A key strand of our environmental strategy lies in the effective management and reduction of water usage and waste.

Improving our recycling, reuse and waste to landfill rates

As previously communicated, we have successfully centralised the collection of waste across the German portfolio, providing us with better insights into how we can continue to drive improvements in this area. In financial year 2022/23, 32.3% of our waste was recycled and a further 64.6% was converted from waste to energy, with only the remaining 3.1% going to landfill. We are working with our German waste providers in order to identify opportunities to improve our recycling, reuse and waste to landfill rates, and to devise a comprehensive waste management plan that incorporates reduction targets. To date we have identified 13 sites where we believe we are able to reduce the collection intervals and/or number of bins on site to better match site demand and we are in discussions with local authorities on how to achieve this. The next step is to work with our tenants to identify additional opportunities for improving waste management.

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

The move to our new head office in Berlin has also enabled 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.

Water management strategies

We are also working to improve our water management strategies and launched the “Smartvatten Project” at the end of calendar year 2022. We have set a goal to replace all our main water meters with smart meters by the end of 2023 in Germany and we are making good progress on this aim, with 54 sites completed or near completion, and the remaining 25 due to be completed by the end of calendar year 2023, of which 22 are already contracted. This initiative will help us to detect leaks and monitor excessive water usage, enabling us to take corrective action, identify opportunities for improvements and provide better measurement of water emissions. Following this, we will review our sub-metering systems to ensure effective water consumption management. Additionally, we aim to gain insights into regular water usage patterns across our portfolio, allowing us to set meaningful reduction targets.

Reducing water consumption and emissions

In addition to our water smart meter roll-out, we are exploring other options to reduce water consumption and emissions. Project Flush is an initiative we launched during financial year 2022/23 to refurbish our restroom facilities, including the installation of LED spotlights with presence detectors, water saving pearl gates and new and more water-efficient toilets and wash basins. We completed the upgrade at one property in June 2022, with promising results of reduced water consumption and CO2 savings. We are currently identifying further properties for possible refurbishment by the end of FY2023/24.

Waste and water management programmes in the UK

In the UK, we have started to develop our waste and water management programmes. We are responsible for the collection of our own waste and that of our office tenants, while our industrial tenants manage their own collection and disposal. During the year zero waste went to landfill. Our management of both waste and water will be an area for improvement and focus in the current year.