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In an industry-first, the association will develop a coalition of stakeholders to promote the sustainable transition of retail.
URW and Ingka Centres have launched the Sustainable Retail Index Association, an independent organisation that will establish a recognised common standard for measuring and improving sustainability across retail real estate portfolios. The association will equip retail landlords with comprehensive insights on tenant sustainability performance to drive measurable progress.
The SRI Association will create a coalition of real estate stakeholders to promote the adoption of the Sustainable Retail Index, a collaborative assessment tool designed to help landlords and retailers better understand and improve sustainability commitments and performance across company, product and operational levels.
Since 2023, URW has used the Sustainable Retail Index to assess retailers across its portfolio, helping to identify opportunities to collaborate with brands on tangible sustainability improvements. To date, the SRI has been used to assess more than 73% of eligible revenue at URW shopping centres. Beyond informing business decisions, the index supports more transparent dialogue with retailers, helps identify shared opportunities for improvement and strengthens engagement with consumers around more sustainable choices.
A coalition of partners aligned for change
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,” said Sylvain Montcouquiol, Chief Resources and Sustainability Officer at URW. “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.”
“The Sustainable Retail Index is a valuable tool in strengthening how we curate and future-proof our tenant mix across our meeting places,” added Vasco Santos, Global Director of Leasing at Ingka Centres. “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.”
Data expertise from Good On You
Good On You, a globally recognised ratings platform widely used across the industry, is the lead data partner of the SRI, bringing deep expertise in sustainability assessments across retail supply chains. Its independent data makes up 75% of the calculation, bringing together publicly available information leveraging 1,000 data points for each brand across key social and environmental issues, while the remaining 25% utilises third-party audits of store-level practices.
Sandra Capponi, co-founder, Good On You, commented: “We can’t accelerate the shift towards more responsible and sustainable practices in retail without transparency. That’s why Good On You has leveraged our value chain expertise and ratings data to help establish a shared industry standard that guides brand action, consumer choices and systemic change across the retail ecosystem.”
The SRI Association also benefits from the technical and critical expertise of WWF France on the methodology of the SRI and its future developments. WWF France also acts as a civil society representative and monitors the results of the Sustainable Retail Index.
For more information about the Sustainable Retail Index and the SRI Association, go here: www.sriassociation.com and follow the SRI Association on LinkedIn here.
