Nareit Announces Recipients of Inaugural Sustainability Impact Awards

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Sept. 11, 2024) - Nareit presented the inaugural Sustainability Impact Awards at its REITworks: 2024 Sustainability & Social Responsibility Conference in McLean, VA. The awards recognize REITs for implementing sustainable practices that demonstrate leadership, ingenuity, and environmental impact in the commercial real estate industry.

"The sustainable and transparent steps that REITs have taken, combined with new initiatives underway, are impressive and vital to REITs and their investors," said Nareit President & CEO Steven A. Wechsler. "We are proud of our industry's continued commitment toward looking at business strategies through a sustainability lens and implementing practices to execute those strategies."

The Sustainability Impact Awards include three categories focused on projects and programs related to design, operational practices, and industry leadership.

The Sustainable Design Award recognizes architecture and engineering strategies that reduce environmental impact through smart design, new building development, or retrofitting of existing buildings. The 2024 recipients are:

• Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE: ARE) for utilizing alternative energy sources such as geothermal energy and wastewater heat recovery systems to reduce operational greenhouse gas emissions in laboratory development projects in its Greater Boston and Seattle markets.
• BXP, Inc. (NYSE: BXP) for 140 Kendrick Building A, which is the first net zero, carbon neutral office repositioning of its scale in Massachusetts.
• Digital Realty (Nasdaq: DLR) for developing an artificial intelligence (AI) platform to improve energy efficiency and improve Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE).

The Impact at Scale Award recognizes operational policies implemented across a building portfolio that advance corporate sustainability goals and achieve broad and measurable impact. The 2024 recipients are:

• JBG SMITH (NYSE: JBGS) for fostering economic growth and promoting social equity through a series of intentional projects and partnerships that are "Transforming Tomorrow at National Landing."
• Ventas, Inc. (NYSE: VTR) for its innovative and scalable approach toward creating property-specific net zero roadmaps by using machine learning, AI, and physics-based modeling.
• Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE: VNO): for setting a new standard for the modern, sustainable workplace through its transformation of THE PENN DISTRICT.

The Sustainable Leadership Award honors an individual REIT employee who creates a positive influence within their organization and across the REIT industry or community at-large.

The 2024 recipient is Elena Alschuler, head of sustainability, Americas, for JLL Income Property Trust, who is being recognized for her leadership in decarbonization of the built environment and other sustainability-related issues, notably her role as Chair for the CRREM North America Working Group, and her collaboration with industry peers, knowledge sharing, and advocacy work.

The recipients of the Sustainability Impact Awards are selected in an anonymized evaluation by a panel of expert judges who work outside the REIT industry. The 2024 judges reviewed applications and evaluated them based on their sustainability programs, recent accomplishments, reporting metrics, and other factors. The panel of judges included:

• Jeff Benavides, USGBC
• Joanna Frank, Center for Active Design
• Jacques Gordon, MIT
• Shea Jameel, Marsh
• Jim Landau, Met Life
• Kristi Knudson, Grant Thornton
• Jennifer Leitsch, EY
• Brendan McCarthy, Calvert
• Spenser J. Robinson, Professor Director of Real Estate, Finance/Law
• Marla Thalheimer, Institute for Market Transformation
• Tensie Whalen, NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business
• Breana Wheeler, BRE

"We are excited to highlight our members that are raising the bar for advancing sustainability practices in their operations, buildings, communities, and across the broader REIT and commercial real estate industry," said Nareit Senior Vice President of Environmental Stewardship & Sustainability Jessica Long. "We also are thankful for the judges' contribution to this program. Lending their expertise to evaluate the impact of REITs' approaches toward implementing sustainable strategies at the building, operational, and industry level continues to help drive our industry forward."

Visit REIT.com to learn more about Nareit's Sustainability Impact Awards. Nareit's other sustainability award, its 19th annual Leader in the Light Awards, will be announced at Nareit's REITworld: 2024 Annual Conference in Las Vegas.

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