British Land’s Valuable 500 Commitment:
As one of the UK’s leading property companies, we create and manage places that reflect the changing needs of the people who work, visit or live in and around them – Places People Prefer. To achieve this, we embrace inclusivity at our places and in our culture. For our customers and our colleagues, we are open to all.
Our places
We create outstanding places where people want to work, shop, live and play. These are inclusive places where people of all abilities can thrive. No one should ever encounter barriers to entry, so we are working to build inclusivity in.
In partnership with the Business Disability Forum, we have reviewed architectural designs for one of our major office refurbishments, identifying opportunities to improve how we design and manage for ability inclusion. Local disability groups have also shared insights on how several of our retail destinations could become even more ability inclusive.
Building on these initiatives, in 2021 we commit to:
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Complete a full review of our Office Design Guide, adding a section on ability inclusive workplaces, going beyond Building Regulation requirements. These revised guidelines will be referenced in new British Land office developments and major refurbishments.
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Host an ability inclusive workshop for our property teams and suppliers, exploring insights from local disability groups around the UK.
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Conduct a review of our signage protocols at our places and websites from a pan-ability perspective and update our guidance for future commissions.
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Take further action across our portfolio to deliver excellent, inclusive customer service to all our customers. Our Hidden Disability Sunflower Campaign will continue to be promoted nationally and all suitable sites will participate in the Hidden Disability training.
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By 2022 we will have started our first major refurbishment incorporating our Office Design Guide principles for ability inclusive workplaces, and share lessons learnt across our business and supply chain.
Our people
We believe that inclusion is key to achieving business growth and sustainable success. That is why ‘bring your whole self’ is one of our four corporate values.
Our enaBLe network, launched in 2019, is building a pool of knowledge and support for our colleagues – from providing training in hidden disabilities to launching a tech buddy programme to help people get the right equipment for their accessibility needs. enaBLe members are also working with our property teams around the UK to support ability inclusion at our places.
Building on these initiatives, we commit to:
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Achieve Business Disability Smart accreditation for our work to create an inclusive and safe environment for everyone to thrive. Providing equal opportunities for all abilities in our own offices.
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Continue the roll-out of our Inclusive Technology Programme building on the success of our Accessible Technology Guide launched in 2020.
“Diversity and inclusion are central to driving innovation, understanding our customers and ultimately the success of our business. We work very hard to ensure that British Land is an organisation where people feel free to bring their whole selves to work. We believe that inclusion works best when people come together. So, we are engaging our colleagues, customers, communities and suppliers to put ability inclusion on the leadership agenda.”
Simon Carter, CEO, British Land