reviewing Lend Lease's waste avoidance, recycling and landfill disposal volumes, the following observations are noted:
- The majority of our waste generated results from project management and construction (approximately 85 percent of annual operating revenue in 2009).
- The high annual volatility in project management and construction waste figures is expected to be the result of some sites incorrectly including clean excavated soil in reported waste.
- The average waste generation intensity for assets and offices remained stable or decreased on average between 2008 and 2009 which is likely attributable to waste reduction initiatives.
- Lend Lease’s total waste generation expected to increase in 2010 financial year due to increased project activity and the growth of Lend Lease investments including Lend Lease Primelife business and several retail assets.
Reported Environmental Incidents
The reporting and management of environmental incidents across Lend Lease Group operations is important for the purposes of both lead and lag indicators of environmental performance.
Lend Lease considers transparency in incident management as a critical business requirement, hence reporting of all environmental incidents in accordance with our incident reporting system is mandatory.
We currently measure the following environmental incident related metrics:
- Environmental incident classification – Catastrophic, Significant, Moderate, Small, Minor
- Environmental incident type – description of the core environmental issue of the incident (i.e. stormwater discharge, fuel spill etc)
- Incident remedy costs or fines
- Penalties, notices, liabilities or prosecutions
Our Performance
In 2009 Lend Lease did not have any significant environmental incidents.
Built Environment
The United Nations note that, over their lifespan, buildings are responsible for:
25–40 percent of the world’s energy use
30–40 percent of the world’s solid waste generation
30–40 percent of the world’s global greenhouse gas emissions
33 percent of the world’s resources
8–12 percent of water use
As outlined in our Environment Policy, we aspire to:
- Protect, conserve and enhance built structures of heritage or cultural significance
- Promote and use green building rating tools
- Foster a holistic approach to the design, delivery and operation of green buildings and precincts
- Encourage and promote the application of innovation, including alternative energy generation solutions
- Ensure sustainable environmental behaviour within our offices and our projects and in the assets we manage.
With businesses spanning property investment and development, construction and asset management, we have an involvement in, and understanding of, the entire property cycle.
We accept the compelling business case for green buildings. We know that building and managing green makes sense from a risk management perspective. They also provide healthier, more productive environments for their occupants.
In setting targets to green our projects and our own operations, robust, effective tools are needed with which to measure the implementation of environmental initiatives.
We recognise that being green is about more than just being energy efficient, or water efficient. It is also about indoor environment quality, waste reduction and management, the materials used, management of an asset, land use and ecological impacts, access to alternative transport and also avoiding harmful emissions. The local climatic conditions, human health and ecological impacts are also important to achieve the right holistic response.
We therefore support the use of tools that measure across a comprehensive range of environmental criteria. We want tools that provide national consistency and comparison in the geographies in which we operate, and as a global company, Lend Lease also wants tools that enable global comparisons.
Finally, we support design- or delivery-based rating tools that focus on those areas of environmental impact that result as a direct consequence of a building’s brief, design, construction and maintenance— that is, those outcomes that can be directly influenced by stakeholders within the property development industry.
We believe the tools that best meet these criteria are the voluntary environmental rating tools developed by not-for-profit Green Building Councils around the world, specifically the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) developed by the United States Green Building Council, Green Star developed by the Green Building Council of Australia, the United Kingdom Green Building Council’s BRE Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) and the Japan Sustainable Building Consortium’s CASBEE, as well as the Building & Construction Authority’s Green Mark in Singapore and other country-specific adaptations of these tools.
These tools are created and continually refined by industry-sponsored, consensus-based approaches. They reward design, delivery and operation of environmental and social best practice.
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