Five REITs have been recognized for their efforts in corporate sustainability by the global environmental non-profit organization CDP, which named the companies to its 2021 Climate Change A List.
The REITs recognized were: AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE: AVB); Macerich (NYSE: MAC); Simon Property Group (NYSE: SPG); Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (Euronext: URW); and, Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR).
The A List showcases companies leading on environmental transparency and action, based on their annual disclosure through CDP’s climate change questionnaires.
CDP noted that the number of companies on the Climate A List dropped from 280 last year to 200 in 2021, as the consensus on what qualifies as climate leadership has evolved and the bar raised.
“Much of the low hanging fruit at companies’ disposal has now been utilized and more ambitious action is urgently required,” CDP said. Among other criteria, to score an A, companies must have robust governance and oversight of climate issues, rigorous risk management processes, verified scope 1 and 2 emissions, and be reducing emissions across their value chain. Most also now have well established emissions targets that have been approved by the Science Based Targets initiative, and evidence of targets which cover their scope 3 emissions, the organization said.
- Tim Naughton, chairman and CEO of AvalonBay, said, “we are committed to do our part, as a multifamily building owner and operator, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address the risks posed by climate change to the communities in which we do business.”
- John Rulli, chief administrative officer at Simon, said, "tackling climate change is an essential element to our business, and building a resilient economy. We're proud to be on CDP's Climate A List and recognized for our leadership in environmental transparency."
- Jean-Marie Tritant, CEO at Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, said, “we are very proud to be included again this year in the list of the best performing companies on climate change…while it is an important recognition, it more importantly drives us to go further and always do our best to enable Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield to be a force for sustainability and to have a positive impact in the community.”
- Kelly Meissner, director, sustainability at Ventas, said, “the business and moral imperative to preserve our planet has been a guiding principle of our ESG strategy for more than 10 years, and we are proud of this recognition of our climate actions and progress, which reduce risk and improve the efficiency of our portfolio.”