Grosvenor | Supply Chain Sustainability School

Creating Sustainable Cities

Grosvenor is one of the world’s largest privately owned property businesses. We develop, manage and invest in property in more than 60 cities around the world.

We contribute to their sustainable growth through our thoughtful approach to design and high service quality standards.

Our long-term outlook means we naturally think of our impact on future generations and seek to contribute towards the sustainable growth of the cities in which we are active. Grosvenor has a long history of stewardship, having looked after our London estate in Mayfair and Belgravia for over 300 years. We know that our success is linked to that of cities in which we invest. We also know cities are facing unprecedented challenges in the upcoming decades. Our approach to sustainability – the ‘Living cities’ element of our Group-wide strategy – states that we use our expertise as stewards (asset managers) of existing property, as place-makers (developers) of new projects, and as fiduciaries (fund managers) of capital to create value in the world’s top cities.

In order to implement this piece of our strategy, we developed eight ‘Living cities’ goals that describe the social, economic and environmental attributes that great, sustainable cities should offer and that enable communities to thrive now and into the future:

Good Governance
Economically Resilient
Healthy Environment
High Quality Place
Sustainable Resources
Strong Community
Climate Resilient
Connected

The model was developed with input from staff, stakeholders and leading city experts, including architect Jan Gehl, renowned for his ‘human scale’ approach. The interrelationships between the separate goals are key. Each goal encompasses a number of sub-goals and both goals and sub-goals are city-focused, holistic and interlinked. Our approach encourages our teams to start at the city level to explore these linkages, considering sustainable outcomes not only at the project level but also for the wider area. Our operating companies have adapted these goals to influence their strategies.

“Grosvenor’s expertise lies in cities where we believe the challenges of sustainability, including population growth and resource depletion, will be most evident. Continuously building our expertise and understanding of cities is a priority reflected in our Group-wide strategy. For this reason we are delighted to be a partner with the Supply Chain Sustainability School. The collaborative approach fostered by the partners and members will enable the supply chain to develop the knowledge, skills and expertise required to champion Grosvenor's vision of creating sustainable cities where people want to live and work.”
Kate Brown, Group Sustainability Director