Welltower has formalized its environmental, social and governance commitment in a board-approved ESG policy, according to the Toledo, OH-based real estate investment trust’s annual ESG report, released Thursday.
The effort is an example of the company’s objective to “not only strive to meet our defined goals for environmental sustainability, social impact, and corporate governance, but also strive to vigilantly review these goals to measure performance and consistently raise the bar,” EO Shankh Mitra said in the report.
2023 brought “significant progress” to the REIT’s environmental achievements, “largely driven by our partners’ collaboration in adopting efficiency measures and collecting quality data,” he said. “This collaboration contributed to us doubling the number of green building certifications across our portfolio year-over-year.”
The REIT said it allocated $1.04 billion in net proceeds from green bonds due 2027 and 2032 to eligible green building projects, including LEED, BREEAM and Energy Star-certified buildings. Welltower reported 349 green building certifications across the portfolio, an increase of more than 150% over the previous year.
The REIT was recognized as an Energy Star Partner of the Year for the fifth consecutive year and maintained the elevated status of Sustained Excellence for the third consecutive year.
“This recognition showcases our participation in and commitment to the Energy Star program,” the REIT said. “Welltower relies on Energy Star’s tools, resources and benchmarking platform to further our energy reduction goals.”
Additionally, Welltower said it:
- Maintained its top 30% ISS QualityScore ranking in ESG categories and maintained Prime status ISS ESG Corporate Rating.
- Was awarded the No. 1 ranking for corporate governance among all US REITs by Green Street Advisors.
- Received the Labrador 2023 Transparency Award Top 3 in Real Estate for the second consecutive year.
“Working in the seniors housing and healthcare spaces provides Welltower and our partners a unique opportunity to positively impact the people we care for and address some of society’s most pressing challenges while simultaneously delivering value to our shareholders,” the company said, adding that it will “continue to evolve our ESG practices to try to meet and exceed the standards of excellence our stakeholders expect.”
