In a special edition of the The REIT Report: NAREIT's Weekly Podcast, Fulya Kocak, NAREIT's vice president for environmental, social and governance issues, spoke with spoke with David Rinard, senior director of global sustainability at Equinix (NASDAQ: EQIX).
Equinix received the the 2016 Leader in the Light Award in the Data Center category. The awards recognize NAREIT Corporate Members for leadership and innovation in sustainability.
Rinard noted that many of Equinix’s customers are facing demands from the market to operate sustainably. That puts a premium on sustainability for Equinix as part of their supply chains. “We take that role very seriously for all of our stakeholders,” he said.
One way that Equinix is trying to address its sustainability performance and appeal to its tenant base is through the use of renewable energy. Equinix has made a public pledge to transition to 100 percent clean energy for powering its data centers. As of the end of 2016, the company has achieved a rate of 41 percent on average, Rinard said.
Rinard also explained some of the differences in sustainability objectives and expectations around the world. Equinix operates in 21 countries on a total of five continents. Some of the key differences include regulatory environments and the availability of green technology, he said.
“We tailor our strategies for the areas in which we operate,” Rinard said.
Kocak interviewed sustainability professionals representing the 2016 Leader in the Light Award winners at REITWorld 2016: NAREIT's Annual Convention for All Things REIT. Look for more special editions of The REIT Report featuring these conversations on REIT.com, including: