Is the green building a corporate hypocrisy, or a tangible asset to the planet & society? A case study on Ada - the first mall to issue an ESG report.

The challenges

Let us start with an admission about the elephant in the room: there is no such thing as carbon neutrality or zero emissions when it comes to humans and their way of living. Unless we stop breathing, we emit CO2. Unless we all become vegans, domesticated livestock creates 15% of all greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). Livestock on EU farms alone produces more greenhouse gas than all of the bloc’s cars and vans taken together. Agriculture, forestry and land use contribute to 25% of total GHG emissions with as little as 2% average decrease expected to be achieved by 2030 by some of the greenest states in Europe.

Unless we return back to real horse power or healthy movement on bare feet only, transportation and electricity production are together responsible for some 50% of all GHG emissions. What about electrical cars and renewable energy sources then, you shall ask?! Well, they do matter (see the Way-out section below), but still their production - from batteries for storing energy to wind turbines and photovoltaic cells - depends on the so called rare earth elements (REE) and minerals like cobalt, lithium, nickel, graphite, copper, aluminum who need extensive mining activities and generate substantial pollution. This pollution, depending on the rather narrow list of countries REE can be excavated in (many of them autocracies or developing states - think of Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Peru, China, Russia), can create even more CO2 emissions than conventional vehicles’ production. Here we don't even go further into the ethical questions of work force human rights involved in the REE production and the inevitable contamination of local communities’ drinking water as lithium deep earth crust extraction often makes whole watersheds drop. Then of course there is the electrical grid you plug your electrical vehicles in - where this electricity comes from and how it is being produced?!

And now our focal point - buildings. Yes, you might have guessed correctly. Unless we voluntarily go back to the caves or find a way to make our physical bodies dwell in online houses only, buildings will be a major polluter. Currently they generate about half of human-caused CO2 global emissions.

The way-out

The devil, or rather in our case the salvation, is in the details. What genuine corporate and government green policies strive to accomplish is minimize, not cancel (as cancellation without de-evolution is virtually impossible) the fallout from human activity upon nature, human health and indigenous communities. At the end, renewable energy based economy and electrical vehicle, if managed as part of a wider holistic green approach, are smaller polluters than their current status quo counterparts.

Green energy sources, further investment into electrical and hydrogen transportation, safeguarding rights of the frontline communities, consumer awareness, curbing meat consumption and junk food, geopolitics of inclusions (as opposed to exclusions and extreme nationalism) and levelling of prosperity across the globe all come into play in securing a greener, safer and healthier future. And though it is a long and challenging play, it is better than the obsolete system of blind consumerism and fossil fuels' based industry, this author will argue. It is either that wake-up call, or the no-longer science-fiction-only apocalypses of natural disasters (remember those already routine news about summer mega-fires you get to side-hear each year) and viruses (exotic "livestock" markets in distant places will ring a bell here), or the rather elitist human colonization of nearby planets (yep, the same green vehicles’ aficionado and billionaire is already spending fortunes on the new human colonies in space).

The genuine green developer

Here comes the answer to the title. While a genuine sustainability-driven real estate developer recognizes that its buildings and their operations, as human life itself, will always harm the planet to an extent (as opposed to issuing hyped and insincere green reports full of superlatives), as properties inevitably need to, at the very least, take over a terrain from nature (just like our cities do on a larger scale), they will also build in holistic transparent and persistent mechanisms ensuring in the long run a minimum intrusion on the environment and maximum self-sustainability and social contribution during the building's operational cycle. For nature can accommodate us and, as evidenced by our evolution so far, doesn’t mind?sacrificing itself for us...up to a point. There is a point of no return where our irresponsible human actions and voracious commodification will inflict just too much damage for the planet to bear. This is why the Paris Climate Agreement as the largest international concerted effort, as well as broad but working ESG policies are so important. They all aim to avert the otherwise irreversible danger.

In that sense, the “carbon neutrality” or “zero emissions" from construction and buildings’ operations are policies signifying that the ramifications from our actions are as fully as possible counteracted by our contributions to nature and indigenous communities. The ways to go about this are plenty: using locally sourced materials, optimized installations for minimum resources’ utilization, renewable energy, smart data analysis, diversified marketing, upscaling and revitalizing city areas and infrastructure etc. With retail buildings the opportunities grow even more - from reusable fashion, to recyclable consumer products, to local farmers and designers' markets, etc.

Ada Mall's genes

We, at Ada Mall Belgrade, fought hard to build an 8-storey shopping center, on a challenging 10% denivelation slope, at the ruins of an abandoned old factory, currently hosting lavish live green facades, glassed skylights and elaborate multi-level landscaped rooftop gardens. We had to assume an important dual role, necessitated by our location: to serve on the one hand as a bridging "mediator" between the largest lake park in the city and the dense residential quarter (both flanking the mall), and on the other hand as a protective "mitigator" between the heavy-traffic road artery in front of the shopping center and the green residential area behind it. For that reason, the construction itself promised to be truly sustainable, utilizing as much locally sourced materials, as optimized resources and as little carbon footprint as possible, all acknowledged by the subsequent international LEED Gold Certificate for building and design we have been awarded with.

Ada Mall’s Contribution: the first shopping center ESG report

More importantly, we wanted to learn how to operate this remarkable building in a way that brings measurable results to the environment and local community. One thing we claimed to stay away from is the not so uncommon corporate practice of touting insincere green accomplishments to boost investment ratings.

While this learning curve is an agile ongoing process, we managed to develop some specific quantifiable tangible results, which are elaborated in our recent ESG report (e.g. reports showcasing that a company is governed by environmentally and socially conscious principles), thus becoming one of the first shopping centers in the region to issue one. From purpose-built rooftop wooden beehives hosting honey bees feeding on the green belt on and around the mall, to the enhanced non-potable water usage and smart lighting, to our in-mall library and study center, to fashion designers' hub and recyclable clothes’ collection points, we managed to consolidate efforts across different management departments in order to achieve some really great results:?

We strive to be a proactive part of our local community so that we help foster environment and social awareness, harness talent-empowering programs and build long lasting links between the different sectors of our society - from local artists, designers and writers, to schools, medical and spiritual practices, to inspirational speakers, sports aficionados and social institutions.

Hence, our marketing focused on innovative community engagement events, including hosting wine fests, local farmers' bazaars, monthly competitions among our municipality schools, meet-and-greets with local writers, creating one of the largest fashion and lifestyle hubs permanently hosting more than 100 local fashion designers, regular rooftop yoga and meditation classes, immersive scary playground with Hollywood-level visual and audio effects for hosting team buildings and group plays, and a myriad of other exciting opportunities.

Ada Mall's Pledge

Our mission is to inspire people to display freely their individuality, to help them develop their own creativity and passion for all “spices” of life – fashion, sports, cinema, the visual arts, literature, food discussion panels, work, meditation, educational activities and more – via providing a safe, innovative and green shopping and leisure ambiance. We strive to be more than a shopping center, more than a meeting place and more than a lifestyle destination. We want to be your home, your family and your friends even when you are away from them! From our unique tenant mix to our bespoke design, environmental programs and innovative marketing activities, all we do is to make you feel at home. And we believe that the way to do this is to be genuine with you, bold, chic, eco-friendly and …different, just like you.

You can read Ada Mall full ESG report on: