Sustainability
Achieving sustainability requires a balanced approach in terms of which the use of resources, the direction of investments, the orientation of technological development and the consequent institutional responses are all applied with the intention of creating value over the long term. Sustainability covers all elements of business – people, environment, community, financial and capital.
Hyprop is committed to corporate sustainability and actively considers its social, economic and environmental responsibilities, implements ethical practices and good governance and understands its impact on the natural environment. We endeavour to concentrate our efforts to integrate sustainability considerations into every aspect of the business environment. Initiatives cover improving recycling initiatives, reducing waste and managing assets to be more energy and water efficient and reducing carbon emissions in line with national targets. We are also cognisant of the need to preserve and develop our human capital resources and to manage our financial resources in a prudent and responsible manner.
Reporting on our sustainability initiatives covers the holding company and our South African properties.
People
Human resources
Our human resources structure is designed to address the operational demands of our business in delivering our strategy. The head office is situated in Rosebank and management teams are deployed at our shopping centres ensuring efficient management, leasing and maintenance of our assets.
The company complies with employment laws and is committed to protecting human rights. Our code of ethics and disciplinary code are communicated to all employees.
We encourage our people to live by our core values and employee code that support a work culture that is transparent, respectful, non-exploitative, fair (especially with regard to compensation and benefits), dynamic, promotes open and constructive dialogue with management, involvement in decision-making, working conditions that are safe and an appropriate work-life balance.
Intellectual capital
Our business success is underpinned by the intellectual capital maintained in our human resources. This expertise is centred in the following areas:
- Leadership
- A strong leadership team, driving a culture of high performance
- Effective partnerships with customers, suppliers, business peers as well as sector and research bodies
- Asset management and transaction capability
- In-house asset management team (including directors and executive and general managers)
- Expertise in identifying new markets and opportunities
- Ability to conclude acquisitions, disposals and capital projects on time and within budget
- Funding
- Ability to raise finance on competitive terms
- Legal resources
- In-house legal expertise to manage risk and legal processes
- Monitoring changes to laws and regulations to ensure the group complies with its legal responsibilities and obligations
- Leasing structures
- Leasing, a core function of the business, is supported by regional and on-site skilled management teams
- Information and technology management systems
- Innovative systems provide reporting and a comprehensive overview of key portfolio metrics
- Real-time integrated property and financial management system
- Building management and analytical systems
- Constant equipment replacement plan to increase technology efficiencies
- Monitoring business performance, patterns and future trends
- Hyprop has a dedicated statistician to compile, evaluate, compare and interpret property and performance statistics
- Ongoing portfolio enhancement
- Constant improvement to deliver a positive, meaningful experience to our shoppers in a clean and safe environment
- Extensions and refurbishments anticipate and accommodate changing consumer habits and ensure tenant loyalty
Company culture
Core values and employee code
Our employee code focuses on creating a work culture that is transparent, respectful, fair, non-exploitative (especially with regard to compensation and benefits), dynamic, promotes open and constructive dialogue with management, involvement in decision-making and provides working conditions that are safe and encourages a work-life balance.
Employee relations
The national human resources manager is responsible for employee relations. An employee, disciplinary and grievance policy governs these relations and is available on request, in hard copy at each management office, and on the website www.hyprop.co.za.
Hyprop has no unionised employees and there was no impact on the business due to industrial or labour unrest during the year.
There were nine disciplinary cases during the year, primarily for misconduct, which resulted in five terminations of employment.
Engagement
Regular interaction with our employees is critical in creating an engaged workforce. We engage with our employees through several channels which enable communication from leadership, and forums through which our employees can provide feedback.
Employee forums Staff meetings are management team specific, driving collaboration across members of the management teams and the departments that operate at shopping centres. Human resource site meetings are presented by human resource management and include employment equity forum meetings. These meetings provide opportunities for employees to provide feedback and ask questions of leadership. Two human resource meetings per management office were held during the year. Employee self-service system (ESS) The employee self-service system is used to communicate all payslip, IRP5 and employee payroll information. The system integrates with the payroll and is used for performance reviews, leave applications and approvals. Company employee newsletter The newsletter encompasses information and input from all our management teams, highlighting achievements and company values. It is a valuable tool for communicating events to various management teams, communicating staff wellness matters, policy updates and staff information notices, and contains information about changes, challenges and staff appointments. Employee events Annual year-end functions that include long service and service excellence awards are held. Thirty long service awards were awarded during the year, including two awards for 30 years’ service with the group. Six Hyprop excellence awards were issued to teams or individuals who worked in an exceptional manner to complete an assigned task or that independently took on an improvement initiative supported by the company. Employee surveys Annual surveys ensure we identify and address any issues concerning employee morale, productivity and turnover. Two surveys were conducted during the year focusing on fair labour practices. Our fair practice survey indicated that 94,4% (target 90%) of employees currently feel that the company’s benefits, processes and policies are implemented fairly and in a non-discriminatory manner. The survey covered our recruitment and disciplinary process, employee policy implementation and HIV and Aids education. Our employee satisfaction survey indicated that 96,7% of our employees were satisfied with remuneration, company benefits as well as the work environment and facilities. The outcome of the survey confirmed that our employees value working within a team where there is mutual respect, trust and solid values that promote a diverse and talented workforce. We believe in leading by example and value the input we receive from our employees. Suggestions to improve value were discussed with the executive team and include optimising our tenant mix, improving communication and office facilities. |
Hyprop ethics line
The company values its reputation and recognises that over and above any financial damage suffered, fraud may reflect adversely on our reputation.Our aim therefore is to limit company exposure to fraud by taking firm and vigorous action against any individual or group perpetrating fraud against the company. We encourage our employees to be vigilant and to report any suspicion of fraud, providing them with suitable confidential channels of communication and ensuring sensitive information is treated appropriately. The company always expects employees to act with integrity, comply with financial regulations and to report concerns as soon as any impropriety is suspected.
The Hyprop Ethics Line, our anonymous tip-off line, is working well in conjunction with an external service provider, Whistle Blowers Proprietary Limited, and reports to the audit and risk committee. All employees are made aware of this facility and reporting is on an anonymous basis with feedback provided and action taken to remedy the matters raised.
During the year two calls were reported, investigated, and feedback given. Neither of the calls was of a serious nature.
Performance management meetings
The performance appraisal process is an opportunity for each manager and employee to reflect on an employee’s performance over a period, review whether previously discussed performance expectations and goals have been met, to discuss professional development opportunities and to identify opportunities to develop additional skills and knowledge to foster performance improvement and career growth. Additionally, the appraisal provides appropriate documentation to support any recommended merit increases and/or other performance-based awards.
Work days and leave
| June 2019 | June 2018 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total working days | 66 462 | 68 649 | ||
| Total number of working days lost due to absenteeism (sick, family responsibility and maternity leave) | 1 129 | 1 235 | ||
| Percentage of total days lost due to absenteeism (%) | 1,7 | 1,8 | ||
| Total number of days lost due to industrial action (%) | – | – | ||
| Percentage of total days lost due to industrial action | – | – |
Employee development and training
Training
Our training and development programme is based on the operational requirements of the business, and takes into account skills shortages in our industry and transformation imperatives.
Training needs are identified during employee reviews, while the group’s skills base is assessed to identify focus areas for training in the year ahead.
Our training strategy aims to:
- Enhance the company’s knowledge and skills base
- Enable employees to contribute to our business and growth
- Encourage further education to enhance competence in current positions and increase eligibility for promotion
- Support employment equity initiatives.
During the year, a combination of internal and outsourced training sessions covered the following key areas:
| Training spend (R) | June 2019 R |
June 2018 R |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leadership | 792 011 | 797 310 | ||
| Strategy | 748 246 | – | ||
| Business operations | 362 660 | 193 036 | ||
| Degree/diploma programmes | 143 450 | 96 144 | ||
| Green building principles | 95 850 | 116 635 | ||
| Leasing | 14 900 | 83 769 | ||
| Learnerships | 117 000 | – | ||
| Trade qualifications | 253 600 | 29 100 | ||
| Health and safety | 17 788 | 45 103 | ||
| HIV and Aids | 56 812 | 52 549 | ||
| Total training | 2 602 317 | 1 413 646 |
A strategy workshop was held following the appointment of the new executive team. The workshop included a detailed analysis of the corporate culture, values, team dynamics, a group SWOT analysis and development of the revised group strategy. Participants in this workshop included members of the investment committee, executive directors and senior executives in the group.
During the year we continued to promote and grow our graduate and trade qualification programme which has become a key element in implementing our employment equity plan. Twenty-two (2018: 18) employees are currently enrolled in various degree and trade qualification programmes. Green building and management principles focused on water and energy efficiency training and national lease training was presented in all regions.
| Training spend by race profile and gender (R) | June 2019 | June 2018 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Training by race | ||||
| African | 729 020 | 374 101 | ||
| Coloured | 139 431 | 116 076 | ||
| Indian | 173 682 | 66 488 | ||
| White | 1 560 184 | 856 981 | ||
| Non-South African | – | – | ||
| 2 602 317 | 1 413 646 | |||
| Training by gender | ||||
| Male | 1 686 986 | 614 981 | ||
| Female | 915 331 | 798 665 | ||
| 2 602 317 | 1 413 646 |
Succession planning
Succession planning forms part of the group’s risk management process, as well as being integral to the growth and development of our staff. Our primary objective is to identify key positions and ensure we have the necessary staff to cover these roles should the need arise unexpectedly; as well as to groom staff, including those from designated groups, for promotion. This is done by mentoring staff members and providing training focused on the requirements of specific positions, leadership training and development for senior management, technical and people skills training for management and junior management, and structured training for support staff.
This has proved effective with three out of the four internal placements from designated groups.
Transformation and diversity
Employment equity
Hyprop is committed to promoting equal opportunities for, and fair treatment of, all employees, regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, language and age. Our employment equity plan focuses on eliminating discrimination and implementing internal measures to redress disadvantages and remove systemic barriers faced by designated groups, in order to ensure their equitable representation in all occupational categories.
Hyprop’s current employment equity plan is for a five-year period (January 2017 to December 2021). The key objective of the plan is to ensure equal opportunities and fair treatment in employment, and that employees ultimately represent the economically active profile of the South African population demographic.
We are committed to:
- Creating and maintaining an environment that provides equal opportunities to all employees, with special consideration for historically disadvantaged groups
- Achieving equity in the workplace by:
- Promoting equal opportunities and fair treatment and eliminating any unfair discrimination
- Implementing measures to redress disadvantages in employment experienced by designated groups in order to ensure their equitable representation in the workplace
- Ensuring that recruitment and selection (when recruiting) are aligned with our business strategy and based on fairness, objectivity and competency, and seek to redress historical imbalances to achieve representation
- Training and developing employees or prospective employees through an effective training and skills development programme
- Prohibiting any medical testing unless required by legislation, or an inherent requirement of the job
- We understand that racial representation at all levels is required and we have implemented measures to ensure equal opportunities to grow in our organisation. These include revised recruitment policies, increased training and development opportunities and equal remuneration policies (as stipulated by section 6 of the Employment Equity Act).
For more information, please view the full employment equity policy and plan on our website www.hyprop.co.za.
Total number of employees (including employees with disabilities).
Reported in terms of the Employment Equity Act.
| June 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | Female | Foreign nationals | Total | |||||||||||||||||
| Occupational levels | A | C | I | W | A | C | I | W | Male | Female | A | C | I | W | Total | |||||
| Top management(1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 11 | |||||
| Senior management | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 21 | 26 | |||||
| Professionally qualified and experienced specialists and mid-management | 6 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 29 | 49 | |||||
| Skilled technical and academically qualified workers, junior management, supervisors, foremen, and superintendents | 7 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 17 | 12 | 6 | 19 | 1 | 1 | 24 | 15 | 8 | 26 | 73 | |||||
| Semi-skilled and discretionary decision making | 24 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 17 | 2 | 8 | 68 | |||||
| Unskilled and defined decision-making | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |||||
| Total permanent | 44 | 12 | 6 | 38 | 40 | 27 | 10 | 52 | 2 | 1 | 84 | 39 | 16 | 93 | 232 | |||||
| Temporary employees | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 15 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 12 | 0 | 11 | 39 | |||||
| Grand total | 45 | 14 | 6 | 43 | 55 | 37 | 10 | 58 | 2 | 1 | 100 | 51 | 16 | 104 | 271 | |||||
A – African; C – Coloured; I – Indian; W – White; M – Male; F – Female; B – Black (Black includes African, Coloured and Indian).
(1) Top management includes non-executive directors.
Health and safety
Our policy is to create a safe and healthy working environment, with procedures to manage occupational incidents and compensation claims, in line with legislation.
Scott Safe, who provides safety consultancy services to Hyprop, carries out a health and safety audit twice a year, in May and November.
We aim to:
- Provide a health and safety programme that is effective, of a high standard, and is continuously reviewed and improved
- Comply with statutory provisions for health, safety and environmental matters that affect employees, customers, contractors and the public
- Ensure that all employees are properly informed of their responsibilities for health, safety and environmental matters and discharge these effectively
- Encourage employees to participate in preventing accidents and preserving health
- Provide the resources and training to achieve these objectives.
Each management team is responsible for executing this policy on-site through its operations manager. At group level, the national facilities manager is responsible for biannual audit reports, drawing on submissions from each centre.
Construction projects have health and safety consultants appointed to represent Hyprop and monitor activities on-site. On large and complex projects, the contractor has its own health and safety officer managing contractor teams and subcontractors.
There were no serious casualties or injuries during the year at any of our properties or projects.
| Injuries on duty | June 2019 | June 2018 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Workmen’s compensation claims submitted | 3 | 5 | ||
| Serious occupational injury | nil | nil |
Health and safety training and awareness
The company is focused on informing and training employees on health and safety. Various initiatives were arranged during the year, including:
| Initiative | HIV/Aids | First aid | Fire- fighting | Stress management | Cancer | Healthy lifestyle | Injury on duty | Trauma counselling |
| Training by external suppliers | X | X | X | X | X | |||
| Health day consultations | X | X | X | |||||
| Information distributed via newsletters | X | X | X | X | ||||
| Employee awareness days | X | X | ||||||
| Voluntary testing and counselling | X | X | X | X |
HIV/Aids
HIV/Aids is a concern that could affect the wellbeing of our employees, leading to emotional distress, absenteeism, employee turnover and lower productivity. A formal risk assessment determined that the likely impact of HIV/Aids on the group is negligible. Hyprop does not have targets for addressing the direct impact of HIV/Aids, nor does it have strategies for addressing indirect business risks (e.g. effect on customer base/supply chain) as this risk is considered to be very low.
Our HIV/Aids policy provides guidelines on creating a non-discriminatory workplace, dealing with HIV testing, confidentiality and disclosure, providing equitable employee benefits, dealing with dismissals and managing grievance procedures. It ensures affected employees’ rights to confidentiality. Where employees willingly disclose their status, that is kept confidential. Hyprop offers counselling, acceptance and support.
Every year, HIV/Aids awareness days are conducted by professional nurses at each management office, with an external service provider providing voluntary counselling and testing. Employees are offered the opportunity to test for HIV, cholesterol, sugar and stress levels.
Environment
Although our business has a low environmental impact, we aim to continually reduce our impact on the environment during our daily operations. A key focus is on reducing consumption of natural resources where possible.
Management regularly monitor the execution, reporting and review of our environmental policy, culminating in an annual review by the social and ethics committee.
Hyprop’s environmental strategy aims to practically address the key environmental impacts of its operations, namely water, energy and waste. Our approach is informed by best practice, proven methods, ease of implementation, and the benefit-to-cost ratio of retrofitting green-design principles to existing buildings.
International benchmarking
Hyprop voluntarily participates in global environmental benchmarking programmes, and works to meet challenging targets. These include:
- CDP, which is the global standard for environmental carbon reporting and is the only international system for measuring, disclosing, managing and sharing vital environmental information necessary for building sustainable economies. Our CDP submission is audited by KPMG’s climate change and sustainability services division (sixth submission). In FY19 we achieved a B+ score (based on the new scoring chart that emphasises actions to mitigate climate change rather than just reporting on the carbon footprint). This is above average compared to our peer group.
- GRESB is an industry-driven index that assesses the sustainability performance of global real estate portfolios (public, private and direct). It is used by institutional investors to improve the sustainability performance of their own portfolios and of the global property sector (sixth submission). Hyprop’s GRESB rating is 56%.
- The MSCI Investment Property Database tracks and publishes related electrical and water consumption analytics (fifth submission).
Hyprop incurred no fines for non-compliance with environmental laws and regulations during the year.
| Hyprop environmental scorecard FY19 (baseline June 2013) | Target June 2019 |
Achieved June 2019 |
Target June 2020 |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Energy (kWh) | 233 926 214 | 235 336 930 | 230 630 192 | |||
| Water consumption (kℓ) | 749 048 | 857 014 | 850 000 | |||
| Waste recycling (volume) (%) | 80 | 81 | 82 | |||
| Scope 2 carbon emissions (tCO2e) | 24 657 | 26 706 | 26 171 |
Energy
Of Hyprop’s total annual operational spend, a large portion is on electricity (mostly consumed by tenants), making energy efficiency a financial imperative. We continue to implement a range of energy efficient solutions to better manage costs for the group and for our tenants, improve our environmental performance and reach our targets in this regard.
| Total electrical consumption | Target June 2019 |
Achieved June 2019 |
June 2017 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct non-renewable energy consumption (GJ) from diesel burnt | 88 050 | 79 430 | 86 560 | |||
| Direct renewable energy consumption (GJ) from solar PV | 15 880 | 13 801 | 8 444 | |||
| Direct energy consumption (GJ) from electricity consumed but not recovered | 98 968 | 99 859 | 106 312 | |||
| Indirect energy sold (GJ), i.e. electricity recovered from tenants | 748 245 | 760 191 | 857 872 | |||
| Electricity consumption (megawatt hours or MWh) | 235 336 | 238 700 | 267 828 | |||
| Energy consumption (GJ) – calculated | 847 213 | 859 321 | 964 184 |
GJ = Gigajoules
To monitor the effectiveness of these initiatives and year on year consumption patterns, we calculate our energy use intensity, as follows:
| June 2019 | 2019/2018 % change |
June 2018 | June 2017 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Energy use intensity (GJ/m2) | 1,20 | (1,63) | 1,22 | 1,27 | ||||
| Kilowatt hours per occupied space (kWh/m2) | ||||||||
| Retail | 332 | (0,6) | 334 | 345 | ||||
| Office | 151 | (21) | 191 | 275 |
Planned projects
We are investigating installing solar PV plants on six of our Gauteng mall rooftops in the new financial year. The return on investment is attractive and will allow us to mitigate some of the steep escalations in electricity costs.
Rosebank Mall – A project has been budgeted to replace the fluorescent lighting in the coves on level 2 with LED lighting. This will be more energy efficient due to the longevity of the LED lamps and will reduce the cost of maintenance.
Carbon emissions
For an accurate baseline, we determined the group’s scope 1 and 2 carbon footprint using the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) voluntary reporting guidelines and the revised reporting standard of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, the accepted international tool for government and business leaders to understand, quantify and manage greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Hyprop again participated in the CDP, submitting our audited carbon footprint for the year to June 2019, and achieved a B+ score. This is still considered above average and is above our peers (B- rating on average).
Hyprop’s carbon emissions
| Total carbon emissions (tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents (tCO2e) – calculated | June 2019 | June 2018 | June 2017 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total carbon emissions broken down as: | 268 658 | 261 323 | 280 990 | |||
| Scope 1(1) | 29 249 | 15 302 | 17 912 | |||
| Scope 2(2) | 26 706 | 25 160 | 27 942 | |||
| Scope 3(3) | 212 703 | 220 861 | 235 136 | |||
| Average volume of carbon emissions (scope 1 and 2) per hour worked (tCO2e/h) | 0,130 | 0,065 | 0,076 |
(1) Scope 1: all direct GHG emissions from diesel and fugitive refrigerant gas leaks.
(2) Scope 2: indirect GHG emissions from consuming purchased electricity in the common area.
(3) Scope 3: indirect GHG emissions from electricity that is resold to the tenants.
Carbon tax
Based on current advice, Hyprop will not be liable for any direct carbon tax under the proposed Carbon Tax law. Implementation of the proposed tax has been placed on hold.
Water
We continue to investigate viable opportunities to reduce water consumption, especially in drought-affected areas such as the Western Cape. These initiatives include installing water-efficient equipment throughout our properties, while improving our measurement and monitoring standards.
We rely on close cooperation from tenants and shoppers to reduce water consumption. We actively engaged with high water usage tenants in the Western Cape region on a weekly basis to ensure compliance with local authority water saving targets. For new developments, renovations and upgrades, water efficiency is one of the criteria in choosing technical equipment such as toilets, taps and dry condenser systems.
Two sites in the Western Cape now have access to borehole water. The quality of the water is being tested and the applications for extraction licences is under way. At The Glen, greywater systems have been installed to reduce consumption of municipal water.
Hyprop monitors bulk water consumption daily at centres to identify unusual patterns that might indicate leaks.
| June 2019 | 2019/2018 % change |
June 2018 | June 2017 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water measures | ||||||||
| Total consumption (kilolitres (kℓ)) | 857 014 | 13,2 | 756 615 | 1 028 094 | ||||
| Average volume consumed per hour worked (ℓ/h) | 1 948 | 6,6 | 1 828 | 2 236 | ||||
| Target for consumption, or reduction, against specific | ||||||||
| denominator (ℓ/h) | 2 300 | (1,2) | 2 327 | 2 350 | ||||
| Water use intensity | ||||||||
| Retail: kℓ per occupied space (m2) | 1,2 | 14,1 | 1,1 | 1,4 | ||||
| Office: kℓ per occupied space (m2) | 0,9 | 50,1 | 0,6 | 1,0 | ||||
| Total: kℓ per occupied space (m2) | 1,2 | 15,2 | 1,1 | 1,4 |
Water-efficiency initiatives
| Initiative | Objective | Current activities | Progress | ||||||||
| Smart metering | Improve consumption measuring and monitoring; identify leaks from unusual flow patterns | Bulk check meters have been installed at all sites except Canal Walk | Canal Walk is currently evaluating various smart metering systems | ||||||||
| Fire system water consumption | Identify leaks and illegal use of water | Save water and avoid abuse of infrastructure | South African and Nigerian buildings monitored | ||||||||
| Waterless urinals | Reduce water usage | Waterless urinals were installed at the food court at Woodlands Boulevard in the current year | Waterless urinals to be installed in the planned toilet upgrades at Canal Walk | ||||||||
| Low volume aerators | Reduce water usage at hand wash basins | Aerators fitted at all sites | Complete |
Waste
Recycling
In 2018, China announced that it would restrict imports of certain recyclables, including mixed paper – magazines, office paper, junk mail – and most plastics going forward. It is expected that this may have an effect on recycling in South Africa. Hyprop will consider alternative methods of recycling should the need arise.
Our approach to waste management aims to maximise recycling, minimise disposal to landfill sites and comply with legislation. Waste is collected from tenants and separated at a waste yard. All centres have suitable waste-segregation facilities. On-site waste management system information is regularly reiterated to tenants, and Canal Walk and Clearwater Mall have public recycling stations.
Hyprop is also looking into ways to compost large amounts of wet food waste. Two sites, one in the Western Cape and one in Gauteng, have started taking their wet waste to farms where it is used to grow protein. In addition, Canal Walk is piloting an on-site, in vessel composter which treats organic waste avoiding CO2 emissions and improves recycling statistics.
Waste generated by construction is disposed of in line with responsible management plans. For development projects, we adhere to applicable regulations and consider best practice to optimise the environmental quality of our construction sites.
In 2019, Hyprop recycled 80% (by volume) of total waste, down from 83% in 2018. While lower in percentage terms, lower group volumes reflect greater individual recycling efforts from our tenants. The target of 75% has been exceeded. According to our waste service provider, current market conditions dictate that a higher recycling target would involve an increasing cost and would therefore be less economically viable.
Areas of improvement during the year included improved source segregation from tenants, particularly for food waste, to prevent contamination of recyclables. Audits were conducted of tenant back of house waste source segregation at Canal Walk and this programme will be extended to other centres.
Total waste recycled (m3)
| Paper | Plastic | General waste |
Scrap metal |
Glass | Tetrapack | Organic waste |
Haz liquid |
Haz dry | Total | |
| 69 664 | 28 476 | 25 970 | 2 951 | 2 017 | 1 268 | 1 133 | 125 | 10 | 131 614 |
| June 2019 | June 2018 | June 2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total non-hazardous waste disposed (t) | 3 705 | 2 725 | 3 963 | |||
| Total hazardous waste disposed (t) | 43 | 32 | 51 | |||
| Total waste sent for recycling (t) | 2 692 | 3 683 | 2 851 | |||
| Waste sent for recycling (%) | 42 | 57 | 41 | |||
| Recycling | ||||||
| Number of loads ordered | 4 061 | 5 133 | 7 689 | |||
| Quantity of units collected (t) | 55 101 | 68 503 | 64 769 | |||
| Recycled (volume) (%) | 81 | 83 | 79 | |||
| Recycled (m3) | 19 040 | 57 537 | 55 692 |
Climate change
We have formally assessed the risks and opportunities presented by climate change as part of our annual submission to CDP and our group risk management process.
Key direct risks include:
- Change in temperature extremes – higher temperatures mean air-conditioning equipment will not cope in peak summer
- Sea-level rise – danger of flooding at coastal centres, notably Canal Walk and Somerset Mall
- Change in rainfall precipitation patterns – extreme rainfall can cause leaks and damage to tenants’ and Hyprop’s property
- Drought – successive droughts can lead to additional unbudgeted capital expenditure as was the case in the Cape region.
Environmental sensitivity
Canal Walk is in a biodiversity-rich area and is part of the greater Century City precinct, in a national wetland conservation area, Intaka Island. Intaka is an award-winning 16-hectare conservation area, rich in birdlife and indigenous plants. The precinct has an environmental management plan to which Canal Walk adheres: no sewerage, fertilisers, herbicides or chemicals are discharged into canals that run through the precinct; only biodegradable cleaning products are used for parking decks, walkways and walls to minimise water pollution. In addition, Hyprop contributes financially to the environmental management plan.
Hyprop will be participating for the first time in the newly launched South African Bio Diversity Project (BDP).
Our communities
Hyprop believes in engaging our society and contributing to sustainable projects within the communities that surround our properties. The Hyprop Foundation was established in 2013 to focus the company’s CSI programme on addressing identified needs in those communities affected by our business operations.
The foundation’s long-term vision is to ignite a culture of participation by our people and all stakeholders through sustainable initiatives that create value in the short, medium and long term by focusing on four key areas:
- Education
- Community upliftment
- Health and wellness
- Environmental upliftment.
The foundation’s budgets and projects are approved and monitored by the social and ethics committee. In line with the objective of involvement, funding is generated through a system of Hyprop employees and relevant stakeholders (e.g. retail tenants) contributing their time and resources to identified initiatives, with the value of involvement converted to a Rand value. Funding contributed by Hyprop for the year was R1,9 million (2018: R1,9 million).
All potential beneficiary partners are screened by the foundation’s management committee and Hyprop remains involved in each initiative past the point of inception. To identify meaningful projects and beneficiaries, it considers the measurable impact prior to resources being allocated. Employee engagement is encouraged at this stage of the process and employees are entitled to nominate projects and beneficiaries, which will be reviewed by the foundation management committee. The decision to proceed is based on the proposal’s alignment to our core business and the foundation’s stated objectives.
As in prior years, the foundation’s key challenge remains the overwhelming need for assistance and the resulting volume of applications, with the aid requested often exceeding available funding.
| Foundation beneficiaries | ||||||||||||
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Financial and capital
Details of how we have managed our financial capital to achieve sustainable long-term financial returns are provided in the Leadership Review and audited financial statements.