NEINVER, a Spanish company specialised in investment, development and management of retail properties—Europe’s second-largest operator of outlet centres—reduced energy consumption by 8.9 percent in 2014 at the shopping centres it manages, in like-for-like terms compared to the previous year.
These savings reflect the implementation of an energy-efficiency management system based on the ISO 50001 standard, and the development of energy plans for each centre, which define the steps to take to maximise results. These actions have typically involved installing automatic lighting-management systems, replacing fluorescent lamps with LED lights, optimising the heating systems and upgrading inefficient equipment.
Year after year, the NEINVER management model is notable for the company’s focus on reducing resource consumption. In 2014, water consumption at its centres was down 2.7 percent from 2013 in like-for-like terms (not counting newly opened facilities). In absolute numbers, consumption stayed flat from the previous year, even though the centres’ foot traffic rose by 2.5 million.
Additionally, the company began to phase in renewable energy sources, which helps reduce its carbon footprint. By the end of 2014, the five The Style Outlets centres that it manages in Spain were getting their energy from green sources.
Internationally, NEINVER also achieved this in Germany, at Zweibrücken The Style Outlets, and plans to roll it out to other centres in Poland and France.
This step moved NEINVER towards its goal of reducing its operations’ CO2 emissions. From 2012 to 2014, the company reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 18.6 percent in like-for-like terms. In the 2012–2014 period, energy use also decreased by 10.7 percent and water use by 8.4 percent.
NEINVER has been a pioneer of sustainable development policies and good governance, becoming the first retail operator in Europe to certify its entire portfolio under strict quality and environmental standards such as BREEAM In-Use and triple ISO certification for quality, the environment and energy management. The company is committed to eco-friendly management of commercial properties as a vital factor in improving the properties’ performance and profitability.
All these figures appear in the 2014 Sustainability Report, which NEINVER prepared as an example of the company’s transparent management.
The document presents the company’s earnings, financial statement, and the performance of each business area over the last year, from the standpoint of business, the environment, team management and contribution to society. It also explains the foundations of NEINVER’s new business strategy, launched in mid-2014, whose purpose is to adapt the company to new circumstances and try to stand out more clearly from the competition.
In this Report, NEINVER assesses the state of the European retail and logistics markets and the challenges they face. Limited finance, the high cost of debt, and the long process of developing a property—from licensing to opening—are key factors to keep in mind to make a property successful. Besides these challenges, the investors, authorities and regulatory bodies care increasingly about strict criteria of Good Governance, strong sustainable development, and long-term commitment.
NEINVER is meeting these challenges and making progress in these areas by forming strategic partnerships and by managing properties in accordance with sustainability standards such as BREEAM, ISO 14001 and ISO 50001. The company signed three strategic partnership agreements in 2014 with internationally respected partners such as TIAA-CREF, KKR and Colony Capital. Forming these alliances has let the company continue to grow in different sectors of the European property market, such as logistics, shopping centres and outlet centres, while also clearly vouching for the solidity and confidence NEINVER inspires in the marketplace.
Proof of this is that the company now manages 45 logistics, retail and outlet properties totalling more than 724,000 sqm and a market value of €2.013 billion.
