Los Angeles, CA, Oct. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) – the global commercial real estate developer and operator of flagship retail and lifestyle destinations, including Westfield-branded shopping centers in the United States and Europe – has received the prestigious “Excellence in Green Power Use” Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). For 20 years, the EPA’s annual Green Power Leadership Awards have recognized America’s leading green power users for their commitment and contribution to helping advance the development of the nation’s voluntary green power market. The Award was presented to URW at the 2020 Renewable Energy Markets Conference held virtually on September 22.
URW was one of only four organizations nationwide to receive the Excellence in Green Power Use Award, given to EPA Green Power Partners demonstrating leadership in procuring green power from a utility green power product, a power purchase agreement, or a renewable energy certificate (REC) product. URW has purchased 124,000 MWh of clean energy in the form of renewable energy certificates (RECs) to address 50% of emissions from its U.S. assets in 2020. More than 54% of the company’s U.S. malls’ energy use is now emission-free due to the strategic deployment of on-site solar, purchase of RECs and green power.
Earlier this year, URW earned a “Top 100” ranking on the EPA’s National Top 100 list of the largest green power users from the Green Power Partnership (GPP), as well as ranking #23 on the EPA’s “Top 30” list for companies generating and consumer green power on-site. The EPA updates its Top Partner Rankings quarterly at www.epa.gov/greenpower/green-power-partnership-top-partner-rankings.
“For the entire team at URW, being recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is a point of tremendous pride and testament to our belief in the future of clean, green power,” said Paul Kurzawa, U.S. EVP Operations for Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield. “Today’s announcement is also a powerful validation of our Better Places 2030 CSR strategy to reduce greenhouse emissions 50% by the year 2030 in order to safeguard the communities we serve and protect our environment for future generations.”
URW’s global environmental sustainability initiative, “Better Places 2030”, commits the company to achieve a 50% reduction of its carbon emissions by the year 2030 globally, marking the first time a listed retail real estate company has launched a strategy of this scope and scale. The commitment includes direct emissions, indirect emissions generated from construction, tenant energy consumption and other property operations, as well as employee and visitor transportation.
For more information about URW’s “Better Places 2030” initiative and global CSR strategy, please visit: https://www.urw.com/csr.