Covenants
Corio’s views on strategy for and ways of doing business responsibly both at home and abroad are in line with the principles expressed in various international covenants. We consequently believe that signing covenants such as the United Nations Global Compact and subscribing to the principles of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reinforce our commitment to CSR. The principles of the Global Compact are discussed in more detail elsewhere in this chapter. The focus of the ILO is on ensuring that economic development goes hand-in-hand with social development by, for example, actively opposing discrimination in the workplace and child and forced labour and by campaigning for freedom of association. The OECD’s focus is on promoting trust between businesses and the societies in which they operate and the contribution that multinationals can make to sustainable development. Corio supports and is keen to communicate the principles of these organisations, as reflected in the CSR targets set for 2008.
When relevant, Corio will integrate guidelines, codes of conduct and activities based on these covenants and compiled by organisations such as the United Nations, the ILO and the OECD into our business activities. As the United Nations explains, ‘In this way, the private sector – in partnership with other social actors – can contribute to a more stable and inclusive global economy.’
Corio undertook various CSR activities within the economic CSR pillar in 2008. These included:
- Developing a reporting system in liaison with the engineering consultants DHV. The business units use this system to report on CSR issues relating to the shopping centres, such as the total amounts of electricity (in KWh) and water (in litres) used and the total volume of waste produced (in kg). The system also stores data on offices and the workforce, including various relevant personnel indicators and the number of kilometres of business air travel. It also provides information on distances commuted by employees, the types of fuel used and the number of kilometres travelled on public transport. The results generated by the reporting system create the required transparency and a basis for structuring CSR policy over the coming years.
- Actively participating in various non-profit sector organisations such as ICSC, ULI, NEPROM, EPRA and IVBN.
- Being a member of the sustainability committee of the ICSC (International Council of Shopping Centres; a global organisation, focussed on shopping centres and all stakeholders involved).
- Being a founding partner of the Dutch Green Building Council, thus providing expertise and financial support to help create BREEAM, a pan-European sustainability label (more information on this can be found in the separate box in the Environmental section).
- Corio España employees joining the Spanish Green Building Council.
- Training three Corio Nederland Retail employees as BREEAM specialists in order to improve shopping centres’ sustainability and their ability to respond to future developments.
- Taking environmental and social issues into consideration when developing a risk management policy within
Corio.
Source: Annual Report 2008, Chapter Corporate_Social_Responsibility, page 136 (PDF, 160 kB)
Add to My report