Daniele Horton, founder and principal of Verdani Partners and head of sustainability at Parkway, Inc. (NYSE: PKY), joined REIT.com for a video interview at NAREIT’s 2017 Leader in the Light Working Forum at the Hilton Austin in Austin, Texas.
Parkway’s portfolio consists of the Houston-based assets that were spun off into a new REIT following last year’s merger between Cousins Properties Inc. (NYSE: CUZ) and Parkway Properties, Inc.
One of the biggest sustainability challenges related to the merger and spin-off was the amount of building-specific data that had to be shared, Horton said. Many of the buildings were pursuing certifications, such as LEED and ENERGY STAR, and Parkway needed to continue the monthly tracking of utility data. “We needed to ensure that we kept that effort seamless,” she said.
Horton also commented on Parkway’s participation in the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED volume certification program. Despite some challenges caused by the merger and spin-off, the program is proceeding well, she said.
Horton noted that 100 percent of the new Parkway portfolio is benchmarked to ENERGY STAR and 95 percent of the portfolio is LEED certified. She added that the portfolio is particularly well-suited to the USGBC’s new alternative LEED performance SCORE pathway platform.