Majid Al Futtaim, a leading shopping mall, retail and leisure pioneer across the Mena region, has unveiled 13 new sustainability targets for 2018. 

 

The company’s new strategy highlighting its plans to become a sustainability front runner in the Middle East is outlined in its 2013 Sustainability Report along with its several recent achievements, said a report.

 

The new targets fall within three key areas – creating high performance assets, fostering prosperous communities and promoting pioneering standards.

 

It includes water, waste energy and carbon efficiency, labour conditions in the supply chain, health and safety, green building standards, local economic development and enhancement of the public realm.

 

George Kostas, CEO of MAF Properties, said: “The latest edition of our Sustainability Report clearly illustrates the significant benefits for our businesses and surrounding communities that our Sustainability Strategy has yielded over the past five years. 

 

“We have also identified a number of areas in which we can further improve and our new long term targets raise the bar for the Mena region. We hope to inspire others to follow our example, take action and adopt sustainable practices.”

 

Majid Al Futtaim Properties’ 2013 Sustainability Report, ‘Transforming Tomorrow’ has detailed the company’s five-year sustainability strategy that aims to ‘enhance people’s lives through sustainable real estate’ and outlines the outcomes of existing efforts. 

 

Ibrahim Al-Zu’bi, head of sustainability, said: “Our sustainability policies reflect our social commitment to our communities, our desire to achieve greater operational efficiencies and the rise of ethical consumerism across the region. By putting sustainability at the heart of our business we are protecting and increasing long-term value and our results have already demonstrated that.

 

“Meeting these goals will be challenging, but by setting practical targets and using clear communication, we can realise our mission.”

 

The report has acknowledged that while 66 per cent of 2013 sustainability targets were achieved, and 25 per cent were partially achieved, the company did not complete work on all its targets like meet its mall energy reduction target of 15 per cent, indicating that more work needs to be done in such important areas. 

 

Some successes which are celebrated in the report include ‘green’ clauses included in all new tenancy agreements since 2011; a range of customer initiatives held across the company’s malls around the core themes of female empowerment, healthy heart, environment and education in 2013; community investment in 2013 amounted to Dh11.7 million ($3.1 million); no fatalities at the company’s construction sites in 2013; 303 Ramadan donation packs were distributed to people working on the company’s sites; as a result of environmental investment, Dh1.5 million was saved in hotels; and 19.9 per cent reduction in mall water consumption against a 2010 baseline.

 

The company has also committed to invest in further sustainability training for staff, expand its internship programme and encourage further community volunteering. - TradeArabia News Service