Environmental management
Lar España is conscious of the impact of its assets on the environment. With this in mind, and to meet the needs of society at large, Lar España integrates aspects such as urban development, the design of sustainable cities, responses to demographic shifts and scarcity of shared resources. At present the company is rolling out its ESG Master Plan, which sets down goals, programmes and various lines of action, all of which take into account general and sector-specific standards as the company’s priorities.
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Lines of action
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SDG Contribution Plan
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Decarbonisation strategy
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Waste Management Plan
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Energy Efficiency Plan and installation of photovoltaic energy
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Automated data platform
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Indoor air quality measurement
Quality of our assets
Lar España is committed to the use of tools for rating and certifying its assets in order to confirm their sustainability. Note that 100% of the assets owned by Lar España are now BREEAM® certified. BREEAM® (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology) is the world’s foremost environmental assessment method and rating system for buildings. Moreover, 93% of Lar España’s achieved a ‘Very Good’ or ‘Excellent’ rating.
On another note, After securing ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 certification at the As Termas and Megapark assets, in 2022 Lar España is working to extend this certification to all portfolio assets over which it exercises full management control.
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See Lar España recognitions and certifications
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Energy efficiency
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Electricity consumption:
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Electric power consumed in the assets’ common areas: very slight increase of +0.1% with respect to the same period in 2020, due primarily to the rise in activity.
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However, consumption is down significantly -7.6% compared to the “normal” situation in 2019 in like-for-like terms.
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There is a correlation between the increase in electricity consumption (2021 vs 2020) and the extreme weather conditions that necessitated the unexpected use of HVAC systems at certain assets in northern and central areas of Spain, as well as during the heat waves in summer.
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The increase in full-day opening in 2021 vs 2020 (+13%) should have led to a significant increase in electricity consumption. However, this eventuality was mitigated thanks to the operating measures put in place by Lar España and detailed in its Energy Efficiency Master Plan, the implementation of which continued in 2021.
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Fuel consumption:
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Consumption of fossil fuels: mainly natural gas, has accounted for approximately 9.5% of the energy consumption of Lar España portfolio’s in recent years.
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Any variation in natural gas consumption is normally due to the weather conditions in the winter. Both 2019 and 2021 were particularly mild winters apart from the occasional extreme event: two cold snaps in 2019 and one in 2021 (storm Filomena). Despite this, the average summer and autumn temperatures were relatively similar in both years.
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2020 is the warmest year so far this century, something which should have led to an increase in gas consumption in 2021. However, the inclusion of Lagoh in the testing phase in 2020 and the “in-use” phase in 2021 have skewed the results significantly.
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Energy intensity:
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The static energy use indicator (kWh/sqm common areas) posted a drop of -6.3% between 2019 and 2021, which can be explained by the remaining pandemic-related restrictions in 2021, which led to a reduction in the number of days the assets could fully open.
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However, this energy use indicator reflects a decrease of -0.1% between 2020 and 2021, despite the increase in the number of full openings in 2021, which attests to the sound management of the assets’ consumption.
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The dynamic indicator of energy use intensity (kWh/visitor), which is a better indication of the company’s actual activity, offers a different perspective. On comparing the data for 2021 with that of 2019, it is clear to see an increase in intensity/visitor of +6.8%. However, with respect to 2020 the indicator has fallen sharply by -13.5%.
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Renewable energy: as mentioned previously, Lar España consumes renewable energy and possesses the pertinent certified guarantees of origin, distinguishing in its reporting between consumption in absolute and relative terms.
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Landlord-obtained non-renewable energy (LfL kWh): -45.5% vs 2020.
Scope 1+2+3 Emissions (LfL kg eq CO2): -20.5% vs 2020.
Intensity of emissions per visitor (LfL kg eq CO2 /visitor/year):
-31.6% vs 2020.
Response to climate change and decarbonisation
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Lar España registered its carbon footprint for 2018, 2019 and 2020 at Spain’s Ministry for the Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (MITERD). The consolidation of the 2021 data now signifies four consecutive years of recording the carbon footprint, which makes the company eligible for the Ministry’s Carbon Reduction seal.
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Scope 1: The Scope 1 results for 2021 correspond to the Fuel Consumption data analysed in the preceding point, reflecting a decline in direct emissions of -7.1% in 2021 with respect to 2020.
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Alcance 3 shows a rise in the values: 46.7% in 2021 vs. 2019 and 40.9% in 2021 vs. 2020. This does not indicate an increase in GHG emissions, but rather more accurate identification and verification of data in line with the Company’s commitment to making continual improvements to its environmental management policy.
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The results of the 2020 GHG emissions intensity, both in terms of the static denominator: Scope 1+2 (kg CO2/sqm of common areas), and the dynamic denominator: Scope 1+2+3 (kg CO2/1000 visitors), are very positive, posting significant reductions of -20.5% and -31.6% respectively in relative terms.
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A comparison with the data for 2019 also points to very positive reductions of 24.1% and 13.2%, respectively.
Circular economy
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The company’s Waste Management Master Plan – in force since January 2021 – has brought significant improvements in the collection of data on the quantity and nature of waste produced. To supplement the Master Plan, over the first half of 2021 we consolidated the procedure for identifying what types of waste are generated and where, the collection points in each shopping centre or retail park and their disposal or recycling routes.
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This improved accuracy in data management has led to a reduction in the percentage of waste that previously had to be estimated. Standing at 34.2% of the total in 2019 and 32.6% in 2020, the figure for 2021 was reduced to 3.4%, which represents a sizeable decrease.
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Regarding waste considered as hazardous by the European List of Waste, the amount for 2021 represents less than 2% of the total waste, and therefore its breakdown is not relevant.
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Responsible water use
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In absolute terms, a slight upturn in supply (+8.2%) was recorded in 2021 with respect to 2020. This rise is starker when water re-billed to tenants is deducted, which accounted for almost 42% of the water obtained by the landlord. The data shows that the volume of water used in common areas is down marginally on the figure for 2020 (-0.4%).
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The consumption intensity values in 2021 stand at 2.86 litres/visitor, markedly down on the 3.07 litres/visitor in 2020, representing a drop of 6.9% in this consumption intensity indicator.
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The explanation for this decline in consumption intensity lies in the increased footfall and the assets’ responsible use of water in their day-to-day activity, reflected in the fact that water consumption has held steady despite the higher footfall.
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Water consumption intensity per visitor
(LfL litres/visitor/year): -6.9% vs 2020.
Protection of biodiversity
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Lar España is aware of how important biodiversity is within its commitments to the environment. In keeping with its business strategy, actions are underway across the entire portfolio as part of the strategy to protect biodiversity. Accordingly, the company strives to make spaces not only more attractive to users, but to have them add value to the environment through the use of efficient watering systems and integrating the asset into its surroundings without disrupting the harmony of the landscape.
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The Company is also implementing various initiatives for the protection of biodiversity in the portfolio. A Biodiversity Management Plan is being carried out in the Albacenter, As Termas, El Rosal, Portal de la Marina, Rivas Futura, VidaNova Parc, Megapark, Abadía and Lagoh shopping centres and retail parks, in relation to the BREEAM sustainability certificate obtained for almost 100% of the portfolio.
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In the context of the certification, an Ecological Report on the shopping centre’s impact on local biodiversity is also drawn up. The conclusions of this analysis allow the company to roll out a strategy geared towards minimising the impact and improving the biodiversity of the site, focusing on the ecosystems identified as the most important.
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