Sustainability
We consider ESG issues when making any investment, asset management or development decisions.
Environment
To reduce the environmental impact of our buildings we have a range of initiatives, for example we have a long term plan to upgrade buildings to make them more energy efficient; we are developing monitoring of the GHG emissions of our buildings; we practice and encourage the use of green cleaning and the use of renewable energy; we measure and encourage a reduction in energy and water usage; we encourage the use of electric cars by installing electric charging points; we build facilities to encourage more cycling as a form of commuting (showers and bicycle racks); we engage with tenants to improve building environments with insect friendly planting of green areas and where we manage the building interior, improve common areas to help with occupiers well-being.
As the owner of a portfolio of older buildings, built when regulatory issues were less mindful of environmental standards, we have implemented a long term plan to upgrade our entire portfolio through time to a near zero emissions standard. The timing of improvements is a joint effort with occupiers but we will report on progress at each year end.
As part of the effort we have instituted measurements in line with EPRA standards and this will be rolled out across our property portfolio and we will report on those measurements in each annual report.
We are working with each of our tenants to understand and support local initiatives favoured by them and their staff which improve the working environment either in common areas, in the land surrounding each building, or in the local community.
We recognise our role in the community and our responsibility to our stakeholders.
Community
We support charitable organisations nominated by our staff, especially those involved with local homelessness or economic hardship. We have established a matched fund scheme for donations as well as making corporate donations voted on annually.
We seek to foster relationships with some of the Institutes of Technology that are close to our offices to develop sponsorship programmes focused on environmental research.
As a matter of business policy we invest in property across many communities in Ireland and our investments are usually focused on employers who are anchored to specific sites in part because of the attraction of pools of talented local employees. One of our key investment drivers, especially for those companies that are situated on IDA Ireland parks, is to encourage those tenants to stay in situ as they grow, by developing their sites with beneficial effects on those communities’ employment, local businesses and the local economy.
Social Responsibility
To recognise and respect the interests of all of our stakeholders
To respect diversity and equality
To respect human rights
To support and contribute to the health, safety and well-being of our employees, the occupiers of our buildings and of our service providers.
To ensure that our suppliers are treated fairly and as far as possible to ensure that our suppliers also adhere to similar standards.
Governance
To reflect the issues above through clear written policies and to report on how these are effected
To ensure the long term consequences of the Company’s actions are positive
To promote a business culture which encourages openness and fairness
To adhere to best practice including all relevant regulatory and legal requirements
To monitor and assess the effectiveness of our policies and as we grow to accept external audits and surveys by organisations such as GRESB
To ensure that all service providers undergo a thorough selection process which reviews their compliance with our policies.