Biodiversity and Community Building: Creating a positive impact in our local environment
At SEGRO, we are committed to making a positive impact on the communities surrounding our properties. We express our responsibility for sustainability, biodiversity and liveability in the way we develop and operate. At the heart of this is our focus on enhancing quality of life and wellbeing in the areas where we are active.
SEGRO Netherlands - De menselijke maat
We take responsibility for our environment. These are not just fine words, we act on them. Our Responsible SEGRO framework helps us deliver on our goals and create meaningful impact. Alongside providing space for logistics, we also create space for local communities and nature. We make this tangible through our Community Investment Plan (CIP).
Investing in the community
Through the CIP we contribute directly to the liveability of our local surroundings, enriching the lives of people who live and work there. The plan is built on three key pillars: Employment & Social Connections, Healthy Workplaces & Wellbeing, and Sustainability & Economy. Together, these form the foundations for strong, sustainable communities where people can thrive.
The strength of the CIP lies in collaboration, with customers, employees, governments and social partners. Together we invest our knowledge, resources and time for the benefit of our communities. One of our Dutch partners is Team Sportservice Haarlemmermeer, which organises sports and physical activity for residents of all ages. SEGRO colleagues volunteer at these events, and we encourage our customers to do the same.
Another meaningful partner is Hart voor de Zaak, an initiative by the Dutch Heart Foundation (Hartstichting). The programme focuses on preventing heart failure by offering CPR and AED training. The more people know how to act in an emergency, the more lives can be saved. That is why we work together to organise training courses that are open to both local residents and employees of our customers, helping to make the community ‘heart-safe’.
Liveability and biodiversity
Liveability is also about biodiversity. At SEGRO Park Amsterdam Airport in Hoofddorp, we design our spaces to give flora and fauna room to thrive. We invest in green areas: landscaped walkways, planted seating areas for lunch or relaxation, flower-rich verges for butterflies and insects, as well as insect hotels and beehives. Together with biologists and landscape specialists, we are developing plans for further improvements. In this way, we actively contribute to biodiversity and the liveability of the park and its surroundings.
Making a difference across Europe
Our CIP in the Netherlands is part of a wider SEGRO initiative, adapted to the local context of each country in which we operate. In Germany, for example, colleagues plant thousands of trees every year. In Düsseldorf alone, 2,000 trees were planted in 2023 with the help of 80 schoolchildren, boosting biodiversity and community engagement.
SEGRO Germany also supports job placements for people with a distance to the labour market. In Italy, colleagues launched a volunteering programme to help tackle poverty in the Milan region, working in community kitchens and clothing banks. In the UK, SEGRO organises large-scale training and skills development programmes to help local people access employment.
Our people, customers and partners are the driving force behind these initiatives. More than 90% of SEGRO colleagues take part in volunteering, and over 150 customers are now actively engaged in CIP projects. Together, we are building a better future by creating sustainable, healthy and connected communities.