We continued to make progress with managing our waste and water systems and improving our processes during the year. 

Centralised waste collection

Our centralised waste collection system across our German portfolio enables us to manage and calculate our waste-related carbon emissions.

Access to a state-of-the-art disposal centre

Our head office in Berlin also enables access to a state-of-the-art disposal centre, with waste being collected, weighed and transported to sorting facilities for commercial waste, light packaging, paper, and hazardous waste, as well as biogas plants for food and kitchen waste. All waste is treated in compliance with local regulation and environmental aspects and is disposed of with the polluter-pays principle.

Recycling, reuse and waste-to-landfill

We are always exploring ways to enhance how we manage and reduce our recycling, reuse, and waste-to-landfill rates. In the UK, during the year, we completed reviews of sites where we provide recycling facilities. Next year, we will introduce initiatives to increase the overall recycling rate for these sites and are currently assessing potential ideas.

In Germany, we were able to reduce waste from public bin providers across three sites, with all other public bins being at minimal levels, enabling us to keep collection intervals at a minimum. Next year, we will work with our waste providers to assess whether there is an opportunity to reduce bin counts to better match site demand.

Reducing water consumption and emissions

Almost all our tenants in Germany are equipped with smart water meters as a result of our "Smartvatten Project", which launched at the end of 2022. This allows us to detect leaks and monitor excessive water usage, take corrective action, identify improvement opportunities, and provide better measurement of water emissions more easily. We have now installed new smart water meters at all possible sites, completing 16 new sites in the year, bringing the total to 68, meaning 90% of the portfolio is equipped. We are reviewing the seven remaining sites to understand how these can be brought in line with the rest of the properties to allow us oversight of the full portfolio.

In the UK, where there is minimal water waste, a smart meter rollout is less applicable. Instead, we focused on installing automatic meter readers in 31 of our highest water-consuming tenants to better understand consumption and identify potential leaks at the earliest opportunity.

Continued assessment

We will continue to assess our waste and water management strategies in the UK and Germany for opportunities to drive improved efficiencies and oversight.