My summer internship at British Land: Reflections

Written by Ananya Sharma, BA Geography second year student who completed a summer internship with British Land.

My internship was created as part of the Euston Tower Development Social Sustainability scheme, where I worked with a brilliant team on several important projects. While the internship focused on work with the Development and Social Sustainability teams at British Land, we were able to gain an insight into many different departments within the company. It was the perfect way to build on my interests in social impact and environmental sustainability, and to experience how this works in practice.

Summarising the internship

Along with the 14 other summer interns at British Land, each located in a different department (strategy, finance, marketing, assets, business transformation etc), we were given the incredible opportunity to attend a range of talks and site visits. I learnt a significant amount about real estate and British Land as a company- specifically its values, and the business’ impact on both people and the built environment. For example, we attended a ‘Diversity in Property’ joint event hosted by Grosvenor, LandSec (and others) as well as making visits to many of British Land’s developments such as Canada Water, Broadgate, Regents Place and Paddington Central. Not only did this allow us to understand the complexities and innovation which goes into a development, but we were given the opportunity to showcase our newfound knowledge in a group project.

The group projects

In groups of 5-6 interns, our brief was to come up with our own development idea for British Land to invest in, and then present our proposal to a panel of judges. I really enjoyed this collaboration project, as it allowed us, as interns, to become a closer cohort, bounce ideas off each other and share our knowledge. We were able to apply our skills in a creative and innovative way which stretched our ways of thinking. Our projects had to examine a range of important aspects such as finance and profitability, sustainability (social and environmental), planning, and stakeholder engagement. My group’s project was known as the ‘Hammersmith Project’ and in line with British Land’s general aims, we proposed the creation of a mixed-use Science park in an area which suffers from social inequality and could greatly benefit from regeneration and development. We were extremely proud of our work as we felt it reflected our progress over our time at British Land.

Under the social sustainability team, one task we undertook was a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) skills research task. This task involved researching all the customers of Regents Place (the campus in which the tower is situated) and finding out more about their sustainability strategies and social impact work. From this, we then highlighted the key ways in which British Land could support these companies’ goals and social sustainability initiatives. We also identified the jobs and types of roles these companies were hiring for, the skills which they require, and identified local Camden organisations which could support this upskilling of local people. We presented our findings to the Social Sustainability team, and were delighted to hear that our research was beneficial to the Euston Tower Project. Another task I enjoyed involved defining, researching and categorising ‘Green Skills’. In addition to this, we identified local bodies/organisations, charities, and schools which assist in the development of these skills, and once again presented our findings in a concise and accessible manner which has assisted British Land in creating their own Green Skills initiative/scheme.

British Land’s approach to our perspectives

Lastly, I really valued the fact that the team at British Land were genuinely interested in our experiences, perspectives, and opinions about how the company operates and ways it could improve in the future. They were invested in getting us to expand our own horizons, experience new things and develop our own passions, which I really appreciated. For example, I was grateful for the opportunity to present on my past experience at COP26 and 28, which hopefully helped the team gain greater insight into what attending these climate negotiations was like, and how British Land could get more involved, especially as I am particularly interested in the intersection between climate theory and real life application.

Closing thoughts

It has been a privilege to contribute in a small way to British Land’s sustainability journey, and I have felt that over this experience I have learnt an enormous amount. I developed my understanding of the real estate industry, learnt what Green skills and ‘STEAM’ was, and how social value is calculated. I also understand what environmentally sustainable measures can be implemented to create a low carbon building and how to work successfully in a corporate setting- further developing my skills in presenting, collaboration, and innovative thinking, while also making friends for life. Thank you to British Land for this amazing opportunity and inspiring me to want to pursue a career in real estate sustainability. I would definitely recommend this internship opportunity!

Top 3 tips for finding an internship:

• Keep your LinkedIn profile up to date, and look out for relevant opportunities online
• Ensure applications, cover letters and particularly CVs are tailored for each company and position you apply for
• Research the company applied for thoroughly before your interview!

For example, when applying for a sustainability role, I will read the company’s latest ESG (environmental, social and governance) report.