Sustainable Client or Developer of the Year

Winner

Igloo regeneration

The judges said sustainability was more inherent in this firm’s philosophy than any other developer’s. The company works hard to minimise its own carbon footprint but its biggest impact comes through its projects. Energy performance certificate A grades and BREEAM “excellent” ratings are basic benchmarks but Igloo’s projects seek to achieve more than just reductions in energy use. All schemes are built on brownfield sites in locations with integrated transport connections. They seek to achieve balanced and vibrant communities, are let on green leases and actively managed to ensure sustainability in the long term. On top of this, the company is active in promoting sustainability across the industry, working with organisations such as the Sustainable Development Commission, the Green Building Council and the RICS to drive the agenda forward.

Highly commended

Olympic Delivery Authority

There are few projects as ambitious as delivering an Olympic Games, and on top of the obvious logistical challenge, the ODA has set itself a comprehensive range of sustainability criteria. The Games are being constructed according to the ODA’s Sustainable Development Strategy, which including a carbon reduction of 50% compared with the 2006 Building Regulations and BREEAM “excellent” ratings for permanent venues. These are underwritten by major investment in sustainable infrastructure. The achievements of the project to date include reusing or recycling 90% of material arising from demolition, and transporting 50% of materials by weight by rail or water.

Runners-up

Land Securities

As a developer with a steady stream of groundbreaking office, retail and regeneration developments, Land Securities recognises that sustainable business practices are crucial to its future. It embeds them in its approach to development, refurbishment and property management using an in-house team of environmentalists who support project teams from day one of the design to handover, as well as working alongside the property management teams. It is also a founding member of the UK Green Building Council and the Better Buildings Partnership.

Lend Lease

Lend Lease’s global environmental policy governs its business operations. Key initiatives include responsible sourcing with guidelines to ensure suppliers and contractors meet set sustainability criteria. It actively engages with tenants to improve the sustainability performance of its assets and has also developed a global carbon footprint tool. It is working closely with UN Environment Programme to agree common carbon metrics and an industry tool to provide a comparable way of measuring and disclosing carbon footprints. In terms of its projects, the firm is committed to all new residential development meeting level four of the Code for Sustainable Homes and new commercial development must achieve a BREEAM “excellent” rating.

South West Regional Development Agency

This outfit’s core objective is to encourage the development of a low carbon economy in the region. It is leading by example with a corporate plan that includes a commitment to achieve a net zero carbon annual investment portfolio by 2013. Groundbreaking schemes it is involved with include the £40m wave hub project, the first commercial-scale wave energy farm in the world as well as the Rural Business Centre at Okehampton, which is looking to achieve carbon reductions of between 60% and 80% compared with the Building Regulations.

British Land

It’s been an impressive year for this developer. Over this period all it new offices have achieved BREEAM “excellent” rating, it has managed 25% lower carbon emissions on average than Building Regulations require, seen 94% of demolition waste diverted from landfill and more than 80% of construction waste. On top of this, 24% of materials by value come from recycled sources and over £23m was contributed to local initiatives through the planning process. This has all been supported by an environmental management system that achieved ISO 14001 certification.