West End landlord Shaftesbury has become the first propco to partner with sustainability ratings company Good On You.
The aim of the partnership is to help guide Shaftesbury to take a more knowledgeable approach to selecting more sustainable brands and help its existing retail tenants to progress their sustainable practices.
The partnership, Good On You x Shaftesbury, will focus on providing information and tools to support Shaftesbury’s retail businesses across Carnaby, Soho and Seven Dials to improve their sustainability ratings, as well as provide a platform to profile their sustainability practices to consumers.
Recent data from Kantar reveals that sustainability is the most important topic that shoppers want fashion brands to show commitment towards, while separate research found that 63% of fashion shoppers want the brands they buy from to actively promote sustainability. This is being driven by Millennial and Gen-Z consumers, 90% of whom want fashion businesses to break down their environmental and ethical values for all to see, according to data from WGSN.
Samantha Bain-Mollison, Shaftesbury’s retail director, said: “This is the next step in our mission to build more sustainable communities. It will enable us not just to consciously collaborate with ethically conscious brands but to actively support and promote their positive steps towards sustainability.”
Tenants will have access to tools including Good Measures, a sustainability hub which gives brands a comprehensive view of their current sustainability rating and provides customised guidance on where and how to improve.
Tom Horne, founder of sustainable clothing brand L’Estrange, which has a boutique in Seven Dials, said the partnership offered tenants a “fantastic resource” to help “boost their sustainability credentials, better understand how to build circularity into their practice, and communicate the positive changes they are making”.
Shaftesbury, which said yesterday that it is on track to complete its £3.5bn merger with Capco this quarter, is working towards becoming a net-zero-carbon business by 2030 and being carbon-neutral for its own operations by 2025. Last year, it launched a fit-out guide to help its food and beverage tenants consider how they can make sustainable changes to their operations.
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