CR Management

Our CR Management System

The key CR issues central to our business are managed through our CR Management System, which is built around a cyclical model that helps us to achieve continuous improvement in our performance across all nine impact areas: Energy and Climate, Water, Waste, Biodiversity and Habitats, Suppliers, Tenants, Communities and Visitors, Employees and Safety and Health.

We establish annual targets, policies and strategies in order to achieve our long-term objectives and translate our values and commitments into practical actions.

We also monitor our progress on an annual basis against key performance indicators and targets, to ensure we accomplish our long-term goals.

Prior to 2011, we published an annual CR Report detailing how we had performed during the reporting year.

In 2011, we published our first full integrated Economic, Environmental and Social Performance Report which complies with level A⁺ of the Global Reporting Initiative's G3.1 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines and is externally assured by an Independent Auditor to ensure that data and information is accurate.

The report also follows a significant part of the new GRI Construction and Real Estate Sector Supplement (CRESS) guidance which was launched in September 2011. Our Economic, Environmental and Social Performance Report and Independent Auditor's Review can be found here.

Our CR Governance

Our CR Management System is managed by CR Working Groups that, between them, govern all CR impact areas. These are comprised of employees from across the Company, at different levels of seniority, who take responsibility for Sonae Sierra’s CR performance.

The Head of each Working Group is represented in our CR Steering Committee, which is chaired by our CEO. The CR Steering Committee is responsible for overseeing the organisation's identification and management of material CR issues and ensuring that performance in these critical areas is monitored and improved.

Throughout the business, and across different functions and divisions, individual members of staff have responsibility for implementing specific aspects of CR in their daily activities. Safety, Health and Environment objectives form part of all employees’ performance appraisals (including Executive Committee members’ appraisals) which link through to remuneration and bonus schemes.

Risk Management

Effective risk management underpins our CR strategy, and our Risk Management Working Group cross-cuts all the CR Working Groups to ensure that risks associated with each of our nine impact areas are tightly managed and controlled. The group facilitates and promotes the use of best risk management practices across the company and reports, via the CFO, to the Audit & Compliance Committee of the Company.

Stakeholder Engagement

We believe that conducting our activities in a way that is sensitive and responsive to our stakeholders’ needs and concerns is vital for the long-term success of our business. We collect valuable feedback from our investors, tenants, clients, visitors, employees, suppliers and from local community members which can help us to refine our approach at a corporate level, as it can allow us to identify and implement improvements on individual sites.

One of our many good examples that demonstrate our commitment to stakeholder engagement is the creation of two Sonae Sierra awards for our tenants. In 2010 we launched the first edition of the Planet Sierra Tenant Award (click here to view the winners list) with the aim to recognise tenants with outstanding environmental performance but also to encourage as many tenants as possible to participate and learn from the experience of others.

In 2011, we held the fourth edition of the Personæ Tenant Award (click here to view the winners list) for Safety and Health, which distinguishes tenants who demonstrate an outstanding commitment to S&H.

The Planet Sierra Tenant award is presented bi-annually, alternating with the Personæ Tenant Award.

CR Policies

We have developed a number of policies and strategies to specifically address some of our CR impact areas and related issues. Those that are publically available can be read by clicking on the links below.