Grosvenor Property UK has launched a new framework to fully embed social impact into its corporate governance and daily activities.
The People Positive strategy, which is based on research by the London School of Economics and Simetrica-Jacobs, seeks to give Grosvenor the empirical evidence needed to ensure it is having a positive impact on the communities it serves.
After surveying more than 3,000 people across Grosvenor’s estates in Mayfair, Belgravia and Liverpool to find out what people want, need and feel about the places they inhabit, Grosvenor will focus on three strategic priorities:
- Improving wellbeing in the places GPUK makes and manages;
- Helping local economies thrive by championing inclusive growth and diversity; and
- Maximising the positive impact of our people and partners.
Social impact metrics, led by the research, will now be built into Grosvenor’s decision making to ensure the business considers and can assess its impact holistically.
“We want to have a genuinely long-term, positive impact on people and communities,”said Grosvenor Property UK chief executive James Raynor. “But this isn’t something we take for granted as an automatic by-product of what we do. Social impact will now be as much a part of decision making as commercial and environmental considerations – ensuring people and planet are at the centre of our business.”
The new framework has already identified a number of practical measures the business needs to take in its various landholdings. In Belgravia, for example, the firm is focusing on how it can provide more accessible green spaces and encourage more active travel.
Tor Burrows, executive director for sustainability and innovation at Grosvenor Property UK, said: “We were already doing good things but we wanted to make it more grounded in evidence so we could embed it in everything we do. This enables us to grow from what we think is good to do, to what we know is good to do.
She added: “The places we operate in have nuanced needs – there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to delivering social impact. Having baselined indicators of wellbeing and by listening closely to what communities want, we’re now able to prioritise and direct our resources more effectively. This will ensure all our actions, delivered through our places, people and partners as well as philanthropy are pragmatic, meaningful and contextual to that diversity of local need, maximising our impact.”
The framework will allow decision making at Grosvenor to have social impact at its heart.
“This will ensure all our actions, delivered through our places, people and partners as well as philanthropy, are pragmatic, meaningful and – most importantly – contextual to that diversity of local need,” said Raynor. “Ultimately, our People Positive approach is about making better informed decisions that help us improve how we’re supporting wellbeing and outcomes for residents, occupiers and local workers in the places we make and manage.”
Read the framework in full here >>
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