Our Mission

At CastleCourt, we are committed to a GREEN future, operating in the most sustainable and responsible way possible. 

Rising to meet the needs of a changing world, we have embarked on a number of environmental, social and corporate initiatives, such as the opening of our ‘Bike Yard’ (a free and secure public cycle facility, housed in our premises), a three year program to change all halogen lighting on site to LED, and our community work to drive much needed blood donations in Belfast City Centre. 

Our ESG mission is continually evolving, and with that in mind we are making future plans to positively affect change.  At present, CastleCourt have a number of impactful projects underway, which you can browse below. 

EV Charging

Electric car charging is available onsite, with access from 7.30am – 12 midnight. 

The Tesla and Zappi EV-charging units are some of the few charging points available across the city centre, and at present are offered to customers free of charge. This is widely popular with commuters who are helping contribute towards a greener Belfast. 

LED Lighting

During the last three years, CastleCourt have carried out a program of change, overhauling all halogen lighting to LED. This project was incorporated throughout both the mall and the car park, and will allow the shopping centre to reduce energy costs by 10%. (note here for energy saving in terms of output?) 

A 48% Energy consumption reduction has been achieved since 2019, following various interventions including the LED replacement lighting in the mall.

The Bike Yard

‘The Bike Yard’ – a free, secure public cycle parking facility opened in CastleCourt’s car park, thanks to a partnership between Belfast City Council, CastleCourt Shopping Centre, and the Department for Infrastructure.

The Bike Yard can be accessed via the pedestrian access to CastleCourt Carpark from Gresham Street and Smithfield Market, opening from 7am – midnight. The facility can house 24 bikes and offers all-day on site security. Located within reach of City Hall and the new Ulster University campus, it’s in the heart of the city centre and accessible to all.

Belfast Deputy Lord Mayor, Councillor Michelle Kelly explains: “Opening the Bike Yard in partnership with CastleCourt is part of our Bolder Vision – an ambitious blueprint to create a more attractive, accessible, safer and more vibrant city.

“We’re passionate about promoting wellbeing for all, prioritising walking, cycling and public transport, creating lively, safe and green streets and removing barriers to movement between the city centre and surrounding communities. Providing secure cycle parking is another small, but important step to encouraging people to move away from relying on their cars to get around.

“The Bike Yard will benefit people working and studying in Belfast – as well as those visiting the city.  Along with our Active Travel Hub which we’re opening later this week at Cathedral Gardens, we hope to see more and more people choosing to cycle around the city – safe in the knowledge that their bike is secure while they work, study, or take some time out.”

Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd said: “I am delighted to see the opening of the Bike Yard, a great, free cycle parking facility. This will increase the opportunities for cycling to and from this city centre location and it supports my commitment to addressing the climate emergency and will also make a positive difference to wellbeing in people’s lives.”

Leona Barr, Centre Manager at CastleCourt Shopping Centre added: “With more people coming into the city on a daily basis, we’re proud to be part of the solution to allow for more sustainable travel with Belfast City Council. The Bike Yard at CastleCourt will be free of charge, and is housed beside the car park office, giving cyclists that extra peace of mind.” 

Waste

The total waste handled for 2023 increased by 7.2% against 2022 due to the change in main tenant base, with recycling rates for 2023 remaining static following the change.
Zero waste to landfill, of main tenant base, with the waste management contract currently out to tender with a view to identify methodology for increasing recycling rates beyond 2023 levels.

Community

At CastleCourt, we pride ourselves on being a community focused shopping centre, and strive to engage with, and support, the local community where possible.

Working with the community is a focal part of our ESG engagement and we do this through several avenues: 

1. NI Hospice partnership

CastleCourt have been working with, and supporting, the Northern Ireland Hospice for ten years at the scheme. The hospice provides vital services to communities in Belfast and across NI, and after many years of support with their own retail store in our centre, we were thrilled to host their hub for Elmer’s Big Belfast Trail in 2022. 

At CastleCourt, we provided a 6,000 sq ft unit to house a workshop for local artists across the summer months, who painted the Elmer statues. One finished, the unit was transformed into an information hub for NI Hospice, and a starting location for the trail. 

2. The Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children

As part of our community outreach programme, during the festive season the CastleCourt team and our resident Santa spend two days at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children completing bed visits with Christmas presents. This initiative is one which is close to our local community and customers, as CastleCourt has hosted an in-house grotto for 33 years. Our team prides ourselves on providing a quality and magical Santa experience, with many local families often sending us generational photographs from their CastleCourt grotto visits over the years. On our visit in 2023, CastleCourt and Santa delivered 300 presents to each baby and child in the wards, delivering a touch of magic to the local community at a time when they couldn’t come to us.

3. Cash 4 Kids

Every Christmas, CastleCourt Shopping Centre is the designated city centre drop-off point for Cash 4 Kids. This is a historic partnership we have with the brand, providing a safe space to leave your donations for the local charity. The in-house team work hard to facilitate daily / weekly deliveries to the Cash 4 Kids warehouse, and collect gifts from a wealth of local businesses also. Our marketing manager engages with the local community to drive this initiative, utilising a variety of local social media influencers to showcase the donation point and provide information on how CastleCourt will safely deliver the Christmas gifts. 

4. The Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service

The Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service reached out to our marketing manager, informing us that blood supplies in Belfast city centre were dangerously low, and they needed help from the local community. The NIBTS team struggle with hosting large scale donation clinics, as they don’t often have the use of a large space, and when they do there can be difficulties in funding the rental of the space.

CastleCourt offered the free use of a 6,000 sq ft space in the shopping centre for a community donation clinic, and helped to promote and market the session. The marketing team did this via community outreach – a newsletter sent to our strong email database, social media posts, retailer engagement, digital screens on the mall and posters at our centre entrances.

NIBTS were delighted that the clinic held in CastleCourt Shopping Centre in July 2023, was the first fully booked community donation clinic they had held in Northern Ireland since pre-covid.

In addition to this, the NIBTS team also informed us that they had the highest ever proportion of first time blood donators at the CastleCourt clinic – showcasing that we were helping them reach new members of the local community.

Since the initial session, CastleCourt have hosted two further clinics for NIBTS, and have a fourth booked for February 2024.

5. Maker Mall

“Supported artist workplaces” – a pilot project at CastleCourt providing space for visual artists with disabilities.

Where: Unit 59, second floor of CastleCourt – a fully accessible accessible unit for the artists with a disabled toilet, nearby lift and easy access from the car park

When: March 2023 – June 2023

What: A 12 week long project, with assisted workspaces for visual artists who need support and assistance to carry out their creative practice. The unit was open  3 days per week, with closed sessions to guarantee privacy and concentration.

Lead artist Bronagh Lawson said “Castlecourt was the perfect place for Maker mall, the amount of visitors coming and going who were really interested in our artists work really made it a pleasure to be there. It’s a great central hub in the city centre – I never realised the amount of people who flow through the centre on a daily  basis and the disability access was brilliant”

6. Young Enterprise

CastleCourt have been working with Young Enterprise since 2020, hosting various trade fairs for primary, secondary and university students. The trade fairs at CastleCourt raise awareness, build understanding and give students the chance to apply their skills and model their competencies through starting their own business.

This is an ongoing partnership, and we look forward to hosting young entrepreneurs via YENI in the near future.