Our approach

Sustainability matters

Our vision is to drive leadership in sustainable real estate across our global organization. Our employees, in collaboration with our tenants and local communities, work to provide healthy and efficient workplaces—today and into the future.

Download our latest sustainability report

Letter from our global head of real estate

Bill McPadden

Our vision is to drive leadership in sustainable real estate across our global organization. Our vision drives our objectives. Our vision drives our commitments. Our vision defines the “what” and “how” of our sustainability program within Real Estate.

Our purpose is our people. Our purpose fuels our passion for creating more sustainable communities, and for creating a better future. Our purpose is the “why.”

Read the full letter here

Our approach to sustainability

We incorporate ESG considerations into each stage of the real estate value chain, from the development or acquisition of a building through to property management and leasing. Our sustainable real estate policy outlines our five sustainability commitments and details our key areas of focus. We then validate practices and performance through public reporting and industry benchmarking.

Our five sustainability commitments

The following highlight our achievements within each of our five sustainability commitments. The asterisk denotes a 2019 sustainability objective, which was set by our Executive Sustainability Steering Committee.

Minimize our environmental footprint

Certified 15 buildings to LEED^®, including the first Canadian building certified to LEED v4.1 in Ottawa
Increased our total certification rate to 81% of our global portfolio—totaling over 48 million square feet
Achieved our annual 2% energy and 1.5% water reduction goals as part of our five-year targets*

Promote responsible business practices

Achieved PRI Score of "A" in the Direct Reporting module
Participated in the United Nations Environmental Protocol Financial Initiative (UNEP FI) to evaluate the financial implications from climate change's physical and transition risks

Support health and wellness

Achieved Fitwel certification at 220 Bloor, which is located within our Canadian corporate head office campus
Developed an internal Fitwel certification guide
Pursued Fitwel health and wellness standard at five buildings*

Be accountable for our performance

Improved GRESB score, earning a Green Star ranking in all five submissions and three- and five-star ratings*
Improved our Sustainable Building Standards scores across all property types and met our 2019 office, industrial, and retail year-end targets*

Engage our stakeholders

Launched our internal Real Estate Sustainability Awards, which acknowledge the hard work and performance of our Green Champion community*
Rolled out an annual, portfoliowide tenant engagement calendar across our internally managed properties*

The way forward

Our executive Sustainability Steering Committee sets annual sustainability objectives that focus our efforts and outline key milestones in our strategy. The following are our objectives for 2020.