Amid all the sparkle at the Shopping Centre SCEPTRE Awards dinner at London's Dorchester hotel last month, The Meadows centre in Chelmsford won The Environmental Initiative of the Year award for its achievement of almost 100 per cent waste recycling.

The forecast consequences of climate change are, it seems, becoming a reality, and shopping centres were among the more prominent casualties of recent extreme climatic events in the UK.

Buildings create a lot of CO2, so let's have an initiative to reduce it. That, more or less, is what the new Energy Performance Certificates are all about.

Paul Cornes is chairman of the BCSC's sustainability task force. Formed a year ago, its job has been to get the BCSC Sustainability Charter off the ground, which aims to get all stakeholders in the shopping centre industry to address their sustainability impact - energy, waste, water and the community.

The global headquarters of Bovis Lend Lease at The Bond in Sydney is the first Five Green Star building in Australia. It has 30 per cent lower CO2 than a typical office building, and a four-storey sandstone wall provides passive cooling as well as acting as an air duct out of the building. Another Lend Lease building, The Gauge in Melbourne, has just opened as the first privately-owned Six Green Star building in Australia.

Shopping centres across the UK are upping their game when it comes to the cleanliness of their malls. Westfield Merry Hill and McArthurGlen's Swindon Designer Outlet were both congratulated for the cleanliness of their malls at this year's BCSC ACE Awards.

Environmental and sustainable activity in the retail sector is a high priority, with most major retailers making it top of their agenda.

Meadowhall is often deemed one of the most environmentally-aware malls in the country, with a number of unique initiatives ensuring the centre stands out from its rivals when it comes to sustainability.

Last month Bluewater launched new, highly sustainable, restrooms with a contemporary design - the first in a series of enhancements intended to reduce the centre's environmental footprint and maintain its position as the UK's premier retail and leisure destination.

A natural ventilation system, concealed behind giant floating sails, looks set to reduce the emissions normally associated with air-conditioning down to virtually zero at Glasgow's new Silverburn shopping centre.

There are multiple potential drivers behind the decision to refurbish, from simply refreshing and upgrading an ageing look, to defensive reasons when a new development arrives nearby. Whatever the driver, a refurb is generally about meeting contemporary retailing requirements (such as floor space and configuration) and modern fashions in terms of design and appearance, particularly given the latest research which shows that 'experience' is becoming all important to shoppers. And it is often a chance to extend and add floorspace, perhaps building over under-utilised spaces such as large outmoded service yards, or combining units to create more usable space.

Land Securities has become the latest property company to boost its green credentials by unveiling its environmental strategy. But in an implied criticism of some of its rivals it has questioned the increasing use of 'carbon offsetting' as a panacea to climate change.

British Land is to sell off a major slice of its 1.5 million-sq ft Meadowhall shopping centre in Sheffield. It is inviting a number of investors to take a stake in the scheme, but it intends to remain as the largest single investor and will retain the management of the asset.

Prupim has set up an innovative project called the Improver Portfolio – to examine ways it can reduce a ‘typical’ property portfolio’s carbon footprint while maintaining or even enhancing investment returns.

British Land, Europe's largest property company by assets and owner of Meadowhall in Sheffield, has pledged to become carbon neutral by the end of the next financial year. Other companies like Marks & Spencer have made similar promises, but what is startling about British Land's announcement is its very tight timescale. M&S, for instance, has given itself five years to balance its environmental books.

HRH The Prince of Wales will be visting Woking’s Peacocks shopping centre on Friday 23 March to open a travelling environmental exhibition which will visit over 50 other shopping centres in the coming year.

Shopping centre owners and managers are being urged to work in partnership with their tenants in order to reduce energy emissions and increase levels of recycling.