British Land: How to Boost Sustainable Procurement
By driving initiatives focused on the circular economy, ethical sourcing and slashing carbon emissions, procurement processes pave the way for organisations to mitigate their environmental impacts while adhering to stricter regulatory landscapes.
James Schuldenfrei, Senior Procurement Manager at British Land and Ginny Warr, Head of Procurement at British Land, highlight the importance of procurement and supplier partnerships in achieving sustainability goals, particularly in Scope 3 emissions reduction.
Their conversation comes after the property organisation launched a new approach to Scope 3 emissions across its supply chain.
Embedding sustainability in procurement
At British Land, procurement strategy is linked with the company's sustainability goals.
The company has set frameworks for responsible sourcing, focusing on lower carbon materials and ensuring suppliers adhere to socio-ethical standards through its Supplier Code of Conduct.
Besides embracing low-carbon materials, British Land is focussed on waste minimisation, material reuse and life-cycle carbon efficiency to anchor circular economy concepts within its real estate supply chain.
The organisation also applies 'material passports' in its developments—detailed inventories of materials used in a building to enable easier reuse.
Regarding British Land’s new approach to Scope 3 emissions, Ginny explains: “We’ve been working with our development suppliers to reduce Scope 3 emissions on our projects for over a decade.
"We’re now widening our focus on Scope 3 emissions from non-construction services.
"The industry standard approach has been to send out questionnaires to all suppliers, who then use their valuable time to fill them in. We wanted to find a better way, for us and for our supplier partners.”
“What then followed was lots of research, conferences and close collaboration with our sustainability team to develop a more efficient and, ideally, data-driven solution.
"Rather than asking every supplier for their exact emissions – which could return incomplete and inaccurate data and lead to misinterpretation – we’re using industry benchmarks such as CEDA and publicly reported carbon values such as CDP to identify our top emitting suppliers.
“We’ll then go deeper with these suppliers to understand the exact emissions relating to our procurement. Ultimately, this measurement will lead to management – opening conversations about what our suppliers are doing to reduce their emissions and informing our decision making.”
British Land's goals for 2030
British Land continues to work towards its 2030 Sustainability Strategy.
This strategy focuses on three main areas: Greener Spaces, Thriving Places and Responsible Choices.
By integrating ESG considerations across the business, British Land continues to focus on social impact, decarbonisation and ethical governance.
- 50% less embodied carbon at its developments
- 75% reduction in operational carbon intensity across its portfolio
- 90,000 benefit from education and employment partnerships
- £200m direct social and economic value enabled
- 100% of people working on their behalf paid Real Living Wages
- >40% women on the Board and in senior management
Ginny explains the importance British Land places on its suppliers: “Our suppliers are often the face of British Land for our customers, so it’s always important that they share our values and our passion for environmental stewardship, social responsibility, economic development and innovation.
“This is vital for us to achieve our 2030 Sustainability Strategy commitments – from decarbonisation and biodiversity to the real Living Wage and spending with SMEs.”
James says: “It matters to our customers too, who look for us to have sustainability high on our agenda because it affects their performance; when we cut emissions in the buildings they occupy, it decarbonises their own operations.
"Sustainability is also important to our joint venture partners and investors, who ask about our approach. We need to make sure our supply chain meets these expectations.”
SMEs and ethical procurement
British Land utilises ethical procurement to boost local economies and foster sustainability with a focus on SMEs.
Its commitment is evident in initiatives like the 'Really Local Stores' programme that offers affordable retail spaces to small-scale entrepreneurs.
The company plans to inject £100m into SMEs by 2030, with Ginny explaining, "Last year, we set a new 2030 target to generate £100m (US$129.3m) of direct economic value through our spend with SMEs.
Research shows that spending with SMEs generates more local economic impact than spending with large organisations."
James explains: “Our new approach to Scope 3 emissions and our sustained commitment to SMEs reflect how we’re curious and enterprising in this space.
"Hopefully, where we lead, others will follow.”
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