Message from
the Co-CEOs

The 2013 Sustainability Report provides a valuable record of Westfield's sustainability performance

Westfield Group is pleased to present its third annual sustainability report, a document which provides relevant information on how the company operates to reduce its impact on the environment, how it manages its staff and the economic contribution it makes to the community.

While key data from these three areas of activity has always been reported in various ways over the years the decision to publish a dedicated sustainability report was a major step towards providing increasingly accurate and analytical information. This has allowed the company to generate more meaningful information which can be used to make better decisions about managing our business, and at the same time provide stakeholders information in an easy-to-access and consolidated format.

Year-on-year comparisons are also made possible and each year we aim to improve the quality of information we gather and report. One of the factors that led to the decision to produce a sustainability report was that Westfield was already collecting and analysing much of the data for its own use, as well as participating in a number of voluntary programs related to sustainability. Increasingly over the past decade or so the company began providing this kind of information to governments and other authorities as part the global reaction to climate change and a desire to meet higher governance standards.

Examples of voluntary participation include the global Carbon Disclosure Project, an independent, not-for-profit initiative that manages the world’s largest database of corporate climate change information; and the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB).

The importance of operational efficiency has always been fundamental to Westfield which for more than 53 years has owned, developed and managed some of the most productive and popular large public facilities in our community. Over that time our objective has been to operate the business more safely, more efficiently, to use energy more wisely and to produce less waste.

The 2013 Sustainability Report, like those published in previous years, records the Group’s performance against a number of key indicators. Those indicators – which are the same as in the 2012 report – are those which have been identified as most relevant to Westfield’s business. Energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions are an important indicator, as well as water use, waste and non-environmental indicators relating to labour practices, safety, community and governance.

The 2013 Sustainability Report provides a valuable record of Westfield’s sustainability performance for investors, professional analysts and the wider community. But it is most valuable as a business tool for our management and staff, helping us to better understand our business and its impact on, and contribution to, our community. It highlights not only what we have done well, but shows what can be done better.

We invite you to review this year’s report as well as other information about Westfield here.