MERLIN Properties Annual Report 2023

78 | Annual report | 2023 Development and operation of sustainable assets Integrating sustainability into each of the different phases of the asset’s life cycle has always been a priority for MERLIN: ACQUISITION OF NEW LAND OR BUILDINGS In the due diligence process for investments in land and buildings, MERLIN considers environmental and social sustainability aspects such as the property’s construction characteristics, the asset’s energy efficiency, alignment with the Group’s strategy regarding sustainable mobility, or the status of legal compliance and sanctions. Furthermore, as a starting point, the Group’s strategy is to prioritise the location of assets in urban environments as this in and of itself ensures that no ecologically critical or endangered areas will be affected. MERLIN is therefore committed to ensuring that: • 100% of office and shopping centre assets are located within 10 minutes/1 km of public transport. • 0% of assets are located in protected or ecologically critical areas. • 100% of acquisitions take environmental and social criteria into account. MERLIN has made progress fulfilling these commitments. For example, 100% of the Company’s offices and shopping centres are accessible by public transport and all assets are located in urban areas that do not impact protected or ecologically critical areas. MERLIN also continues to work on integrating environmental and social criteria in line with LEED and BREEAM certifications. DEVELOPMENTS AND REFURBISHMENTS Sustainability is a factor that enters into the design phase of MERLIN’s new developments and refurbishments, which raises the value generated by the project from the initial stages. The Company also sets sustainability requirements for contractors, certifies the assets of their projects based on sustainable construction schemes, and reduces and mitigates the negative impacts associated with the construction. In this phase, the Group replaces or installs resource-efficient equipment, systems and devices. MERLIN has implemented a new policy that makes it compulsory to calculate the embodied carbon footprint for projects worth more than EUR 3 million and assign an ESG performance rating to suppliers involved in projects worth more than EUR 150 thousand. The embodied carbon footprint of five projects was calculated in 2023. MERLIN is firmly committed to integrating sustainability into all stages of the life cycle its assets and performs Life Cycle Assessments for new building construction and refurbishment works. This assessment enables a comprehensive and detailed evaluation of the environmental performance of buildings taking into account all their phases, from raw material extraction to final disposition. This enables different design alternatives, materials, and technologies to be compared, contributing to more well-founded decision-making and optimisation of environmental performance