6 March 2019 12:08

Main results achieved in 2018

IGD worked to constantly grow from a standpoint of “Green, Responsible, Ethical, Attractive”, together (“Together”) with its stakeholders. A commitment that is highlighted in the “Becoming G.R.E.A.T.” claim, based on an acronym made from the initials of the five themes that are at the heart of the sustainable growth path.

 

     Green

In 2018 IGD made important progress in the “green” sphere. Firstly, energy consumption was reduced by 1.1%, thanks to the project that calls for an increase in the use of solar panels. Two new installations, at Katanè and Gran Rondò, were completed in the year. A total of seven malls now have solar panels. The energy consumption at the centers using solar energy is 41% less per square meter than at the rest of the shopping centers.

The continuous reduction of greenhouse gas emissions also continued at IGD’s shopping centers and in the last three-year period the emissions of CO2 equivalents per square meter went from 55.2 tons in 2015 to a low of 51.2 tons of CO2eq/m2 in 2018. An improvement that was made possible thanks to the inclusion of properties with high energy performances like Maremà, Puntadiferro and the ESP extension.

IGD uses solely energy from renewable sources in all its shopping centers which has a noticeably positive environmental impact: thanks to this choice, more than 20,000 tons of CO2 were not emitted which equates to yearly consumption of electricity of around 17,000 families.

Progress was also made on the certification of portfolio properties. BREEAM IN USE certification was obtained for two shopping centers, Katanè and Tiburtino, in the wake of the same certification received in 2016 by CentroSarca. This program is destined to continue as the goal is to obtain certification for Puntadiferro and ESP in 2019. In this way 5 of IGD’s most important portfolio assets would be BREEAM certified.

As a result of the Environmental System Management certification at ESP, Puntadiferro and Le Porte di Napoli, today 17 of IGD’s shopping centers are UNI EN ISO 14001 certified in accordance with the roll-out plan which in 2019 will involve three more centers: Maremà, Leonardo and Città delle Stelle.

 

     Responsible

With regard to “responsible”, IGD’s employees showed their appreciation of the second year of the corporate welfare system which 99% took advantage of in 2018. Of note was also the not negligible amount of approximately €4 million that IGD invested over the two year period 2017-2018 in the earthquake proofing of its commercial assets and the €880 thousand used to install security bollards at 15 shopping centers.

 

     Ethical

As for “ethical”, IGD’s three-star legality rating granted by the Italian Competition Authority (Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato) in 2016 was confirmed and UNI ISO 37001 anticorruption certification was obtained in Romania. Furthermore, 4 out of the 11 members (or 36% of the total) of the new BoD, appointed during the Shareholders’ Meeting held on 1 June 2018, are women.

 

     Attractive

IGD has made significant progress in its commitment to making its shopping centers even more “attractive”. If, on the one hand, contracts with 27 new brands or 15.1% of the total were signed, on the other €3.29 million were spent on the organization of 530 events. These events animated the centers by providing experiences not found elsewhere and touching on very timely topics like bullying and cyperbullying, including with the contribution of celebrities. The 2018 events also addressed social themes, like the second edition of Happy Hand in Tour which was presented in 19 shopping centers and the cancer prevention service provided in partnership with ANT which, in 2018, made it possible for 735 individuals to receive free checkups in 11 IGD shopping centers.

 

     Together

As part of the “together” theme which includes our stakeholder engagement, a new visitor listening project was developed thanks to which we received interesting feedback from the questions answered by 4,556 individuals relating to how the structures are managed, as well as the innovations already introduced in the shopping centers and future wish lists.

IGD is aware of the impact that its operations have on local communities and ecosystems. In 2018 IGD employed an average of 637 individuals in each city of operation and 53% of the total suppliers were local. The local brands, which represent 40% of the brands in IGD’s centers, posted an average increase in sales of 2.6% like-for-like. In 2018 IGD welcomed 238 non-profit associations and entities and organized an impressive 26% of the cultural-sporting events in partnership with regional associations.