Essex earns “Green Star” in sustainability

Wednesday, October 19, 2016
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Here at Essex, we’ve always been big on sustainability, we just haven’t always been vocal about it … until now. Our first step toward publicly flexing our “sustainable” muscles happened earlier this year when we participated in the annual GRESB Real Estate Assessment for the first time.
 
The results of the 2016 survey were recently released, and we’re proud of the outcome: Essex has earned a “Green Star” for its sustainability performance, which is the highest designation possible from GRESB, and places us second among our peers in U.S.-residential-listed real estate companies.
 
E-Team, this is a HUGE deal! Leadership in sustainability grows more important every year, and GRESB measurement is a remarkably tough benchmark. This is quite an achievement, and every Essex associate should be proud of the work we have all done to achieve this level of performance.
 
Sustainability is good both for the environment and the company, and going forward, we’ll share more about our efforts with residents, investors and you, our associates.
For now, we’ll leave you with further details on the GRESB assessment below (pronounced “grezz-bee” by those in the know, which now includes you!).

 

What does sustainability mean for Essex? For Essex, it makes business sense and environmental sense to maintain good sustainability practices. Reducing our environmental impact also takes into account costs and efficiencies, creating value for all stakeholders: residents, associates and investors. This is being incorporated into our greater Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Strategy, as we focus on supporting great communities, optimal living environments and a positive workplace for our E-Team!

What is GRESB? The Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark is an annual assessment that measures sustainability performance of real estate assets around the world.

How does this survey assess sustainability performance? Annually since 2009, hundreds of commercial real estate organizations around the world answer survey questions regarding environmental, social and governance performance. GRESB asks quantitative questions about energy and water usage as well as waste and carbon output. In addition to environmental aspects, the survey also assesses employee training and development, among other key performance indicators.
 
How are we scored? Based on our responses to these questions, we earn a total score based on the dimensions of “Implementation & Measurement” and “Management & Policy.” Here you can see our 2016 GRESB scores along with the GRESB Average and Peer Average.

Why is GRESB important? GRESB serves as a sustainability benchmark in our industry and allows institutional investors to better evaluate our company against our competitors.
Our participation is also a step in the right direction toward sustainability disclosure, and signals that we operate to the highest possible standards in sustainability performance.

We also benefit by being able to better understand and improve our own sustainability performance.

Who are our peers? As we mentioned earlier, our score places us second among our peers in U.S.-residential-listed real estate companies. Equity Residential earned the top place in our category, and we scored ahead of AvalonBay Communities, Camden Property Trust and Post Properties. As participation is voluntary, other peers you’re familiar with but aren’t mentioned here may not have participated.
 
What happens next? We’ll continue supporting our CSR goals, which includes continuing to implement environmentally sound business practices that positively impact the environment while reducing costs through efficiencies. We think it’s important for people to be aware that our company and communities are green, so we’ll also provide communities with resources to better share this information with residents.

Questions, Ideas or Feedback? If you have any innovative ideas to improve our environmental or social performance, please let us know! Reach out to our Director of Facilities, John Broos, at jbroos@essex.com.
 
Where can I learn more? Check out the GRESB home page, and view the publicly available results of the 2016 survey here.

What have we done in recent years? What will Essex do in the coming years?
Reduced our environmental impact:
  • Essex has been tracking its environmental performance for all our multifamily properties for many years
  • We have a dedicated team in place to measure and improve the environmental impact and associated costs for energy and water
  • We have Green Building certifications in place for all our new development projects (LEED, Green Point)

Essex reached out to its most important stakeholders:

  • Employees - Organized the employee engagement survey, provided training and development programs, and continue striving to be a preferred employer providing great benefits
  • Residents - Resident satisfaction is high on our agenda. We will continue satisfaction surveys, and organize resident events to demonstrate that we care about their health and well-being
 Find innovative solutions to further reduce our environmental impact:
  • Install solar panels for many properties to generate renewable energy on-site
  • Introduce electrical parking facilities at select properties
  • Provide training and presentations to relevant associates on environmental stewardship
  • Have clear targets in place to reduce our energy and water consumption further by rolling out our Environmental Management System

 
Taking social engagement to the next level:

  • Actively inform residents about our environmental performance
  • Inform residents how they can reduce their energy bills and reduce their impact on the environment

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Monday, October 10, 2016 - 15:00

Last updated:
January 12, 2017