Simon: The Impact of Brick and Mortar Shopping

CONCLUSIONAND NEXTSTEPS

What’s Next?

By analyzing the broader, socioeconomic perspective, Simon has demonstrated that shopping centers have many positive impacts in their communities. Moreover, this report highlights how our shopping centers provide benefits from an economic, social, and environmental standpoint. Malls provide convenience not only through myriad retail and dining options for consumers, but also acting as “one stop” locations that provide additional destinations and services that help people save time, reduce their commutes, and reduce GHG emissions from transportation. And they offer a benefit, enabling socialization, play, exercise, fundraising, and even education through the diverse, community-oriented spaces they provide. Through supporting job creation, reinvesting in communities through circular flows of income to local purchases, and engaging and partnering with small and local businesses and suppliers, shopping centers also have a notable impact on both local and national communities and economies. Although shopping centers do use energy and water, and generate GHG emissions and waste, our properties also present an opportunity to reduce this impact—whether through innovative energy efficiency practices, waste reduction campaigns, use of water conserving technologies, or similar—while simultaneously highlighting opportunities for our retail partners and consumers to reduce their own environmental impact, as well. In summary, Simon continues to strategically invest in and improve its portfolio of properties, and these actions will have positive impacts on the communities in which we operate.

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