Climate Change Data

Artis Real Estate Investment Trust

Climate Impact & Sustainability Data (2020, 2022)

Reporting Period: 2020

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

  • Environmental
  • Social
  • Governance

Environmental Achievements

  • Prioritize the installation of LED lighting across the portfolio
  • Recycling and composting at all Artis office locations
  • Reduction in paper usage through promotion of electronic approval systems
  • Addition of Yardi Pulse to analyze, report on and reduce consumption
  • Annual and ongoing battery and electronics recycling drives

Social Achievements

  • Named one of Manitoba’s Top Employers
  • Named one of Canada’s Top Small and Medium Employers
  • Competitive and fair compensation and benefits package
  • Professional development support up to $1,800/year
  • On-site fitness facilities or fitness allowance
  • Employee and Family Assistance Program to provide 24-hour support in work, health and life
  • Extended health, dental, LTD, STD and travel insurance benefit premiums subsidized at 70%
  • One paid day per year per employee to volunteer at an organization of the employee’s choice

Governance Achievements

  • Reduced Board retainer fees for all Trustees by 25%
  • Renamed the Governance, Nominating and Compensation Committee to expand its scope of responsibilities to include nominating and environmental, social and governance matters
  • Improved the Board Mandate, Committee Charters and Position Descriptions, and various governance policies
  • Implemented an enhanced Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, Whistleblower Protection Policy and Insider Trading and Blackout Policy
  • Approved a Board Diversity and Renewal Policy with an objective to maintain a minimum of 40% female representation on the Board and a minimum of 20% Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC) representation on the Board
  • Became a corporate member of The Institute of Corporate Directors

Climate Goals & Targets

Short-term Goals:
  • Improving operating efficiencies by establishing sustainability targets (using Greenhouse Gas Protocols) with respect to achieving reductions in carbon pollution, energy consumption, water consumption and waste
  • Aligning a portion of performance-based compensation with achieving ESG targets
  • Establishing an internal ESG committee
  • Participating in (with a focus on improving) Artis’ GRESB rating
  • Targeting LEED certification wherever possible and prioritizing sustainable design and components on all new ground-up development projects
  • Publishing an annual ESG report and providing regular updates on our progress

Supply Chain Management

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Reporting Period: 2022

Environmental Metrics

Total Carbon Emissions:38,951 MTCO2e (Scope 1 & 2)
Scope 1 Emissions:38,951 MTCO2e
Scope 2 Emissions:51,912 MTCO2e
Carbon Intensity:28 kWh/ft²

ESG Focus Areas

  • Environmental
  • Social
  • Governance

Environmental Achievements

  • Reduced like-for-like energy consumption by 1.3%
  • Reduced like-for-like GHG emissions by 2.1%
  • Reduced like-for-like water consumption by 5.8%
  • Installed two beehives at 601 Tower at Carlson in Minneapolis, MN
  • Installed solar panels on two properties in Madison, Wisconsin

Social Achievements

  • Named one of Manitoba’s Top Employers for an 8th consecutive year
  • Received Canada’s Top Small and Medium Employers award
  • Received Canada’s Healthy Workplace award
  • Included on The Globe and Mail’s - Women Lead Here list
  • Conducted first annual employee engagement and diversity, equity, and inclusion survey with 81.2% response rate
  • Conducted first annual tenant satisfaction survey

Governance Achievements

  • Improved Board Mandate, Committee Charters and Position Descriptions, and various governance policies
  • Adopted a Board Diversity and Renewal Policy
  • 57% female representation on the Board, exceeding target of 40%
  • 29% BIPOC representation on the Board, exceeding target of 20%
  • Implemented a robust cyber security strategy
  • Adopted an ESG Policy, Human Rights Policy and Supplier Code of Conduct

Climate Goals & Targets

Long-term Goals:
  • Reduce energy consumption by replacing inefficient lighting with LED lighting by 2030
Medium-term Goals:
  • Provide additional training and resources to property managers
  • Create and adopt a portfolio-wide air quality testing policy
  • Conduct portfolio-wide property-level climate risk assessments
Short-term Goals:
  • Publish a tenant sustainability guide
  • Form a diversity, equity, and inclusion committee
  • Form a health and safety committee
  • Conduct and expand on second annual tenant satisfaction survey
  • Improve the REIT’s GRESB score

Environmental Challenges

  • Collecting consumption data for tenants with separate utility meters (industrial and retail)
  • Climate change and extreme weather events posing physical and transitional risks
Mitigation Strategies
  • Requested 2022 consumption data from tenants with direct-billed utilities (87 tenants for energy, 14 for water provided data)
  • Using Moody’s Climate on Demand platform to assess climate hazards at the property level
  • Proactively making sustainable improvements to its portfolio
  • Including climate risk in capital improvement planning and insurance renewal process

Supply Chain Management

Responsible Procurement
  • Supplier Code of Conduct

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks
  • Flooding
  • Wildfire
  • Extreme heat
  • Water stress
  • Storms
  • Rising sea levels
  • Changing average temperatures
Transition Risks
  • Increasing utility costs
  • Adoption of carbon pricing
  • Capital expenditures to decarbonize properties

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: SASB, GRI, TCFD, UN SDGs

UN Sustainable Development Goals

  • Goal 3
  • Goal 5
  • Goal 6
  • Goal 7
  • Goal 8
  • Goal 9
  • Goal 11
  • Goal 12
  • Goal 13

Artis's performance against these UN SDGs are highlighted throughout this report

Awards & Recognition

  • Manitoba’s Top Employers
  • Canada’s Top Small and Medium Employers
  • Canada’s Healthy Workplace award
  • The Globe and Mail’s - Women Lead Here list