Ankur Gupta
Dear Readers,
In 2021, we have taken a concerted effort to formalize our ESG program and I’m happy to share the inaugural ESG Report from India which highlights our role as a catalyst for innovation and collaboration to build value for our customers, investors, people, and communities. This report spells the foundation for our ESG strategy aligned with goals and measurable performance targets to report on moving forward.
At Brookfield, we believe that sustainable innovation and profitable growth are not mutually exclusive, but rather mutually dependent. Sound environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices are essential to building resiliency in our businesses while creating long-term value for our investors and stakeholders. Our experience of investing in high-quality assets that form the backbone of the global economy uniquely positions us to transform the way we experience the built environment.
Governance
We believe that governance is at the heart of an impactful corporate action to promote the right behavior towards the environment and should be a key responsibility of management. The ESG Committee, consisting of a leader from every function, create frameworks to identify opportunities across our operation. Our frameworks enable employees to provide exceptional service, address environment priorities, and implement information and data security systems that facilitate accountability. Our robust governance framework is instrumental in mitigating risk, ensuring transparency, focusing on sustainable solutions, empowering people, and building trust. Our first-ever GRESB score reflects our strong governance practices. Overall, the Brookfield India REIT placed in the top 20% of assets globally, securing the coveted 5-star rating. The portfolio scored 100% across all governance parameters – leadership, policies, reporting, risk management and data monitoring and review.
Our people are our greatest asset and our collective spirit of collaboration paves way for best practices to emerge. Initiatives like one-on-one execution training sessions, 360-degree assessments, performance and career development reviews for 100% employees help realize individual, departmental and organizational goals. We further this commitment by providing a safe workplace for our employees and occupants through training and awareness campaigns. Representatives across functions suggest improvements to the overall Health, Safety and Well-being plan. Recognizing our commitment to health and hygiene for robust COVID-19 prevention measures, we received the Bureau Veritas ‘Safeguard Label’, making us the first office portfolio in India to receive this certification.
We continually seek to engage with our stakeholders including partners, investors, and occupiers to benchmark ourselves with impactful and measurable Environmental & Social outcomes. As an active and aware corporate citizen, we continue to drive diversity and inclusion in the industry through our talent strategy.
Our intent and action are at the forefront of climate change mitigation starting with our commitment to achieve net zero by 2040 or sooner. Our ESG strategy has evolved from being initiative based to program focused from upgrading our treatment plants to working towards net zero water through dual plumbing and water reuse; from investing in energy efficiency upgrades to building detailed decarbonization plans for each asset and more. More than half of our operating assets (approximately 25M SF) have received at least one ESG certification.
Future proofing begins now. Workplaces of the future will have a robust ESG strategy at the core of decision making and portfolio management. I hope this report proves to be an insightful read, and initiates conversation on how our businesses can create value for society and the environment.
Regards,
Managing Partner and Head of India and Middle East - Real Estate
Country Head - India, Brookfield
Alok Aggarwal
Dear Readers,
As sustainability continues to redefine business strategy and decision-making, I am pleased to present to you our first ESG Report. This report is a narrative of our commitment to implementing industry-leading sustainable solutions to deliver long-term value to our business, partners, and communities.
We remain committed to investing in more experiential assets, with a sharper focus on climate change resilience, backed by inclusion and diversity. Global expertise, access to capital, a deep knowledge of running and operating businesses, transparency, integrity, and a robust governance framework will continue to be our differentiators as we move to enhance the value proposition of our assets.
We strive to optimize the use of natural resources, such as water and energy, and the generation of waste. We are also in the process of defining asset-level targets and KPIs to monitor our environmental and social performance to meet our commitment to become net zero by 2040 or sooner. As an extension of our commitment, I am happy to share that Kensington, Downtown Powai, Mumbai is now operating with 100% green power through the Renewable Energy Guarantee of Origin (REGO) certificate for its common areas. Ecoworld in Bengaluru has been the first commercial office complex in South-East Asia to receive TRUE (Total Resource Use and Efficiency) Gold certification for achieving a waste diversion rate of 95%.
We are looking beyond the aesthetics and functionality of buildings to develop intelligence that aligns our assets to the prevailing environmental conditions and occupancy. Building Management Systems and ‘Digital Twins’ enable us to move from responding to predicting the needs of our tenants. We are utilizing these technology interventions to enhance our tenants’ experience, increase safety, and strengthen our assets’ ESG performance.
Our success starts with our people, and we remain committed to investing in their well-being. Our endeavor is to keep our employees integrated with our vision and goals through targeted initiatives. We have in place a robust training framework to accelerate their learning and development journey. Our initiatives are crafted to facilitate their upskilling opportunities and career progression. During FY2022, we launched an array of learning initiatives across management levels for their growth and development.
We are proud to share that we have received 5 stars in our maiden GRESB participation for FY2022. This includes a score of 90 for standing investments and a score of 96 for development. The various awards and ratings received by our campuses during the year also affirm the success of our initiatives on ESG, innovation, and technology. This further validates our pursuit of setting new benchmarks of operational excellence across key metrics and processes at our campuses.
We continue to stand by our people and are working tirelessly to ensure their health, safety, growth, and development through the initiatives showcased in this report. We thank you for your continued support and invite your suggestions on how Brookfield Properties can continue to deliver on these fronts.
Sincerely,
Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer
Brookfield Properties | India
Baljit Singh
Dear Readers,
It gives me immense pleasure to present the first edition of our Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report for India. With our sector estimated to contribute close to 40% of the global energy consumption and 33% of the global carbon emissions, as a responsible organization operating in the domain of developing and managing the built environment, we are committed to adopting practices that are environmentally and socially sustainable.
Our robust sustainability framework has been established on four guiding principles – lead on sustainable solutions, partner for thriving communities, empower our people and promote trust through governance; and we have integrated them well into our everyday operations across our assets.
In 2021, we announced our commitment to net zero carbon emissions by 2050 or sooner. Accelerating the transition to a zero-carbon economy to ensure that our portfolio aligns with climate action best practices, we have advanced our commitment to reach net zero emissions by 10 years to 2040. We aim to progress steadily on this key endeavor by developing asset-level decarbonization plans and initiatives, through active stakeholder participation. Our key employees have undergone in-depth sustainability training with the National Productivity Council (NPC) to ensure that we can integrate ESG into our decision-making and can deliver on our commitments sustainably. We strive to minimize our Scope 1 emissions (currently at 1% of our portfolio) by focusing on 100% electrification through sustained investments in upgrading our power infrastructure. Over 95% of our operational area is aligned with ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 standards and 100% of our area are actively practicing and certified under the 5S workplace management philosophy. In our maiden GRESB participation for FY2022, we scored 100/100 in leadership, policies, risk and data reporting, building certifications, water, waste and materials aspects.
We plan to commit to carbon reduction targets approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) by FY2023 for a 1.5 Degrees C global warming scenario.
Amongst the four pillars, positive impact on the communities in which we operate remains closest to our heart with a focus on engagement, welfare, and infrastructure. Our assets have hosted more than 0.13 M vaccinations for our employees, occupants, and their families till date through the support of our medical partners and the local authorities. Our approach to community development hinges on capacity-building and supporting programs that promote good health, digital literacy, vocational and economic independence and environmental sustainability in the areas where we operate and where we can maximize our impact. This is in addition to our support for various COVID-19 relief measures touching the lives of over 0.15 M people. We have committed to making our assets universally accessible for stakeholders with varying abilities.
Inclusion, equity, and diversity are the cornerstone of our organizational policy. All our assets are in the process of deep retrofits to make them barrier-free right from the adjacent sidewalks to the occupants’ workplace through tactile indicators, high contrast signage (including braille), dedicated parking spaces, differently abled friendly elevators and washrooms.
We believe that our employees have the power to make a difference for our business and communities and we are continuing to prioritize their well-being and growth. Several trainings on subjects ranging from safety to job-specific skills, have been imparted – and garnered positive feedback from attendees – during the year. Our employee-friendly policies including the ‘higher studies policy’ and the employee well-being assistance program has been well received.
Our comprehensive occupational health, safety and wellbeing program, focusing on ‘Zero Serious Safety Incidents’, is based on a risk mitigation-oriented framework. The program has evolved throughout the years and I am happy to share that we have been recognized by the British Safety Council (BSC) with 3 Swords of Honour for our assets in Gurgaon, Noida and Kolkata. We aim to achieve 100% coverage of the portfolio by FY2024.
Additionally, from a governance perspective, I am pleased to share that 100% of our vendors and contractors have ratified our Code of Conduct and 99% of our supply chain is localized and based near our assets.
As we look forward to yet another year with renewed aspirations, we believe that acting responsibly is foundational to operating a productive, profitable and sustainable business. We have always believed that value creation and sustainable development are complementary goals and as we look forward to achieving our net zero vision by 2040 or sooner. I would like to extend my gratitude to our employees, associates, customers, communities, and all stakeholders for their continued support.
Regards,
Executive Vice President Operations
Brookfield Properties | India