Broadgate
- Property overview
Broadgate is a 32-acre, fully-managed estate in the City of London, EC2. Following completion of 201 Bishopsgate and The Broadgate Tower in 2008, the Estate now offers 4.8 million sq ft of office, retail and leisure accommodation. The Estate is home to over 30,000 workers and is managed by an on-site team from Broadgate Estates, a wholly-owned subsidiary of British Land.
- Our use of resources
We introduced a series of initiatives to reduce energy use, all with a payback period of less than two years.
- At Exchange House, we installed energy efficient light bulbs in the emergency stairwells and linked the system to the fire alarm so that the lighting only goes on in an emergency.
- At 6 Broadgate, we installed energy efficient light bulbs and motion sensors, as well as improving how the Building Management System controls the heating and cooling systems.
- At Broadwalk House we installed air compressors for the air conditioning system. Next year we will be installing an ElectroFlow power conditioning system at 155 Bishopsgate, which is expected to reduce energy use by 8%, without any disruption to supply.
This year, we trebled the capacity of our rainwater harvesting system to 6,000 litres. The drainage system for the ice rink was also connected to the rainwater harvesting tank.
We recycled 38% of managed waste and incinerated 58%, diverting 2,619 tonnes from landfill and saving occupiers in landfill taxes. We also introduced a new collection service for dry recyclables and started a food composting trial with two retailers. At Exchange House and 10 Exchange Square, we piloted a wet and dry recycling scheme, increasing recycling by 20%. We also held a Recycling Roadshow to raise awareness and worked with occupiers to promote efficient use of materials. Glass waste reduced by 33%, largely thanks to occupiers changing how they provide water for hospitality. Next year, 92% of our retail occupiers have agreed to participate in a pilot scheme to recycle food waste.97% of fit-out waste was recycled at 201 Bishopsgate and The Broadgate Tower.
- Our customers and us
We have invested in improvements to public spaces and pedestrian links at Broadgate, as part of our development of 201 Bishopsgate and The Broadgate Tower. We have created more than an acre of new public space, including a wide glass-covered pathway and a new public square. The north-south links project will enhance pedestrian links within the Estate and provide a more direct and enhanced route between Shoreditch and the City, via Liverpool Street Station. Pedestrian access across Primrose Street has also been improved, with works carried out on our behalf by the Corporation of London. We recognise that these works have caused some difficulties to our occupiers over the past year. We are improving how we keep occupiers informed and working with project teams to minimise any disruption.
The overall feedback from our third independent customer satisfaction survey was positive. Our customers also identified some opportunities for improvement. Value for money is a clear priority. We will be consulting with occupiers to identify opportunities to reduce service charge costs, whilst maintaining essential services. We will also be seeking additional opportunities to communicate with our occupiers to improve our understanding of their needs. We have already provided customer service training to all our employees. In April 2009, we will be providing a workshop on The Lease Code and the Service Charge Code to our building management teams.
The new Crossrail station entrance at Liverpool Street will provide fast access and increased transport capacity to and from Broadgate. In 2008, we signed an agreement with the Secretary of State and UBS to ensure that works are carried out with minimum impact on our occupiers at Broadgate. We are holding regular meetings with the design team, utilities teams and UBS to achieve this. The Crossrail Bill received Royal Assent in 2008 and preparatory works started in 2009. Main construction will begin in 2010, with services opening in 2017. This year, we also carried out a Broadgate travel study and worked with the City of London to provide spaces for another 26 bicycles, with over 800 spaces already available on the Estate.
The Broadgate Environmental Working Group continued to communicate resource use performance and share best practice. The Group was established in 2004 and consists of representatives from British Land, Broadgate Estates and major occupiers. These now include Baring Asset Management, Deutsche Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, F&S Investments, Henderson Global Investors, Herbert Smith, ICAP, Royal Bank of Scotland, Société Générale and UBS. This year, we also worked with occupier cleaning teams to raise awareness of the recycling facilities provided. All six multi-let buildings at Broadgate won Clean City Gold Awards 2008 for managing environmental impacts. These are 155 Bishopsgate, 199 Bishopsgate, 6 Broadgate, Broadwalk House, Exchange House and 10 Exchange Square.
- Our communities and us
Broadgate continued to work with East London Business Alliance (ELBA) and suppliers to support local employment and skills. 80 of ELBA's Legacy 2020 JobLink candidates gained employment with cleaning and security contractors, GBM Cleaning, Lancaster Cleaning, Lynx Security and Shield Guarding. Broadgate Estates also appointed a candidate to the ice rink team to work throughout the winter season. Broadgate Estates set up and co-funded a three-year apprenticeship with Jaguar Building Services. The team also provided a number of free places on our first aid and safety training courses for people working with ELBA on local community projects.
We worked with local schools and colleges, with around 10,000 children from local schools skating free of charge on the outdoor ice rink. We also gave tours of the Estate to four groups of students, including a group of Estate Management students from Reading University, four students from Regent's Vocational College and 20 children from Burbage Primary School. The ten to 11 year olds from Burbage Primary were members of the school's Design and Technology Club, and particularly enjoyed their visit to the 201 Bishopsgate development. The students from Regent's Vocational College, who were studying Building Craft Operations, benefited from a presentation on career opportunities at Broadgate. Next year, we plan to join ELBA's Real Apprentice scheme, following the success of two placements we provided this year.Thank you to everyone involved in the visit to 201 Bishopsgate for the children from Burbage School. They had the most fantastic time and were absolutely buzzing when they came back to school. I really appreciate the opportunity this gave the children to visit something outside their sphere and to see a wider world.
Through our Together programme, the Broadgate team worked more closely with occupiers to support local causes. Occupiers donated toys to Community Links at Christmas, building on Henderson Global Investors' long-term support for the initiative. Broadgate occupiers also donated over 100 Christmas presents to the Clerkenwell and Finsbury Community Centre. Brett Scott, a Structural Engineer with WSP Cantor Seinuk, provided voluntary support to Shoreditch Trust as part of a project to install photovoltaic roof panels on nearby St John the Baptist Primary School. Several Broadgate occupiers participated in this year's Open House, giving local people the opportunity to go inside buildings to view their works of art and sculptures. In August 2009, we will be supporting a basketball tournament coordinated by ICAP. We will provide local youth charity, XLP, with free use of the Arena, for this three-day tournament, which will involve local young people competing together with City bankers.
Six volunteers from Broadgate helped out at the Clerkenwell and Finsbury Community Centre Christmas lunch. Volunteers from Broadgate Estates, Jaguar Building Services, Office Concierge and Principle Cleaning Services decorated the hall, served the lunches and spent time with the visitors. Next year, another team of Broadgate volunteers will provide 15 to 17 year olds with basic interview experience through the Head to Head scheme in Tower Hamlets.
The assistance of the lovely Broadgate volunteers on the day of the party made a huge difference in sharing the workload... Our clients were also, I feel, genuinely surprised and touched by the unexpected interest and support, and certainly enjoyed the opportunity of meeting and talking with new people.
This year, we continued to provide use of space on the Estate to community groups and charities, helping them to raise both funds and awareness. During the winter, we provided free use of the ice rink for the Sense in the City Ice Skate, raising money for deaf and blind people. In July, three display pods gave information on the London Festival of Architecture, which was part-funded by British Land. The architects of 201 Bishopsgate and The Broadgate Tower, Skidmore Owings and Merrill, also held a three-day exhibition of their works on Finsbury Avenue Square as part of the Festival. Broadgate Circle was one of the landmarks passed by walkers on the 18-mile London Night Hike, which raised over £200,000 for the charity Maggie Cancer Care.
We hosted and funded a creative arts project for 39 young carers from Hackney.
- Us and our suppliers
Two young staff from our cleaning contractor, Principle Cleaning, represented the UK at EuroSkills 2008, winning three gold medals. Fabio Silva and Sandro Nobrega gained gold medals for their roles in the Cleaning Services Team and Cleaning Operator Team, with Sandro also winning the Cleaning Manager title. Fabio and Sandro provide cleaning services at 6 Broadgate, 10 Exchange Square and Exchange House. More than 400 skilled young people from 30 European countries demonstrated nearly 50 trades, watched by over 50,000 spectators. At the British Security Industry Association Awards, Mohammed Saadi, Security Manager at Broadwalk House, won an award for Services to Customers.
British Land 2009. All Rights Reserved.
For our full Corporate Responsibility Report: britishland.com/crReport/2009