Sonae Sierra receives Green Thinker Award

ortuguese retail developer sonae sierra is the winner of the first Green Thinker Award. The prize – a sculpture by Dutch artist David Veldhoen entitled Weight of Thoughts – was presented Tuesday evening to the company's CEO Alvaro Portela at a special ceremony held at EXPO REAL in Munich.
¶ ‘Sustainability during both the development and operation of our shopping centres is at the core of our strategy and we have been implementing this very systematically for many years now,’ Alvaro Portela, Sonae Sierra’s CEO, said in a reaction. ‘For this reason, we are not only extremely proud to receive the Green Thinker Award, but we are also particularly pleased that this award – presented for the first time ever – will further promote the environmental awareness within the international property industry.’



¶ In their report, the jury said they were ‘very impressed’ with the level of commitment to sustainability from European developers. Commenting on the 14 contenders, jury member Graeme Newell, professor of real estate investment at the University of Sydney, said that each one was doing ‘wonderful things’. ‘But what we were looking for is a commitment at all levels of the organisation that goes beyond straight compliance. Sonae Sierra is absolutely outstanding in all dimensions. The strategy comes through at all levels and is well thought-out.’
¶ The two other contenders which made it to the final round are UK-based Land Securities and Germany’s Hochtief Development, a subsidiary of construction concern Hochtief. ‘Land Securities is also clearly an international leader in the field of sustainability with a high level of commitment and eye for detail,’ said jury member Louise Ellison, research director at the Investment Property Forum in London. Rotterdam-based OVG won the ‘encouragement award’ for its innovativeness and multilevel vision. Newell: ‘It’s a small company, but it’s impressive what it’s doing. It’s doing some very good things. That should be supported.’
¶ The Green Thinker Award, an initiative of EXPO REAL in association with PropertyEU, honours the real estate development company with the greenest strategy in Europe. The green statements and photos of the CEOs and sustainability directors of the 14 contenders are on show at EXPO REAL at the Green Thinker Lounge.

Celebrating our new environmental awareness

REEN IS THE NEW COLOUR of the European real estate industry. In 2008, every self-respecting investor, developer and financier is actively thinking about its corporate environmental strategy. To be sure, some companies are further advanced in their thinking – and communication – on this subject than others. In fact, a small number were already developing green strategies long before Al Gore sounded the alarm bell in 2006 with his documentary ‘An Inconvenient Truth’. Others are more recent newcomers to the green property circle but are no less zealous in their mission.
¶ The Green Thinker Award is a direct response to the recent proliferation of debates, seminars and conferences focusing on sustainability issues within the European real estate industry. Over the past 18 months, there has not been a single real estate event which has not touched on the subject. While this is in itself commendable, it is not always easy to separate the serious ideas from the greenwash.
¶ The Green Thinker Award endeavours to do just that. Who are the Green Thinkers in the European property industry? Which green thoughts work well for a company and what can others learn from their pioneering efforts? EXPO REAL and PropertyEU have developed a unique research project that looks at the environmental strategies of the leading real estate developers in Europe. The aim: to pool existing thoughts and ideas on this very vital issue and steer the discussion in a clear direction.