1. Multidisciplinary Research Week
(17-22nd March 2013)
‘Delivering a sustainable retail environment:
a partnership approach between WestQuay Shopping Centre &
University of Southampton’,
by Simon Kemp, University of Southampton.

2. Delivering a sustainable retail
environment:
a partnership approach between
WestQuay Shopping Centre &
University of Southampton
Simon Kemp, University of Southampton

3. Retail:
a sustainable industry?
3

4. 4

5. Sustainability literate
consumers and the green
economy

6. Sustainability literate
consumers
• Sustainability literate graduates are those that have an
understanding of sustainability in the context of their
purchasing, destination, travel choices, and their
decision making processes in every-day life.
• Attitude and behaviour gap has shown that 30% of
consumers report environmental concerns, but struggle
to make the purchase (Defra, 2006)
6

7. Consumers and the
‘Green Economy’
• Sustainability literate consumers are critical in the
transition to a ‘green economy’.
• The UK government states the “whole economy needs to
be green”.
• “A green economy will maximise value and growth
across the whole economy, while managing natural
assets sustainably” (HM Government, 2011)
7

8. Curriculum embedded
Education for Sustainable
Development and retail:
ENVS6011 Environmental
Management Systems

9. Environmental
Management Systems
• Postgraduate module available on the MSc (optional) and
MEnvSci (compulsory) programmes
• Running in various formats since 1997
• Entire module content structured around ISO14001
• Previous version involved a fictional case-study company
• Academic year 2007-2008 first use of a local company to
provide the module case study to embed employability
skills
9

10. Pedagogic strategy
• Mixed strategy with a focus on active student participation
• No students with previous experience or training in the
subject area
• Emphasis on embedding employability, ESD and reducing
industrial environmental impacts throughout the module
by providing a consultancy service for the case-study
organisation
10

11. Pedagogic approach
• Project aims were achieved through the following methods:
– Lectures
– Formation of six consultancy teams of ~ six students
– Company site visits
– Fortnightly email correspondence with the company
(through a filter)
– Weekly progress and feedback sessions
– Team blogs and wiki sites
– ISO14001 certification audit
– EMS manual presentation to the board of directors
11

12. Example case studies
12

13. WestQuay Southampton
13

14. WestQuay background
• Owned by Hammerson plc and GIC
• 100 shop and catering units
• 33 acre site
• 74,500 sq m retail space – 5 times the
size of a football stadium
• Average of over 1 million visitors
per month – over 16M annually
• 4,000 car parking spaces
• Catchment of 2 million people within a
60 minute drive ~ £2.3Bn retail spend 14

15. WestQuay background
• Individual unit electricity supply
• Individual air-conditioning units
• Part of the Southampton District
Heating Scheme
• Individual unit water supply
• All retailer unit waste WQ managed
• Recycling rate of 30%
• Part of the Hammerson Corporate
Responsibility (CR) Strategy
15

16. WestQuay outcomes
• EMS manual to requirements of ISO14001
• WestQuay achieved ISO14001 certification – rolled
out to rest of the portfolio
• Reduced environmental risk
• Reduced utility costs
• Compliance with legislation
• Regional publicity in newspapers
and sector publications
• Winning (and being nominated for) business awards
16
• Competitive advantage

17. Student outcomes
• Direct professional experience
• Enhanced presentation skills
• Professional report writing skills
• Improved time management
• Practical application of theory
• Improved commercial understanding
• Practical experience of a growing area of employment
• Enhanced CV for all students
17

18. University & personal
outcomes
• Curriculum relevance
• Evidence of industrial engagement and reducing the
environmental impact of regional organisations
• Further participation in consultancy module spin-offs
• Continuing professional development to inform teaching
• Ongoing relationships for future student research projects
• Industrial partnerships in EU Framework 7 project,
Knowledge Transfer Project
• National Teaching recognition - HEA NTF 18

19. Extending the partnership

20. Partnership progression
• 1 ISO 14001 re-certification
• 6 ISO14001 certified systems across the portfolio
• 1 KTP Project & Associate
20

21. Knowledge Transfer
Partnership (KTP)
KTP
21

22. Knowledge Transfer
Partnership (KTP)
22

23. Partnership progression
• 144 staff completed IEMA certified training
• 1 Lead Auditor & 12 Internal Auditors
• 580 hours of training
• 62 student volunteers
• 2 Waste audits
• 2 MSc research projects
• 34 students trained as baseline auditors
• 56 Retailer Reviews 23

24. Retailer Reviews
• 38% provide some form of environmental training to staff
• 20% of retailers have tried to reduce water
• 61% have tried to reduce energy
• 41% of stores had fewer than 25% of their lights as energy
efficient models
• 0% had monitoring and measuring available on site
• 54% were interested in completing a full review
• 79% of retailers surveyed wished to understand how they
were doing compared to others – competition as driver? 24

25. Partnership progression
• 591 hours of student experience in business
• 166% increase in waste recycling
• 10% less carbon equivalent emissions than 2010
• 4% less water than 2010
• 1 Green roof
• 1 City wide BiodiverCity Group
• Hammerson: 3 UoS CES employees
• “Environmental Management Retailers Toolkit” 25

26. Toolkit
• Main output of the partnership: “Environmental
Management Retailers Toolkit”
• Aims to:
– reduce environmental utility consumption in units
– improve environmental awareness of staff and
customers
– alter supply chain decisions (HO concerns)
• Rollout across Hammerson portfolio
• Applicability in other sectors where Landlord owned
properties are dominant 26

27. WQ Environmental Impact
Headlines
•ISO14001
•166% increase in waste recycling
•4% less water than 2010
•10% less carbon equivalent emissions than 2010 –
onsite
•Responsibility for customer travel?
27

28. Environmental Impact
from customer travel
• Assuming 3 of 4 WQ journeys are by medium sized car,
with 3 passengers
• 4 Million car journeys
• Assuming average journey of 10 miles each way = 80
Million miles of customer travel per year
• Equates to 34.4 Million KgCO2 per year
28

29. Environmental Impact
from customer travel
• Assuming 3 of 4 WQ journeys are by medium sized car,
with 3 passengers
• 4 Million car journeys
• Assuming average journey of 10 miles each way = 80
Million miles of customer travel per year
• Equates to 34.4 Million KgCO2 per year
– or 0.034 Metric Tonnes per year…..
29

30. 30

31. Questions
• Is the focus of the project correct?
• Should retailers be changing sustainability attitudes from a
perspective of responsibility?
• Do you make sustainable purchasing decisions?
• Do you make sustainable transport decisions?
• How can we change consumer behaviour in addition to
attitudes?
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32. References
• Defra. 2006. Sustainable Consumption and Production: Encouraging Sustainable
Consumption.
http://www.sustainable-development.gov.uk/what/priority/consumption-production/consump
; accessed [1/11/06].
32

33. Any questions?
Simon Kemp
Centre for Environmental Sciences
University of Southampton
s.kemp@soton.ac.uk
02380 595868

34. Multidisciplinary Research Week
2013
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