In Mallplaza we are committed to carry out an environmentally friendly operation, including in this process our insertion in the territories and the implementation of our urban centers. We seek to be agents of change by implementing innovative actions for the protection of the natural environment and generating awareness in all our stakeholders.
Climate governance
In Mallplaza, within our governance, we have a sustainability committee, which is composed of the general manager, executive committee and ESG submanagement, who meet every two months.
This committee oversees compliance with the sustainability policy and monitors the objectives, goals and indicators of our ESG strategy, which involves social, environmental and governance issues, as well as defining the criteria for stakeholder relations.
Regarding environmental issues, the committee is responsible for overseeing and managing issues related to our Climate Action pillar, which is broken down into 3 areas: energy efficiency and carbon footprint, water efficiency, and circular economy and waste management.
Specifically, this Climate Action pillar is associated with 5 time-bound commitments specified in our ESG strategy, for which the committee defines the roadmap and is responsible for monitoring compliance with each one.
Environmental and Climate Change Policy
We seek to promote the sustainable development of our activities, reducing the adverse impact of our operation on the environment. In line with this commitment, we have an Environmental and Climate Change Policy that establishes the general principles that guide the behavior of Mallplaza and its employees in these matters. This Policy has a corporate scope, being applicable to Plaza S.A. and its subsidiaries in Chile, Peru and Colombia, and must be implemented and its compliance required to all employees.
The programs and initiatives that we implement are framed within the framework of this Policy, and cover aspects such as energy efficiency, reduction of consumption and waste, maintenance, etc.
Climate-related incentives
As part of the measures to move forward, Mallplaza defined climate-related incentives for the CEO, Senior Executives and Management. The KPI associated with meeting the regional carbon footprint reduction goal of scope 1 and 2 has a weight of 10% for the CEO and 15% for the Corporate Affairs Management and Operations Management. It is important to note that this KPI is linked to the annual monetary bonus, in addition to generating a relevant impact and forming a key part of our climate change management strategy. Mallplaza's KPI methodology includes the cascading of goals from management, which implies that non-executive collaborators from corporate affairs and operations management include the carbon footprint KPI in their performance evaluations. Finally, within operations management, collaborators (non-executives) have compliance with regional water consumption included in their KPIs.
Environmental Management System (ISO 14.001)
In Chile's 17 urban centers we have ISO 14001 certification - Environmental Management Systems (EMS). This international standard allows companies to demonstrate their commitment to environmental protection through the management of environmental risks associated with their activities, continuous improvement, and the training and awareness of employees regarding environmental impacts.
In the rest of the urban centers, we conduct internal audits based on ISO 14001.
Energy Management System (ISO 50.001)
Similarly, in the 17 malls in Chile out of the 25 at regional level (68%) we have ISO 50001 certification, which aims to maintain and improve an energy management system in an organization.
POLICIES AND DOCUMENTS
Focus on promoting climate action
Through our ESG commitments, we are moving towards more efficient, sustainable and circular management with a focus on climate action. To achieve this, we not only conform to international standards of continuous environmental improvement, proactively monitoring and managing objectives, targets and indicators in the strategic areas of the business, but we also have a comprehensive strategy based on three key pillars, each with clear, measurable and defined goals, which allows us to advance in our commitment to sustainability.
- Energy efficiency and carbon footprint
- Water efficiency
- Circular economy and waste management
1. Energy efficiency and carbon footprint
During 2023 we continued working on our short-, medium- and long-term roadmap to become Net Zero Scope 1 and 2 by 2035. We defined a 53% reduction in emissions over this period, at a rate of -4% annual regional average, compared to the 2021 baseline. In the three countries where we operate, we measure the carbon footprint we generate annually in scopes 1, 2 and 3, and these measurements are audited by an external entity. By 2023, we have achieved a 35% reduction in total Scope 1 + 2 emissions (market method) compared to 2021.
During 2024 and beyond, we will be in the process of validating our emissions reductions with science-based targets. Mallplaza has an important role and commitment in combating climate change, which is why we seek to align our targets with the reduction trajectories that limit global temperature increase to 1.5°C or well below 2°C. We can achieve this by meeting the SBTi criteria for ambition, duration and inclusion of internal sources and the value chain, through the presentation of a roadmap that defines the plan to achieve our commitment and, in this way, obtain SBTi validation of our objective.
We are also committed to operate 100% with Non-Conventional Renewable Energy (NCRE) in Chile, Peru, and Colombia by 2026 and to reduce the energy consumption intensity of common expenses by 22% by 2035, i.e. kWh/GLA, according to the 2019 baseline. By 2023, we will reach 90% in the use of electricity from renewable sources at the regional level (100% Chile, 72% Peru and 20% Colombia). On the other hand, in 2023 we decreased by 17% the energy intensity of common expenditure according to the 2019 baseline.
Energy efficiency
The energy efficiency initiatives developed during 2023 are detailed below.
Electricity generation
Currently, 4 of our Mallplaza shopping centers have been designed to generate their own energy, through photovoltaic panels. These are: Mallplaza Cartagena in Colombia, Mallplaza Arequipa in Peru and, Mallplaza Calama and Mallplaza Copiapó in Chile.
- Mallplaza Calama has more than 2,000 photovoltaic panels covering an area of 3,360 mts2, which generate electricity for the common areas - Mallplaza Copiapó has 1,920 panels with a nominal generation capacity of 816,000 kWh/year, which feed premises and common areas
- Mallplaza Cartagena has 3,269 panels covering an area of almost 5,000 m2, generating electricity for premises and common areas of the center.
- Mallplaza Cartagena has 3,269 panels covering an area of almost 5,000 m2, generating electricity for stores and common areas of the center
- Mallplaza Arequipa has 192 photovoltaic panels whose generation is used for lighting the galleries.
During 2023, these 4 centers generated a total of 1,656 MWh, representing 6.6% of the total electrical energy consumed.
Carbon Footprint
The following tables show the emissions generated by Mallplaza in 2023 for the different scopes in the 3 countries where we operate, together with the breakdown of scope 3 emissions by category. It should be noted that all these data are verified by a third party, in the following link it is possible to see the certificates.
POLICIES AND DOCUMENTS
To determine the indirect emissions in Mallplaza we defined five criteria to assess their significance: magnitude, influence, availability of information, transparency, and timeliness. In addition, we developed a Significance Matrix, where we evaluated the inclusion or exclusion of indirect emission sources. The exclusions were verified during the audit exercise, and it was evidenced that the exclusion criteria were met.
* The values presented in this web page on country scopes may have differences with the values presented in the 2023 integrated report document due to modifications in the verification process, since the closing dates of both processes occur at different times. However, the differences are within the acceptable margin of error.
2. Water Efficiency
At Mallplaza we are concerned about reducing water consumption in our operations. Proof of this is our alignment with LEED, EDGE and ISO 14001 certification standards, which require protocols in the use, disposal and discharge of water in urban centers operated by the company. We project a 30% reduction in direct water consumption intensity by 2025 compared to the 2019 baseline (m3/GLA). By 2023, we have achieved a 15.9% reduction in m3/GLA compared to 2019.
An essential part of our strategy consists of the continuous search for technologies and opportunities that allow us to implement improvements in the management of water used in our operations. Likewise, measuring our water footprint provides us with valuable information for more informed decision making associated with the optimization of this resource.
Mallplaza has implemented several actions, programs and initiatives to promote water efficiency in its operations:
Water consumption
The following table shows Mallplaza's regional water withdrawal, discharge and consumption for the years 2022 and 2023.
3. Circular Economy and Waste Management
Integral waste management focuses on incorporating circular economy concepts in operations, separating recoverable waste and managing it in a differentiated manner. In Mallplaza we plan to recover 60% of the waste we generate by 2025 as the beginning of the road to reach zero waste. By 2023 we will reach a 38.6% recovery rate at the regional level.
Recycling
At Mallplaza we promote the valorization of waste in our urban centers, carrying out an integral management promoting recycling and composting and making available to our visitors equipment for the collection of cans, Pet, coffee capsules, unused cell phones and clean points.
Hazardous and non-hazardous waste
The following table shows the hazardous and non-hazardous waste generated by country during 2023 with their respective treatments.
Sustainable construction
In 2015, with the construction of Mallplaza Egaña, we certified for the first time one of our urban centers under sustainable construction standards, achieving the highest category of this standard, corresponding to the "Gold" category. Since this achievement, Mallplaza has committed to certify all its new constructions under a sustainable construction standard, seeking to be efficient in the use of resources from the construction stage of our urban centers. Today we already have 6 LEED certified urban centers. Today we already have 6 LEED certified urban centers (Mallplaza Egaña and Mallplaza Copiapó in Chile, Mallplaza Arequipa and Mallplaza Comas in Peru and Mallplaza Manizales and Mallplaza Buenavista in Colombia), and we have another 2 urban centers certified under the EDGE standard (Mallplaza Arica and Mallplaza Los Domínico in Chile), both in the Advanced category.
On the other hand, it should be noted that Mallplaza buildings are not developed in virgin areas because the feasibility of a shopping center project requires population density, real estate development and road infrastructure. In addition, all projects are built based on the use of land approved by the authorities and strictly comply with the current environmental regulations of each country, which defines the standards regarding being able to develop new constructions only in authorized areas and that meet technical feasibility.
Additionally, it is important to note that the vast majority of Mallplaza's shopping centers have been developed and built in-house, the company has only acquired a previously existing shopping center. For this reason, the programs have evidently not focused on aspects such as due diligence or audits in pre-purchase phases, or in cases of alliances or joint ventures; nor the establishment of baselines in the pre-purchase or acquisition phase. Mallplaza's environmental programs and initiatives are focused on construction and operation, thus covering all the key areas of our business.
Good sustainable practices
At Mallplaza we promote environmental care, we implement concrete measures and develop specific guidelines to ensure sustainable practices among our business partners*, and we seek to raise awareness among our stakeholders, as well as build solutions together with them.
For this reason, during 2023 we are working on the "Sustainable Retail" initiative, which seeks to incorporate the actions that our business partners are generating in reuse, recycling and/or improvement of processes that allow energy and water savings in the manufacture of their products and resale.
In this way, we have met with more than 80 brands that seek to improve their procedures, with active campaigns and product lines associated with this objective, which are already available at their points of sale.
* Currently 0% of our new leases contain a cost recovery clause for structural improvements related to resource efficiency.
- Our contracts include a clause on compliance with current environmental regulations.
- We measure and report store energy consumption.
- We develop guidelines, definitions, and technical data sheets for the sustainable habilitation of the stores, under LEED criteria, such as the use of low water consumption faucets and LED lighting.
- We promote initiatives that seek to join commercial partners or tenants in a shared effort to achieve environmental results, as in the case of Plaza 0. Likewise, in urban centers where there are organic digesters, we coordinate with commercial partners the segregation of this waste in kitchens, differentiated collection and treatment.
Sustainable Store Fit-Out
At Mallplaza we encourage our commercial partners to take sustainability actions when fitting out their stores, through the "Architecture Manual". This manual defines the stages of the fitting-out process and the design criteria that the store must comply with. Within this manual there is the "Sustainability Guide for Commercial Premises", which is aligned with the company's ESG policies and strategy. The guide provides guidance on sustainability and energy efficiency elements that must be considered during the design, construction, and operation of commercial premises. In this way, the store project is reviewed to verify the use of LED lighting, water-saving flush valves and other items, such as climate control equipment with efficient technology. If the commercial partner fails to comply with the manual and the guidelines, it is not authorized to open the store and sell in the urban center.
Urban Revitalization
Mallplaza always seeks, through its value proposition, to revitalize urban areas in the territories where it is located, along with making a positive contribution to the communities.
An example of this is Mallplaza Cali, the company's most relevant project in Colombia, with 91% of its GLA commercialized, corresponding to greenfield growth. Mallplaza Cali stands out for its robust value proposition, bringing together the national and international brands most valued by people. This is strengthened by the entertainment proposal, deployed in 7,000 m2. To this is added the gastronomic segment, with the innovative format of "El Mercado", which integrates local, regional, and artisanal cuisine. It also has 13,000 m2 of public space, thanks to the park incorporated into the urban center, which adds to a unique architecture integrated into the environment, in a privileged location in the heart of the city. As for the contribution to the local economy, Mallplaza Cali will generate 1,600 new indirect and direct jobs, mainly for people living near the mall, in addition to the 1,400 jobs created during the construction phase. It should be noted that Mallplaza Cali was built where there was previously a parking lot at the Cañaveralejo bullring, which was used very few times during the year.
Another project aimed at revitalization is the Lifestyle project, a 21,600 m2 expansion of Mallplaza Vespucio, which is scheduled to be launched at the end of 2024. This space seeks to add value to the customer, transforming the outer area of the urban center, with a fashion mix, new gastronomic operators and new convenience services oriented to the large flows generated by the Metro stations, seeking to be a contribution to the city. The construction also considers the renovation of the access to the Bellavista de La Florida subway and the construction of a park of more than 12,000 m2 which will be integrated to the current Parque Vicuña, which will provide a new outdoor recreation area, becoming a great outdoor urban promenade for the community.
Climate risk management
Climate risks are managed within Mallplaza's enterprise risk management process. Risks of the following types are analyzed: acute physical, chronic physical, reputational, regulatory and legal, technological and market. The scope analyzed covers own operations, as well as the upstream and downstream value chain. See table with climate risks identified.
Adaptation to physical risks
During 2023 we made progress in the analysis of risks associated with climate change to identify and evaluate current and potential threats and opportunities that could affect our operations, as well as our assets and value chain in this area. In detail, as part of the project to implement the recommendations issued by the TCFD, we conducted an analysis in five urban centers (three in Chile, one in Colombia, one in Peru), where we applied the methodology for the survey and characterization of climate threats to prioritize them.
As a result, we identified the most relevant physical hazards to which our centers could be exposed and the effects they can generate:
- Extreme temperatures, which can generate: interruptions in the water supply (water shortage), power outages, intermittent cooling equipment due to overexertion, damage to the health of collaborators, fires in sites adjacent to some urban centers.
- Extreme rains, which can cause: interruptions in the water supply (turbulence in water catchment sources), power outages, damage to roofs, damage to equipment.
We are currently working on the survey of key controls for these specific risks, which integrate both physical and non-physical measures to be mitigated. It should be noted that the global climate change risk has been inherently assessed by Mallplaza so that, once the respective controls/mitigators have been reviewed, we can arrive at a residual risk result. With this, we will be in a position to perform the gap analysis with respect to the accepted risk appetite and, based on the result, define the action plans and associated priorities to be developed.
The action plans, in the case of the Physical Risk of Climate Change, are oriented to establish or improve the design and implementation conditions of the key controls around the specific risks identified and prioritized. The action plans must bring the residual risk to tolerable values or under the defined appetite, depending on the criticality of the risk, which will vary in the definition and implementation times of such plans.
Low carbon services
To offer a low-carbon service, we supply low-carbon energy to the commercial premises. Mallplaza purchases certified renewable electricity, in addition to investing in generating its own energy on-site with solar panels. In this way, we are able to help our customers (the companies that rent commercial premises in our mall) avoid the GHG emissions associated with the energy they consume. In 2023, 100% of Chile's operations had NCRE, while in Peru it was 72% and in Colombia 20%.
This represents 94% of total revenues. In addition, we estimate that we have enabled our tenants to avoid the emission of 63,962 tCO2e.