Interview: Center: MK drives sustainability while piloting the new platform platform

While much of the news about sustainability initiatives focuses on the work done by brands and retailers, shopping centers are also at the forefront of broader advances.

That can mean direct things such as specifying certain levels of sustainability for stores in their properties, careful brand healing and individual actions to build a more sustainable center and also to customers on board.

Associate with external companies that can help boost the echo approach of a shopping center is also key and one of the main destinations of the United Kingdom, Center: MK in Milton Keynes, has done so in a link with Stickerbook. It is an awareness platform of its kind focused on sustainability that is now piloting there.

Go to those who work in the center capable of using the platform to increase their consciousness and ecological actions.

Fashionnetwork.com spoke with Stephanie Glendinning, manager of retail relations in the center, about the initiative.

Fashionnetwork.com: What is Stickerbook and how is Center: MK using the platform?

Center: MK: Stickerbook is an online platform designed to make sustainability more accessible and attractive. Draw for complex sustainability issues in simple parts of the size of a bite called 'stickers'. Each sticker can be a video shortly, an article or an interactive challenge. Once completed, users can obtain accreditations, for example, the Green Foundation: Sustainable Built Environment, which has CPD certification.

It is exciting to be the first retail destination to launch it, and have worked closely with the platform to create custom tunts adapted specifically for Center: MK. One of the first was a personalized welcome sticker, developed by our team, to give the platform a more local and human touch. We have created stickers focused on our sustainability initiatives in the center, such as our green ceiling project, which includes planting, neutralizing carbon and hives.

We are also highlighting what our retailers are doing to support sustainability, so that others can learn and inspire themselves in their efforts. Ultimately, the central purpose of implementing the stickerbook platform is to educate and inspire, to improve commitment and participation around sustainability.

FNW: So what is the impact on your tenants and the general benefit for the center?

CMK: For our tenants, access to sustainability training is provided at the local level. The content is easy to understand, attractive and offers practical advice that staff can apply in the store.

But the benefits go beyond only training. Stickerbook has helped foster a greater sense of community within the center. It complements the work we are already doing through our retail application and the roles of commitment within our team, and is free for tenants and staff. All can participate, from the management and support teams of the center to the first -line retail personnel.

The most important thing is that he plays a key role in awareness, both about sustainability in general and in the specific efforts we are doing. It is a way of giving life to our ESG strategy in a practical and accessible way.

We have also created a healthy competition between stores giving quarterly awards to stores that collect most stickers.

FNW: How have the tenants responded?

CMK: The answer has been fantastic. In just the first two weeks, more than 900 stickers were collected, which exceeded our expectations. At the end of the first month, there have been more than 60 active users of our stores and the central team.

The team invited at 147 of our stores, including its staff, along with more than 120 of our central staff, to participate. That is potentially a few thousand people, and having seen an absorption of around 25% during a soft launch is encouraging and exciting. It shows that there is a real appetite for this type of platform.

Our team is measuring the commitment over time, which allows us to introduce a reward and an element of recognition. For example, highlighting the stores that have completed most of the stickers or have had the greatest participation of the staff. It creates a friendly sense of competition and pride and distinguishes us as a center committed to the support and celebration of sustainable action.

Stickerbook, especially a truly custom platform like ours, adds a new layer of value for tenants, something unique that has not been done in another part of the retail sale. It gives the retailers and their equipment a fresh and easy to use way to commit to sustainability in their terms. There is no pressure. The activities can take two minutes, five minutes, 10 … and can be completed over time.

FNW: And how does all this fit in its broader ESG strategy?

CMK: It plays a direct role in supporting our environmental and social governance objectives. As part of our broader approach to manage scope emissions 3, which includes tenant emissions, we are focused on helping our retailers to operate more sustainably. The more tools and resources we can provide to support that, the greater the general impact on the performance of the center as an asset.

It also creates awareness among staff at all levels. Often, the equipment of the store assume that sustainability decisions come only from the central office, but Sticulbook helps them understand the role they can play on the store's floor.

In addition, it gives visibility to the good existing practices. For example, H Beauty already offers bottles recycling and John Lewis and M&S take pre-love clothes to be sold or recycled, but Stickerbook helps amplify and share that initiative in a broader way so that others in the center can follow their example.

FNW: Will buyers who visit be directly or indirectly affected?

CMK: The initiative is part of our 'Little Things' campaign, which seeks to inform, inspire and involve our footprint of 22 million in environmental and social value initiatives. While Stickerbook is mainly aimed at our retailers and center staff, the benefits will also be extended to our guests. As the equipment becomes more knowledgeable and committed to sustainability, this awareness and enthusiasm are naturally transferred to the customer experience, from the conversations in the rate to the way in which services and products are presented.

The center houses a permanent exposure in the center that shows the full range of initiatives of the center that is continuously updated, and we are creating a sticker dedicated around them. So, although the platform is internal for now, the impact will be very visible to the public over time. Ultimately, it helps reinforce our history of sustainability and deepen our connection with visitors who value responsible retail trade.

FNW: As the first shopping center to apply this, do you want to keep it for yourself or is it important to obtain such initiative to other shopping centers?

CMK: It is very important [to do that]. The centers are great employers and if we all follow this simple and easy process, we could have a great impact very quickly. We recognize that conversation about sustainability can be a bit overwhelming. By breaking the opportunities in bite size pieces, you can follow your own rhythm and overtime to make incursions in key sustainability problems.