Majid Al Futtaim Receives Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark ‘Green Star’ Rating for 8th Consecutive Year

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 18 November 2021: For the eighth consecutive year, Majid Al Futtaim, the leading shopping mall, communities, retail and leisure pioneer across the Middle East, Africa and Asia, has attained the ‘Green Star’ status from the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB), for implementing outstanding sustainability practices across its businesses. The company achieved GRESB scores of 85 and 88 for standing investment and development portfolios respectively. 

According to GRESB’s latest assessment, Majid Al Futtaim improved the performance of its standing investment portfolio, scoring 12 points above the GRESB average. The company performed particularly well in key areas such as as leadership, stakeholder engagement as well as energy and greenhouse gas emissions. Majid Al Futtaim’s score was bolstered by progress made against its 2040 Net Positive commitment. Last year saw the organisation record a 9.2% decrease in its carbon footprint and a 17.5% decrease in water usage across its operations, partly due to the impact of the global pandemic which has only strengthened our commitment to ramp up our efforts. It also generated nearly 17 million kWh of renewable energy, with 63% generated through its shopping malls alone – enough to power an electric car for 85 million kilometres, or the equivalent to driving over 40,000 times from Dubai to Riyadh and back.

Ibrahim Al-Zu’bi, Chief Sustainability Officer, Majid Al Futtaim – Holding, said: “We’re proud to maintain our GRESB Green Star rating for the 8th consecutive year, this is testament to our perseverance towards improving our environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance. We are more determined than ever to identify areas where we can enhance our performance, and as we look to the future, we are optimistic of the road ahead as we journey towards Net Positive, address society’s most pressing ESG issues, and play a key role in industry-wide transformation.”  

Majid Al Futtaim has a long history of working towards the effective and efficient management of resources. In 2018, as a part of the company-wide sustainability strategy, Dare Today, Change Tomorrow, Majid Al Futtaim established three focus areas: Transforming Lives, Rethinking Resources, and Empowering Our People. In 2020, Majid Al Futtaim Launched its Company-wide Circular Economy Strategy to reduce environmental impact further whilst driving behaviour change across the business and supply chain, aiming by 2030 to have all Majid Al Futtaim businesses operating with circularity at the core.

Majid Al Futtaim has been one of the first three signatories to the World Green Building Council’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment that states buildings must be net zero carbon in operation by 2050. And with the aim to continue supporting the global agenda, in 2021, the company joined the Business Ambition for 1.5 degrees and Race to Zero, and is looking to set Science Based Targets (SBTs), which will ensure its emissions-reduction targets are aligned with the latest science on what is needed to reach the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement.