Property is given SRI focus

An SRI strategy on commercial and residential property, including carbon emission cuts, has been announced by one of the world’s largest asset management companies.

Henderson Global, which has £8.8billion ($14.5bn) of property assets under management, has produced a Responsible Property Investment (RPI) plan to guard against risks in the property market.

It has set targets for the end of 2010 of a five per cent reduction in landlord-controlled carbon dioxide emissions, a five per cent drop in water consumption and a 15 per cent cut in waste sent directly to landfill.

The company believes a property portfolio with a strong sustainability performance will strengthen value and could lower operational costs and increase occupier satisfaction.

The strategy follows the completion last year of a sustainability portfolio analysis of Henderson’s UK holdings which covered 161 properties together worth more than £3.3bn.

A Henderson RPI report next year will detail the progress made under the strategy. Meanwhile, the company is extending the programme to study a sample of its French property assets.