Retail property companies Unibail Rodamco Westfield (URW) and Ingka Centres have developed a new association which is designed to standardise how sustainability is measured across shopping centre portfolios.
The Sustainable Retail Index Association will bring together real estate stakeholders to promote the adoption of the Sustainable Retail Index (SRI) as a recognised industry standard, enabling landlords and retailers to work more closely together on environmental and social goals.
The initiative aims to provide retail landlords with greater visibility of tenant sustainability performance, helping them drive measurable improvements while strengthening transparency and accountability across the sector.
Sonae Sierra will also join the association, signalling wider support for the initiative among retail real estate operators.
The SRI itself is designed as a collaborative assessment tool, allowing landlords and brands to evaluate sustainability commitments across company strategy, product impact and operational performance. URW first implemented the index in 2023 and uses it across much of its estate.
According to Sylvain Montcouquiol, chief resources & sustainability officer at URW, the framework has already proved valuable in strengthening dialogue with retail tenants.
Montcouquiol said the index enables the company “to measure the sustainability commitment and progress of our retailers and engage with them on a tangible and analytical basis”, adding that working with partners to increase adoption would help “improve transparency and engage brands and retailers to transform our industry”.
For Ingka Centres, the organisation behind many Ikea-anchored retail destinations, the index also supports decisions around tenant mix and long-term destination strategy.
Vasco Santos, global director of leasing at Ingka Centres, described the index as “a valuable tool in strengthening how we curate and future-proof our tenant mix across our meeting places”. He added that it helps the company better understand and support brands contributing to “more sustainable and responsible lifestyles”, while encouraging transparency and continuous progress across its retail partners.
Ingka Centres has now deployed the index across its portfolio of 38 meeting places in 15 markets.
Data for the SRI is primarily supplied by sustainability ratings platform Good On You, which acts as the initiative’s lead data partner. Its independent sustainability data accounts for around 75% of the index calculation, drawing on more than 1,000 datapoints per brand across key social and environmental criteria. The remaining 25% is based on third-party audits of store-level practices.
Sandra Capponi, co-founder of Good On You, said the partnership is designed to enable stronger industry collaboration.
She noted that the retail sector cannot accelerate more responsible practices “without transparency”, adding that shared data and ratings can help guide “brand action, consumer choices and systemic change across the retail ecosystem”.
The association also benefits from technical input from WWF France, which contributes expertise to strengthen the methodology and transparency of the index as it evolves.
Read more about Ikea’s sustainability strategy
[image credit: Ingka Centres]
