Driving Retail Recycling Success with Carrot
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About the client
West One is a landmark retail destination on Oxford Street, one of the world’s most famous shopping avenues. Originally established in the 1970s as one of London’s earliest shopping centre concepts, it remains a hub for international brands and local favourites alike. The centre comprises 23 retailers across six storeys and welcomes an impressive annual footfall of 22 million visitors.
British Land, which owns West One, is one of the UK’s largest Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) with a market capitalisation of around £4 billion.
The challenge
As part of its sustainability strategy, British Land is targeting a 70% recycling rate for retail and 80% for office by 2030. With a goal of exceeding an 80% recycling rate, the West One management team recognised the need for more detailed data, tenant engagement, and tools to embed sustainable practices across retailers of all sizes.
The solution
In April 2024, Carrot was introduced to West One following a recommendation by Churchill Group. After a successful pilot in November, Carrot for Tenants was rolled out across all retailers in December 2024.
Carrot’s award-winning digital platform provided:
- Tenant-level data access – empowering each retailer to track their own waste performance.
- Gamification features – encouraging tenant engagement and competition.
- API integrations – connecting waste data directly into West One’s sustainability reporting systems.
- Simple compliance tracking – helping retailers align with the UK’s Simpler Recycling legislation, effective March 2025.
The Results
Within just six months of adopting Carrot, West One achieved:
- Recycling rate increase from 49.3% to 65.9%
- 11.8 tonnes of landfill waste prevented
- 13% increase in recycling waste stream utilisation
The transformation was particularly visible at the tenant level. A fast-food restaurant tripled its recycling rate (from 15% to 45%), a pharmacy reached 86%, and a coffee chain improved from 41% to 72%—a clear demonstration of what West One now calls “The Carrot Effect.”
Making the change
The success was rooted in collaboration between Carrot, West One, and Churchill Group. Retailers received tailored training, ensuring sustainable practices became part of daily operations within three months.
While some underperforming tenants were initially hesitant, two key factors helped overcome resistance:
- Carrot’s ease of use.
- The new legislative requirement for improved recycling.
What the client says
“From early on, it was evident to the West One team Carrot was something that could work very well for us. The product addresses a critical gap in the market. It helps us understand how we—and our retail tenants—are performing against our waste management targets, and the benefits began materialising from month one.
Beyond tracking tenant-level waste, Carrot has also supported us in maintaining transparency with our waste service provider. Our next step is to leverage Carrot for internal corporate reporting aligned with our wider sustainability goals.”
– Cyrus Annan, Centre Manager, West One