When you walk through the streets of Amsterdam The Style Outlets or visit one of the more than 80 brand stores, you may not immediately notice it, but you are surrounded by sustainability initiatives. In fact, the outlet center has achieved the highest score in many areas for years in a row.
One of the aspects where you can make a lot of progress in terms of sustainability is of course real estate, the retail and catering properties and the parking garage. High sustainability requirements were set during the construction of Amsterdam The Style Outlets, resulting in a Breeam-NL New Construction quality mark. To achieve this quality mark, numerous aspects are examined in all facets of construction, such as the materials used, pollution and the ecological impact of the new construction.
5 stars for 5 years in a row
In addition to the Breeam quality mark, NEINVER, the owner and manager of the outlet center together with Nuveen Real Estate, recently achieved the highest score of five stars in the prestigious GRESB assessment for the fifth year in a row. GRESB analyzed the ESG performance of the entire portfolio managed by NEINVER, which includes 15 assets, including the outlet center near Amsterdam. The total GRESB score of 91 out of 100 was well above the competition average (81) and the GRESB average (76). Other notable scores in the assessment included 30 out of 30 points for management and a performance score of 61 out of 70.
Building Tomorrow
NEINVER is very aware of the impact of real estate in general and retail in particular on the climate. For that reason, the company launched an ESG strategy called Building Tomorrow. In this strategy, NEINVER looks beyond just real estate. ‘Sustainability encompasses much more than just the built environment that we see at our outlet center. It is also about people, about how we interact with each other, about the accessibility of our center and the impact we have on the community around us. It’s about water management, waste management and also inclusivity. The Building Tomorrow plan sets the bar high on all these aspects,” says Pascal Brouwer, center manager of Amsterdam The Style Outlets. ‘These are all extremely important themes that we implement locally together with our brands.’
Freddy’s Fabric Factory
One of these local initiatives is the Sympany ‘container’ located at the entrance to Paris. The clothing container has been renamed Freddy’s Fabric Factory and by donating clothing in the container you contribute to a circular textile chain. “As a reward you will receive a 10% discount voucher that you can spend in the shopping center,” Pascal adds. ‘It may seem like a small thing, but we are working on raising awareness. Of course, nice new clothes are great and make people feel good. But at the same time ensuring that your old clothes get a new purpose is even better. Especially when you also get an extra discount in return.’
Another striking initiative can be seen just past the Paris entrance, the water tap. Hydration is important and visitors to the outlet center do not have to pay for this. Simply refill your own bottle, free of charge.
Inclusivity
Amsterdam The Style Outlets also contributes in its own way in the field of inclusivity. ‘Every year we kick off the pride month together with Björn Borg with a fun and sporty event. Everyone can and should participate. We will also provide a nice gift. Last year it was a goodie bag. We also regularly offer space to novice artists and designers. They are often looking for a place or a stage where they can meet each other, learn from each other’s work and we are of course happy to contribute to that,’ Pascal emphasizes. ‘In this way we work locally, together with our brands and in our own way towards a more sustainable future. Where we can, we are taking big steps, such as with our buildings and the Breeam quality mark and in the field of ESG with the highest GRESB score for five years in a row. We are also doing more and more in all other areas and new sustainability initiatives are added every year.”
Source: fashionunited.nl
