Environmental
Our belief in the importance of Responsible Property Investing (RPI) directly affects how we manage our corporate activities and positively influences our delivery of asset management, leasing, property management and development services. Bentall Kennedy actively engages with our employees, clients, investors, tenants and communities on environmental matters, and we are diligent in working to reduce use of energy and water, as well as waste and greenhouse gas emissions.
Greening Our Company
We recognize that our corporate activities carry an environmental burden and choose to lead by example. Bentall Kennedy is committed to being a carbon neutral company and we disclose our emissions publicly. Our carbon neutrality is achieved through employee engagement activities, including our Caught Green Handed and Urban Forest Restoration programs, and the purchase of green power and carbon offsets. We provide our employees ongoing sustainable education, professional accreditation and technical training opportunities with a view to ensuring those involved with our real estate portfolios understand and adhere to the principles of RPI.
Greening our Portfolio
Sustainably developed and managed assets create value and mitigate risk. They offer a means to reduce operating costs and reduce functional obsolescence, and often have a competitive leasing advantage, resulting in quicker lease-up and greater tenant retention. To meet environmental goals, Bentall Kennedy employs a range of sustainable policies, processes and technologies.
Property development emphasizes innovative, market-leading green building design and construction practices. To date, we have certified or are in the process of certifying six million square feet of new development and redeveloped projects representing $1.8 billion in value under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEEDŽ) rating systems and programs.
Property operations leverage new technologies to advance our RPI practices, including customized, proprietary software tools that track and measure key performance indicators. In managing our performance, we focus on increasing energy and water efficiency, and reducing waste and emissions. Purchasing decisions across our managed portfolio consider environmental criteria and utilize green specifications. Sustainable practices are communicated to tenants through education and training, green leases and our green tenant improvement design guide.
Asset sustainability, transparency, quality control and market differentiation are all enhanced by third-party recognition. These include certifications under the Building Owners and Managers Association Building Environmental Standards (BOMA BESt) program in Canada and the LEEDŽ for Existing Buildings rating system administered by US and Canadian Green Building Councils in their respective jurisdictions. Bentall Kennedy also participates in the US Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STARŽ program. More than 43.4 million square feet in some 325 buildings collectively valued at $9.6 billion have been certified under these initiatives.
