NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--During the International Council of Shopping Center’s (ICSC) annual RetailGreen Conference, the world’s largest commercial real estate association introduced its new Property Efficiency Scorecard, offering shopping centers an individualized way to benchmark energy, water, waste and recycling, and green operations. With consumer expectations trending toward sustainable technology and products, retailers are also looking for sustainable locations, and property owners are leading by focusing on how to reduce their environmental footprint and minimizing operating expenses. ICSC’s Property Efficiency Scorecard, the first step into truly transforming properties into a sustainable center, makes benchmarking easy.
The scorecard will allow property owners to benchmark their efficiency by inputting data−from one center, or an entire portfolio− online on energy use, water consumption, recycling and waste, and green operating practices. Users will be able to compare their center(s) to similar properties, and receive basic suggestions on how to improve performance, based on their results.
“Retail properties, especially large ones, need to have their own benchmarking metric, as existing benchmarking systems aren’t necessarily well-suited for the nuiances of the retail real estate sector,” said Rudolph E. Milian, SCMD, SCSM, senior staff vice president and director of industry best practices for ICSC. “The scorecard, designed by landlords, is just the first step to saving money and energy. It provides data and insight for property owners to see where improvements need to be made and then it’s up to them to take action,” he continued.
Enrollment for the scorecard will begin in January 2014, and payment is based on a $2,000 subscription per company and a fee ranging from $500 to less than $50 per center, depending on the number of properties subscribed. ICSC estimates that more than 1,000 properties will benchmark in 2014, and as sustainability performance becomes an increasingly higher priority, ICSC anticipates this growing rapidly over the next several years.
Founded in 1957, ICSC is the premier global trade association of the shopping center industry. Its more than 60,000 members in over 100 countries include shopping center owners, developers, managers, marketing specialists, investors, retailers and brokers, as well as academics and public officials. As the global industry trade association, ICSC links with more than 25 national and regional shopping center councils throughout the world. For more information, visit www.icsc.org.
