ESG
We recognise the critical role that real estate plays in global carbon emissions and our responsibility to ensure how we invest and manage is sustainable. We believe delivering on our ESG strategy is vital, not only in terms of our responsibility to future generations, but also to the success of our investment strategy.
Delivering on what we say
Our approach to ESG is focused on achieving real change through setting challenging and measurable targets across our business. We seek to deliver these targets for the benefit of all our stakeholders.
See our policies here
Sustainability in action
Working alongside Savills, Brightbay has developed a bespoke Asset Sustainability Plan template that captures key data and objectives for the sustainable management and operation of our assets.
Engagement with stakeholders
The Board openly accepts its obligation to operate as a good corporate citizen and recognises that broader stakeholder recognition is integral to our long-term success.
A stakeholder engagement policy was adopted by the Board in 2018 and is embedded in day-to-day operations, with each employee being given a personal ESG objective as part of their objectives. Our stakeholder policy ensures key decisions at a Board level take account of all stakeholders.
BREEAM certifications
BREEAM is an international scheme that provides independent third-party certification of the sustainability performance of individual buildings, communities and infrastructure projects. Following the first BREEAM In-Use assessment at our Southwark hotel in 2018, which achieved a “Very Good” rating for performance, Brightbay launched a programme to increase the number of assets that hold green building certificates, to verify building performance and help identify improvement opportunities.
Energy Performance Certification (“EPC”) and Energy reduction
We monitor and measure our resource consumption to identify efficiencies and seek to reduce our carbon emissions footprint by reducing energy use and associated costs and by facilitating the transition to greener energy use wherever possible. Brightbay acknowledges the shift towards a minimum EPC grade of B by 2030. Over 300 EPC records were reviewed or renewed in 2020. Our actions to date have seen material improvements to average EPC ratings.
Brightbay has partnered with the Savills’ sustainability team in adopting SavIQ; a unique piece of software developed by Savills which automates the retrieval of data from suppliers and supports better decision making on utilities consumption.
Environmental Management System (“EMS”) certification
The benefits of implementing ISO 14001:2015 include the identification of areas for improvement and increased environmental efficiency, sharing best practice, identification of areas of non-compliance, protection against penalties, legal proceedings and reputational damage and providing essential credits for other certifications, such as GRESB and BREEAM In-Use. Brightbay piloted the EMS scheme in 2019 and the portfolio coverage has since been extended across the portfolio.