SHW’s Commercial Property Management Team has won a coveted Gold Award for Initiatives at the International CSR Excellence Awards, for the Swan Shopping Centre in Leatherhead, Surrey.
The International CSR Excellence Awards recognises ‘companies that have heart’ – responsible, caring companies across all business sectors that go the extra mile in their Corporate Social Responsibility activities.
The initiatives recognised in the Gold Award for the Swan Shopping Centre include:
Waste initiatives
- Minimising waste by reducing and reusing as many items as possible, including old furniture and shopfitting, and recycling anything cannot be used again
- Encouraging tenants to have recycling points within their shops for household items
- Using a local waste collector, reducing the number of miles needed to travel to collect the centre’s waste
- Collecting green waste from landscaping, which is then composted in a treatment plant in Petersfield, Hampshire and re-used in the shrub borders and beds on the landscaping contractor’s other schemes
New LED lighting
- The centre has moved from florescent lighting to LED lighting within the mall area and car park reducing energy and saving money
- In 2022 all lighting within the back service corridors will also be replaced making the whole centre 100% LED lighting
Electric Vehicle Charging Points
- In 2021, two electrical vehicle charging points were installed within the car park so that electric vehicles are able to recharge while visitors do their shopping
- Locals are also able charge their cars here over night if they don’t have access to convenient electric points at home
Other Centre initiatives
- Installing a water fountain to encourage visitors to reuse their water bottles instead of using disposable bottles
- Introducing reusable cloth shopping bags and refillable cups for our customers in centre giveaway days.
- The Housekeeping team are now using refillable cleaning spray bottles and their cleaning solutions come in smaller environmentally degradable packaging. This has reduced the plastic waste and packaging by over half within this area
Robin Howland, Partner at SHW, says: “We have worked very closely with the team at the Swan Shopping Centre to make their property work for them, for their customers and visitors to the centre and for the local community, exploring and implementing all opportunities possible to create a sustainably run centre. We are delighted that these joint efforts have been recognised with a CSR Excellence Awards and our work continues here at the Swan Centre and at our other properties under management.”
Councillor Claire Malcomson, Mole Valley District Council Cabinet Member for Climate Change, said: Congratulations to the whole management team at the Swan Centre! We are delighted that many of the Mole Valley District Council climate change and sustainability initiatives have been recognised by the International CSR Excellence Awards and we look forward to progressing many more in the future.”
