ESG

With ESG taking on increased importance globally, the S (social) dimension of ESG has received considerable attention recently. This reflects the need to prioritise the health and well-being of staff and customers, as well as supply chain issues, and equity and diversity issues in the workplace. This article highlights these issues and the major initiatives in the S space now being actively implemented by the real estate industry in Australia and Asia.

Doing ESG Well

Importantly, the real estate industry has clearly recognised the importance of ESG in their activities. This mandate has moved on from “doing ESG” to “doing ESG well”. This sees the ESG agenda actively promoted by the professional organisations in the real estate industry in our area; this includes APREA, ANREV and the Property Council of Australia; check their websites for fuller details.

Specifically concerning the S dimension of ESG, this covers a range of social aspects needed for effective businesses today. This includes staffing aspects, concerning equity, diversity and inclusion issues such as gender equality and cultural diversity to address under-represented groups at all levels in the organisation (ie: staff, senior management, board), as well as staff turnover, retention and pay. Wellness and well-being have also been a focus, around issues such as safe workplaces and staff mental health (particularly during COVID). Many organisations have also developed supply chain codes of conduct, with aspects such as modern slavery issues and fair pay being critically important. This sees many real estate companies giving their historic performance metrics to show they are moving forward in the delivery of these S issues.

All of these S activities are important, as they now play a key role in real estate funds’ decisions on whether to invest in these real estate companies, as well as the real estate companies showing a strong commitment to ESG. This is essential for investors today as ESG takes on increased importance at all levels in our communities. Companies clearly face the risk of being excluded from these investment mandates if they do not actively address these ESG issues.

This guide addresses how the developing issue of Business and Human Rights (BHR) affects property ownership and management industries. Addressing BHR is a way to strengthen cultures of respect, dignity and ethics within our member organizations and mitigate risk.

This Guide provides an overview of the key BHR concepts drawn from the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (OECD Guidelines). It then applies these concepts to property ownership and management before setting out how to incorporate BHR concerns into your operations. Finally, the appendices provide examples for due diligence and contractual provisions.

Understanding the core

As human beings, we are curious by nature. If you reflect on your choices, profession, passion, you will realize that you resonate with the idea at its very core. It is observed that we are able to respond and perform better when we connect with the thought, concept of what we are doing. When an organization formulates its business strategy, it is always aligned with the vision of the organization. Similarly, it is important that ESG and sustainability are factored in the vision of the organization. It is only when ESG and sustainability as a concept resonate with the organization’s values and its people, they will succeed and have the desired impact.

At IndInfravit, we have attempted to engrain ESG in our DNA. But before doing that we reflected on our business objectives, the ecosystem, our culture and our vision. As an organization, we are continually striving to achieve and maintain the highest quality standards in the operations and maintenance of projects throughout their concessionary term while incorporating environmental and social considerations important for long term survival of business. Being a key player in the infrastructure space, we are cognizant of the impact we have on the overall ecosystem - economy, environment, society and community at large. It has been our endeavour to create a positive impact on the business neighbourhood, environment and the country as a whole. We acknowledge that to drive this, it is important to engage with our stakeholders, work cohesively and hold ourselves accountable. We strongly believe that our ability to take decisions which create a positive impact on the ecosystem forms the very core of sustainability. Imbibing ESG into our business strategy, thus seemed a perfect choice.

BOMA's latest guide offers practical guidance for operations managers while connecting the data collection practices for operational management and efficiency with corporate portfolio risk management.

We already collect much of what we need to understand our risk exposures, providing an auditable trail of evidence for routine filings and declarations of how the property portfolio is affected by climate change and other contextual trends.

Critically, it allows us to focus on what we can control: our operations.

We can know and manage how a failure in the power supply will affect us, and therefore what we must do to ensure that our tenants and we can continue to operate effectively. It is the underlying concept behind operational resilience: safe-to-fail.

It builds confidence and value in the market, distinguishing properties that can support continued operations over those that fail. When we view our properties through an operational resilience lens, many opportunities present themselves in cost and risk reduction while enhancing operating efficiencies and value.

This guide was originally published in https://www.boma.org/