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Scope of resource use data

This year, we were responsible for resource use in the common parts of 92 UK and 13 Continental European portfolio multi-let properties, compared to 64 UK properties in 2007/08.

88% of our managed properties in the UK reported energy and water use data in 2008/09 (81 out of 92 properties), as well as 85% in Continental Europe (11 out of 13 properties). This compared to 89% of managed properties in the UK in 2007/08 (57 out of 64 UK properties) and 0% of managed properties in Continental Europe.

UK properties with a total common floor area of 997,747m² reported data in 2008/09, compared to 2,059,184m² in 2007/08. Continental European properties with a total common floor area of 152,294m² also reported data. The reduction in UK reported floor area was due to changes in our portfolio and in calculations of common floor areas for our retail parks. This year, to improve consistency, the common floor areas for retail parks were calculated on the basis of number of car park spaces.

24 UK properties reported waste management data in 2008/09, compared to three properties in 2007/09. This is the first year of complete waste reporting and therefore no comparisons have been made to previous data. Retail parks that only managed common waste, such as litter collection, and not occupier waste, did not report data this year, as data was not available from contractors.

This year, we identified that gas use across our office portfolio has been reported for occupier parts as well as for common parts since 2004/05. An estimated 90% of carbon emissions across our portfolio arise from energy use in occupier parts, with the remaining 10% arising from common parts. We have corrected gas use data for our office portfolio to reflect this 90:10 ratio, including previously reported figures. We will continue to work with environmental experts and our managing agents to ensure that our resource data is accurate and comprehensive.

Year-on-year comparisons of our performance are not straightforward because of variations in the portfolio of properties owned and managed. Reported resource use can therefore be affected by transactions as well as by changes in use. To meaningfully review performance we compare the performance of properties managed this year to their performance in our baseline year of 2004/05 and to last year, 2007/08. We refer to these as our 'like-for-like' properties. This year, there were 21 2004/05 like-for-like properties and 39 2007/08 like-for-like properties.

The type of resource use reported varied, reflecting the variety of services provided in those common parts.

• 81 UK and 11 Continental European properties reported electricity data
• 30 UK and 11 Continental European properties reported water data
• 27 UK and 2 Continental European properties reported gas data
• 24 UK and 0 Continental European properties reported waste data
• 0 UK and 1 Continental European property reported oil data
• 0 UK and 1 Continental European property reported geothermal heat data.

During the 2008/09 reporting period:

• 27 managed properties reported energy and water use data for the first time
• 8 managed properties that reported energy and water use were sold
• 5 new properties that reported energy and water use joined the managed portfolio. These comprised newly purchased properties and development projects achieving practical completion
• 2 new properties that reported waste data joined the managed portfolio.