A Plan for Better
Aventus is Australia’s largest, fully integrated owner and manager of Large Format Retail centres in Australia.
As a major landowner, Aventus acknowledges the importance of playing their role in reducing the impact of their environmental footprint.
Head of Asset Management, Ruth Jothy explained, for them, being a community hub meant doing right by the communities they operate in.
“Last year our business undertook a materiality assessment allowing us to delve deeper and determine the issues that really mattered to our retail partners, shoppers, investors, and people,” explained Mrs Jothy.
“This assessment then led us to create our Plan for Better.”
The strategy was designed to ensure Aventus owns their impact and seek constant improvement in their business actions.
Consisting of two focus areas of ‘Better for People’ and ‘Better for the Planet’, the business targeted five areas of focus that resonated with their people and operations.
This process helped them to land on five key opportunities:
- Energy and Carbon
- Waste
- Community
- Diversity and Inclusion
- Safety and Wellbeing
“From an energy point of view, we knew we could identify efficiencies and increase our use of renewables,” said Mrs Jothy.
“To achieve this, we will rollout solar panels on our rooftops, convert all lighting to LED, and install electric vehicle charging stations across our portfolio.”
When addressing waste, Aventus recognised they could fast-track their impact by working closely with their retailers, suppliers, and contractors.
“Our philosophy was to leverage the partnerships we have worked hard to develop,” revealed Mrs Jothy.
“Many of our retailers, suppliers, and contractors had similar sustainability ambitions.
“Working together amplifies the benefits for all.”
Staff and shoppers provided Aventus great insight when creating the targets for Diversity and Inclusion, Community and Safety and Wellbeing.
Culture is their strongest competitive advantage and Aventus made certain that the targets served to further enhance this, improving both shopper and team experience.
The next step in developing the Plan for Better was holding the business accountable by setting smart goals to track their performance.
The targets create real impact across the five focus issues. These ambitious, but achievable, targets include:
Better for the Planet
- Energy and Carbon: Net Zero carbon emissions by 2028
- Waste: 80% Operational waste diversion from landfill by 2028
Better for People
- Community: Help 10,000 families in need by 2028
- Diversity and Inclusion: Achieve minimum 40% female gender representation across all management teams including leadership team and board by 2025
- Safety and Wellbeing: Implement “Better for Me” safety and wellbeing program by 2022
“Our Plan for Better sits at the heart of our long-term vision, guiding how we operate and how we think about our business.
“We look forward to sharing our progress on an ongoing basis as our strategy is delivered, further highlighting that we are a business that cares for people and the community,” concluded Mrs Jothy.
