Westfield recognises that a focus on the economic, social and environmental aspects of our business leads to better risk management, cost savings, innovation and a performance culture within the business that drives shareholder returns and meets our obligations to the communities in which we operate.

Our global risk management team has systems in place to meet the regulatory and legal requirements of each market and we make every attempt to engage with, and understand, the needs of local communities.

The health, welfare and safety of all Westfield staff is governed by our workplace health and safety policies which are reviewed on a regular basis.  In addition, a comprehensive health and safety compliance system helps our staff comply with the various laws, regulations and codes of practice in each country.  Westfield’s comprehensive approach to health and safety issues has resulted in an excellent safety record being achieved by the Group worldwide.

Westfield’s environmental policy is to comply with all applicable legislation and regulations and integrate the principles of environmental responsibility into all aspects of planning and operations.  These policies apply to the conduct of staff and contractors and encourage our retailers and their customers to adopt sound environmental practices.  As just one part of this approach Westfield is working with the Green Building Council in Australia to develop a green star rating tool for design of shopping centres. 

Westfield shopping centres provide a safe environment where people can meet, shop and enjoy a wide range of community facilities.  Westfield supports a variety of community events within its shopping centres such as displays, fashion parades and promotions such as ‘Shop for Your School’ and ‘Westfield Works Wonders’ which are based around providing a social and financial benefit to the local communities and their charities.

Some of the initiatives which we have taken in the past year include:

The total cost of the current program, after taking into account rebates from utility provider incentive programs is US$4.6 million. But significant savings are generated by reducing the energy bill at the 23 centres by US$2.6 million per annum therefore recouping the cost in less than two years and providing ongoing cost savings. 

Westfield has already been recognised for this project by the City of San Diego in an advertising campaign launched in October 2005.  These lighting specifications will be incorporated into future redevelopments of Westfield shopping centres nationwide. 

The program has been very well received by retailers and is already expected to cut energy and water usage by 10%.  We expect to roll out this program to other Westfield centres. We have also introduced a number of initiatives into the design of the proposed $600 million retail and office development project linking Centrepoint, Imperial Arcade and Skygarden in the Sydney CBD.  A sustainability report has been prepared for this development project targeting a 25% reduction in energy and water usage.

The event is designed to promote young designers, artists, musicians and dancers and their work, and has grown in strength, confidence and originality each year.

For Westfield, the partnership with Style Pasifika has strengthened the interaction between the Group and the New Zealand community, especially retailers, local government and local community groups.

The report highlights ways in which the shopping centre industry as a whole can improve environmental management and sustainability and provides a useful tool for individual companies to benchmark their current performance against their peers and identify areas for improvement.