Creating Value through Sustainability
Citycon’s updated sustainability strategy was taken into use at the beginning of 2018 with the objective of defining clear and justified sustainability priorities that create value for us as well as our stakeholders. Our priorities combine business relevance and the most important issues according to our stakeholders, the environment, and the communities we operate in. In our strategy, we define long-term main objectives that span until 2030 as well as strategic actions that are updated every three years and will guide us in achieving the main objectives. By setting main objectives for 2030 and regularly updating our strategic actions, Citycon prevents becoming locked in the choices made and can include the latest developments in environmental and social impacts. In May 2020, Citycon updated the strategic sustainability actions that will be targeted until 2023.
Our strategy is built around four priority areas of our long-term sustainability promises:
CARBON NEUTRAL
Using less energy and producing more of it ourselves
Long-term main objective: Citycon is carbon neutral by 2030.
Strategic actions for next years:
- All assets will produce renewable or recoverable energy for their own use.
- By the end of 2025, Citycon will have decreased energy consumption per sq. m. by 10% from 2019 levels and 20% from 2014 levels.
- As of 2018, all assets will use 100% green electricity for the company’s own consumption. By 2021 all electricity bought by Citycon will be green.
- As of 2018, an allowance amounting to 2% of net rental income will be budgeted for value enhancing energy investments.
ACCESSIBLE
Encouraging green transportation
Long-term main objective: 100% of assets are connected to public transportation, encouraging green ways to visit our centres. By 2030, the majority of our visitors will visit us by public transportation, foot, bike or electrical vehicles.
Strategic actions for next years:
- All assets will offer electrical vehicle charging possibilities for cars and bikes by year end 2023.
- All assets will promote cycling, with different methods tested, and the best practices will be spread across all sites.
- Public transport options will be proactively developed together with local stakeholders.
- Citycon will promote easy access for people with disabilities in all our shopping centres.
CONVENIENT AND SAFE
Customers, tenants and personnel all feel right at home
Long-term main objective: Continuously taking actions to improve the experience of safety, security, hospitality and service-mindedness.
Strategic actions for next years:
- Citycon will play a proactive role to establish an industry standard certification with regards to safety and security. All assets to be SAFE Retail Destination certified by year end 2022.
- Youth cooperation and involvement projects will be instituted in all countries. By year end 2020 all assets will have youth involvement activities in place and the Youth-Focused Security Guard project will be spread to all countries by year end 2022.
- Each Citycon employee will be able to use one workday per year for voluntary work in community engagement events that take place in Citycon’s shopping centres.
EXCELLENCE IN ACTION
Making best practices the norm
Long-term main objective: Citycon puts best sustainability practices into effect by following a clear roadmap and monitoring success.
Strategic actions for next years:
- A personal targets system will be set in place for sustainability work in the operational teams.
- Sustainability actions at Citycon are carried out through clear processes. Best practices will be listed in our technical standard and applied in all refurbishment projects.
- 100% of assets will be BREEAM In-Use certified by the end of 2022 with the minimum level being “good”.
- All new development projects will obtain a green building certification with a minimum level of BREEAM Excellent.
- Citycon will present an annual award for the year’s actions which best support its sustainability strategy (to tenants, community initiatives etc.)