Environmentally, retail has a large carbon footprint, with bricks and mortar emitting significant operational and embodied carbon emissions. The design of new generation retail parks should aim to minimize the environmental impact of the building, through energy and water efficiency methods, use of sustainable materials and landscaping.

In Mechelen, Belgium, Mitiska opened Malinas retail park, which has been designed to be CO2 neutral and to achieve and ‘Excellent’ rating on the BREEAM scale. The park features a 1.2-hectare reed field, which also serves as a natural rainwater buffer, and over 200 native trees have been planted on site. The entire rear wall of the retail park is covered by an eco-green façade and part of the roof area is green. The roof area also features 6,300 solar panels which generate the equivalent electrical requirements of 700 families, with excess solar energy stored in an on-site smart battery.

Significant share of retail park stock in western Europe was developed over 15 years ago, which means that older schemes are in need of refurbishment and retrofitting, in order to improve their environmental performance. For example, The Leaf Shopping is a large re-development by Redevco in Belgium, which opened in 2018 and received a BREEAM Excellent rating. The development is based on the re-use of sustainable materials, over 50% of the total roof surface is green, while PV panels are designed to generate 60% of tenant’s electricity demand.

In France, the Climate and Resilience Act voted last summer, amongst others, aims to limit new constructions and favours refurbishment and re-purposing where needed. New retail developments are likely to be scarce in the future and instead we expect to see more redevelopment projects aiming to upgrade existing parks. Over half of the retail projects in the pipeline for the next three years in France are extensions and refurbishments.

COP26: DECLARATION TO COMMIT TO ZERO EMISSION CARS

During COP26 30 countries and some of the world’s leading automotive companies signed a declaration where they commit to phase out gasoline and diesel-powered motor vehicles by 2040 and replace them with electric cars and trucks. The declaration also acknowledged the need for a wider system transformation of road transport, to include and encourage cycling and public transport. 2020 was a record year for EV sales globally, against a backdrop of a declining overall vehicle market due to the global pandemic. Europe was the driver of growth in 2020, accounting for 43% of global EV sales. New EV registrations totalled 1.4 million with a total market share of 10%. This surge in European EV registrations reflect a number of policy measures and subsidy schemes for EVs as part of stimulus packages to counter the effects of the pandemic.