INTRODUCTION
Who we are
Skyview Tower Systems (“STS”) is an engineering and operating firm that will specialise in selling and owning long-dated, high quality, viewing experience opportunities across a range of geographies and sectors. STS expects to generate attractive returns for investors and customers whilst seeking to create iconic installations of lasting value through thoughtful design and exemplary stewardship.
Within the group there will also be Special Purpose Vehicle companies (“SPV’s”) which will directly manage each individual property asset (Tower Operation), and to which this Group policy will also apply as appropriate.
STS’s primary responsibility is to deliver superior, competitive returns to its investors. Whilst striving to carve a track record of outperformance compared to other city attractions, STS, is committed to responsible investment, and will pursue a robust Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) policy to support its commitment.
STS aims to ensure that its ESG policy is appropriately applied and, where necessary, tailored to each installation that is offered to our investors or clients. STS will regularly review and keep up-to-date its ESG policies and related initiatives to ensure they remain relevant.
The policy
The policy will, necessarily, be implemented in different ways and to different degrees towards the various assets which STS envisages, to the extent that is feasible or possible. It is acknowledged that not all installations can follow all the aims described in this policy, due to the fact that we may be selling an installation to a third party, but we will apply our ESG policy in our own support of that third party.
Where we take the lead role we will specify our standards and encourage Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) to minimise the impact on communities, reduce waste and also carbon embodiment. Similarly where we manage an asset through an SPV we will monitor energy performance and work to reduce emissions and energy consumption through best practice with the aim is to continuously improve wherever possible.
This document outlines the overarching standards that STS aims to adhere to in relation to ESG issues. It acts as the blueprint for integrating ESG considerations into our investment, management, decision-making and transactional processes. It provides STS staff with ESG-related guidelines and principles to follow in their respective roles.
Department KPI’s will be focused around the consideration and progression of ESG policies and on site implementation which will continue and be expanded upon going forward.
In addition, this policy describes our commitment to maximising the benefits to our key stakeholders, including investors, clients, employees, and suppliers.
By applying the standards and principles in this document, we aim to:
- Recognise long-term horizons and ensure these are not compromised by meeting short-term goals;
- Ensure responsible operation to enhance and promote sustainable attractions; and
- Work where possible with the communities that our installations form a part of.
- Use this as a road map to how we will drive towards climate change obligations and targets.
COMMITMENT TO THE ENVIRONMENT
At Skyview Tower Systems (“STS”), environmental sustainability means minimising the environmental impact from our activities. Our priority is to design, deliver, operate and manage viewing attractions, via SPV companies within the STS group that are finished and operated to a high standard with minimal environmental impact. Our aim is for our assets to be built with a holistic sustainability view, making them adaptable to changing lifestyles well into the future.
STS recognise that sustainable management is not only in line with our commitment to responsible investment, but also provides long-term efficiencies and cost savings that can improve overall performance.
STS’s environmental sustainability focus areas and the related commitments and initiatives are outlined below.
Energy
STS aims to explore further pathways to improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions across our future product portfolio by:
Aiming to upgrade and replace appliances and systems with energy efficient options if feasible during all major refurbishments or renovations.
In our managed attractions, we will aim to reduce energy consumption to the lowest practical level commensurate with the operational needs of the company and to satisfy the current and future requirements of our visitors.
Waste
STS strives to achieve best practices in waste management by following the ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ waste hierarchy, avoiding purchasing materials that are unable to be recycled or reused, and diverting as much waste from landfill as possible. STS will also continue to undertake all reasonable precautions to avoid pollution and contamination from waste generated by the attractions we manage.
Through promoting MMC where feasible we will significantly reduce waste during the delivery period.
We will aim to undertake waste audits for all our attractions. By measuring and monitoring the waste produced by our towers, we aim to be able to more effectively manage and reduce waste.
We will aim to minimise waste directly produced at the operations we manage by engaging with staff around this topic and introducing incentives for changing behaviour if appropriate.
Water
We strive to minimise indoor and outdoor water consumption at all our operations. We will work to identify new opportunities for water savings. We plan to do this through: Measuring and monitoring water use at our towers.
Additionally, we will strive to prevent water contamination at our operations. It is important to us that all our employees and customers have access to safe, clean water sources.
Climate change adaptation and resilience
With climate change policies being one of the biggest challenges our society faces, STS is committed to ensuring that our operations are resilient, and our people are protected and prepared for a variety of natural disaster scenarios.
Within the overall built environment for which we are responsible, we will aim to minimise the impacts of extreme weather events upon our properties.
To do so, we aim to: perform sustainability due-diligence assessments upon all new installations, which cover items such as environmental and physical weather risk, energy and water efficiency and biodiversity. Look to improve upon these where items of concern are raised or identified.
Develop disaster management plans for the towers we manage.
Biodiversity and ecology
We aspire to minimise the harm caused to the natural environment by our company’s activities and to take advantage of opportunities to enhance the environment where possible. This will be done by integrating biodiversity considerations into our activities, identifying good working practices, and engaging with our partners to preserve the natural environment.
We will ensure our contractors source materials in accordance with our Brand Standards.
The materials used to construct and maintain our towers can have a big impact on the environment. STS aspires to perform life-cycle assessments on all new developments and aims to consider the embodied carbon of materials used in our tower installations to reduce our overall footprint.
COMMUNITIES AND WELLBEING
Social sustainability for STS means actively considering how our key stakeholders are impacted when making investment decisions. STS aims to take into account the interests of all our investors, customers, suppliers, contractors and the local economy. We will strive to always make a positive contribution, creating jobs in the areas in which we invest.
Suppliers and contractors
We will monitor and ensure our supply chain adheres to our business ethics, human rights, environmental product and on-site occupational safety standards. In doing so we will review the policies of our partners and their contractors where there is a direct link to our development sites.
Going forward, we will seek to integrate supplier sustainability assessment into our formal selection process.
Where possible, we will engage with local suppliers and service providers to stimulate local economies and foster job creation.
We aim to ensure that all our visitors are safe and secure at the installations we manage through SPV’s. We will evaluate all risks at the asset level and institute safety measures and procedures accordingly. We will strive to constantly improve our security measures and engage with our customers to make sure all safety concerns or issues are addressed promptly.
We will design and operate developments in a way that minimises security risks and maximises safety, for example by having in place robust system redundancy at all of our developments.
Community
As part of its Inclusivity and Diversity efforts, STS will aim to engage with charities which support people from disadvantaged backgrounds into the workplace. STS will do this through partnerships with charities and organisations, offering mentorship and work placements and experience where possible.
In order to understand what, if any, impacts our installations have on the socio-economic development of local communities, we will aim to develop specific Community Engagement Plans for each of our assets, taking into account the unique characteristics of each neighbourhood, focusing on community outreach and supporting local charities.
All of our assets will aim to commit to supporting a local charity, or other relevant organisations in some way.
We will strive to create aesthetically designed and functional installations to accent place-making in the local communities.
GOVERNANCE AND TRANSPARENCY
Skyview Tower Systems (“STS”) acknowledges that strong corporate governance is critical to protecting investors’ capital and ensuring that only the highest quality and most relevant investment opportunities are considered. As a result, STS will operate under a robust framework of policies and procedures.
STS is committed to ensuring rigorous governance in order to continue to operate successfully in the long-term. Ultimately, our aim is to become one of the most successful and sustainable attraction/viewing platform businesses in Britain. We recognise that this involves managing a variety of risks and materialising opportunities, both internally as well as for external stakeholders.
We believe that whilst financial performance is one of our key drivers, there must be a balance between financial success, contributing to society, and protecting the environment. To ensure we have an up-to- date understanding of key ESG-related risks and opportunities, we have committed to a regular review of this policy.
Governance processes
Our financial governance principles and goals include the following: Retaining our balance sheet strength in order to remain financially stable and deliver on all our commitments
- Achieving excellent returns on investor equity in accordance with the level of risk
- Develop sustainable operational assets
- Ensuring all suppliers and service partners go to competitive tender
Transparency and stakeholder engagement
STS is committed to collaborating and sharing information with our internal and external stakeholders, including investors, employees, suppliers and contractors, and national and local governments. Specific priorities and activities with regards to transparency and communication with the aforementioned stakeholder groups are described in the following section.
Investors
We aim to keep our investors informed about our business activity and performance. We believe that regular engagement with our investors will help to further ongoing investment into new projects, increasing value generated by our sustainability and responsible policies.
We are looking to establish new ways to engage with our investors on ESG matters and demonstrate that our approach to sustainability adds value to our business.
Employees
STS will actively work to ensure all our employees fully understand and engage with our efforts to improve our performance in ESG issues. To do so, we plan to provide staff with sustainability and ESG training.
We believe it is imperative that our employees feel they are able to influence the STS ESG framework and its outcomes. Accordingly, we welcome comments from all employees on our approach and formally invite feedback.
Customers
STS’s reputation amongst our customers will be critical to securing future sites and enhancing our reputation within our sector. To meet the commitments outlined in this policy and to provide our customers with high quality sustainable experiences, we will: Ensure transparency of our sustainability performance via our social media communication channels, and conduct periodic customer surveys.
Suppliers and Contractors
We will encourage the uptake of sustainability activities for our contractors and provide guidance in line with our ESG framework where requested.
National and Local Governments
STS will actively seek out opportunities to work with all levels of government to inform their approach to sustainability. This includes responding to Government consultations, liaising with Councillors on planning matters, engaging with Members of Parliament (MPs) and hosting visits to our sites.
We will participate in continued development of the sector by: Engaging with relevant industry bodies and liaising with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) relevant to our work where appropriate.
Contact information
Allan Lhermette
Managing Director
Skyview Tower Systems
Fieldhead Barn
Main Road
Sellindge
Kent, TN25 6EQ