New tool provides insight into the progress of Westfield stores on their environmental transition
The operators of Westfield in the EU and US Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) today announced the creation of the Sustainable Retail Index (SRI) in partnership with Good On You.
The SRI will provide URW with insight into the sustainability commitments and performance of its retailers. The tool assesses retailers based on three criteria: company level ambitions and actions, product level efforts, and store specific practices.
Unveiling the new tool in Paris, URW boss Jean-Marie Tritant noted that “European consumers are more and more concerned about their environmental impact … they do not want to have to choose between sustainable and non-sustainable products.”
Good On You co-founder Sandra Capponi discusses Good On You’s contribution to URW’s Sustainable Retail Index.
About 80 per cent of the tenants of Westfield malls will be covered by the Retail Sustainability Index. Tenants individual ratings will not be made public. Instead, the Index will provide a score and a benchmark for each mall. URW will work behind the scenes with its tenants to lift their game, and optionally provide them access to Good On You’s groundbreaking Good Measures tool to help them understand and improve their score.
Mr Tritant told The Australian Financial Review that Good on You was known for its tough approach to assessing fashion brands, telling consumers which to embrace or avoid. But URW was tackling the challenge differently.
“We are not asking the people to do something, we’re not telling them what they should do,” he said. “What we are trying to assess is the level of commitment of the retailers in the environmental transition. It’s about, ‘what’s your plan?’”
The Good for You-designed index would give the tenants access to data and benchmarks, to help them meet their sustainability objectives, and allow for a discussion with URW.
“We are convinced that the brands that do not tackle this, at some point they will be out of business. Not because we have decided that they should be out of business, just because the consumers will have made their own choice,” Mr Tritant said.
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield is an owner, developer and operator of sustainable, high-quality real estate assets in the most dynamic cities in Europe and the United States.
The Group operates 74 shopping centers in 12 countries, including 39 which carry the iconic Westfield brand. These centers attract over 900 million visits annually and provide a unique platform for retailers and brands to connect with consumers.
URW is a committed partner to major cities on urban regeneration projects, through both mixed-use development and the retrofitting of buildings to industry-leading sustainability standards. These commitments are enhanced by the Group’s Better Places 2030 agenda, which strives to make a positive environmental, social and economic impact on the cities and communities where URW operates.
About Good On You
Good On You is fashion’s go-to source for sustainability ratings, trusted by leading e-commerce platforms to promote conscious products to millions of consumers around the world. Good On You’s vision is to use the power of consumer choices to create a more sustainable future. We make that possible through retail technology that’s changing the way people shop and our innovative platform Good Measures, the sustainability hub that helps brands improve their impacts.
Today, millions of consumers use our mobile app and web tools to check more than 5,000 brand ratings. Major companies, including Microsoft, FARFETCH, and URW, use our turnkey solution and rich ratings data—considering 1,000 data points across 100 key issues for each brand—to power a range of shopping experiences and sustainability initiatives. Good On You is endorsed by leading industry bodies and advocates, including Emma Watson.
Further information
- Good On You’s current Directory of fashion brands
- Information for partners interested in using Good On You data in their retail, product discovery or commercial property business
- Information for brands interested in using Good Measures to improve their Good On You rating
