Nareit’s REITworks: 2024 Sustainability & Social Responsibility Conference, which took place along with the HR Forum, Sept. 10-12, 2024, convened more than 200 sustainability and social responsibility leaders outside of Washington, D.C. in McLean, Virginia. The educational program focused on current sustainability and social responsibility issues of importance to REIT professionals.
REITworks by the numbers:
- 200+ attendees
- 72 member REITs
- 29 panelists and keynote speakers presented at the event
The event kicked off with meeting of Nareit’s Real Estate Sustainability Council (RESC) Macerich-hosted tour of its Tysons Corner Center Campus, adjacent to the conference hotel. Nareit’s Social Responsibility Council (SRC) also held an in-person meeting during the event.
REITworks sessions included keynote presentations, fireside chats, town halls, panel discussions, and roundtables. Continue reading for a recap of the sessions.
CEO Perspective
Nareit President & CEO Steve Wechsler sat down with JBG SMITH CEO Matt Kelly (pictured L-R) to discuss the REIT’s sustainability and social responsibility journey. Kelly highlighted the importance of sustainability to tenants, investors, and employees; why it’s critical for REITs to be part of the solutions to environmental and social challenges; the role that JBG SMITH’s Washington Housing Initiative plays in the critical need to preserve workforce housing; and more.
Outcomes Over Acronyms
The opening keynote was delivered by Dr. Debra Joy Pérez, chief equity officer and senior advisor to the CEO of United States Pharmacopeia (pictured), who discussed why focusing on outcomes over acronyms is more important than ever in today’s polarized landscape. She shared the company’s five pillar strategy for advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging and how that strategy has resulted in better performance, retention, and engagement for the organization. Perez also shared strategies for setting up the conditions that create a sense of belonging for employees at all levels, and how this helps attract and retain top talent, results in better and faster decision-making, and unlocks employee discretionary efforts.
Assessing Materiality for REITs
This first panel focused on how REITs should apply financial materiality when incorporating sustainability and social responsibility issues in their investment decisions and investor disclosures. Speakers walked through scenarios using a fictional REIT to show how materiality principles should be applied when implementing management practices, developing sustainability strategies, and preparing public reporting and financial disclosures. Attendees also learned about considerations for navigating global disclosure requirements, avoiding potential greenwashing claims, and addressing stakeholder expectations for responsible business practices. Speakers included Chris Laz, Realty Income Corporation (moderator); Betty Huber, Latham & Watkins; Jennifer Leitsch, EY; and Taryn Fielder, Veris Residential, Inc. (pictured L-R).
Peer Exchange: Focusing on Outcomes
Attendees broke into small groups to discuss their experiences with and ideas for achieving positive outcomes when their work is in the spotlight or facing pressure. Participants focused on issues including equity in the supply chain, inclusive leadership, expanding underwriting approaches to impact valuations, navigating organizational change, and more.
Nareit Impact Awards Ceremony
Nareit leadership, including President & CEO Steve Wechsler, Senior Vice President of Environmental Stewardship & Sustainability Jessica Long, and Senior Vice President of Social Responsibility & Global Initiatives Ayris Scales announced the recipients of Nareit’s Sustainability and Diversity Impact Awards. The recipients shared their projects, programs, and initiatives that have helped meaningfully move the needle on reducing environmental impacts and advancing inclusive practices within their companies, real estate portfolios, and the commercial real estate industry.
U.S. Government Climate Action
In this session, Carolyn Snyder, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Buildings & Industry for the U.S. Department of Energy (pictured right), shared key federal government initiatives for driving decarbonization in the U.S. economy. Those initiative include recently released building-specific guidance, such as the DOE’s Blueprint for achieving net zero in the U.S. building sector and its Better Buildings Initiative, which offers free resources for building owners. The session included a fireside chat with Dan Egan, Blackstone (pictured left), about how the DOE’s work addresses some of the most pressing challenges to commercial real estate owners' efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Global Perspectives on Paris
This panel explored how REIT investors assess decarbonization strategies, manage transition risk, and measure REIT alignment with the goals of the Paris Agreement. Panelists shared their views on the crucial elements of REIT decarbonization plans and discussed their perspectives on how REITs can communicate their company's approach to embedding climate risk into capital planning and business strategy to investors. They shared their internal approaches to aligning their investment portfolios with climate science and how the financial sector’s efforts to reduce emissions has affected REITs. Speakers included Julie Manning, LaSalle Investment Management (moderator); Andre Shepley, Nuveen Asset Management; Andrea Palmer, PGGM; and Lauren White, Wellington Management (pictured L-R).
Member Perspectives: Implementing Climate Solutions
During this interactive session, attendees participated in live polling and discussion led by Dana Schneider, Empire State Realty Trust, and Ben Myers, BXP (pictured L-R), which focused on advancing climate action within their businesses, strategies for tackling challenges when implementing decarbonization plans, and opportunities to expand access to new technologies and solutions. Participants shared strategies to accelerate decarbonization efforts, the most impactful efficiency opportunities, and the most time intensive aspects of their decarbonization programs.
Steering the Conversation: Achieving Sustainable and Inclusive Outcomes
This session centered on how REITs can control their narratives by ensuring that their communications are focused on driving value through sustainability and social responsibility programs. Speakers included Amy Hamstead, Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (moderator); Parichat Wrolstad, Edelman Smithfield, and Ethan Gilbert, Prologis, Inc. (pictured L-R), who shared their companies’ experiences and strategies for aligning their sustainability stories with business strategies. They shared the importance of focusing on material issues and new audiences for sustainability reports, explaining that it helps those reports align with the growing importance that next-generation workforces, communities, and customers are placing on environmental and social issues.
Stakeholder Engagement Townhall
Participants ended the day by engaging in a townhall discussion about the strategies they’ve used to effectively engage with key groups of stakeholders. Karen Cusmano, Veris Residential, led the discussion on engaging tenants, residents, and customers; Ashley Coombs, Camden Property Trust, led the conversation on communicating with internal stakeholders; and Kim Pexton, JBG SMITH, talked about how local communities and governments can be valuable allies in REIT sustainability and social responsibility efforts.
Building a Lasting Legacy
The last day of REITworks started with a fireside chat between Katie Rothenberg, vice president of corporate sustainability & ESG for AvalonBay Communities, Inc., and Katie Mesia, principal of firmwide design resilience for Gensler (pictured L-R). Mesia shared how real estate leaders can leave a lasting legacy by building resilience in the communities where they operate and driving societal change through the people they encounter on their journeys. They discussed strategies for gaining buy-in for sustainability initiatives and projects and remaining focused on achieving positive outcomes when faced with challenging situations.
Assessing Future Risk: Deep Dive in Scenario Analysis
This final educational panel focused on how climate scenarios can help enhance strategic planning for REITs. Panelists explored how climate-related policy ambitions, technological advances, societal expectations, and global warming can present potential financial risks and opportunities. Nareit’s Jessica Long moderated the discussion with industry experts: Anica Landreneau, HOK; Thomas Rowlands-Ree, Bloomberg NEF; Matthew Eby, First Street; and Edwin Anderson, Oliver Wyman (pictured L-R). The panel discussed how the economic effects of climate change are being integrated into investment decisions in the financial system, including into insurance costs. Attendees learned about strategies and considerations for integrating climate scenario analysis into their business strategies, design decisions, operating practices, and risk management programs.
REIT Feud: Battle of the Sectors
The event closed with REITworks attendees gathering in sector-specific groups to discuss opportunities and challenges unique to their sector, followed by a game show–style session, where players from various REIT sectors faced off to show their sustainability trivia skills. The game host, Marta Schantz, co-executive director of the Randall Lewis Center for Sustainability in Real Estate at the Urban Land Institute, asked participants to name the top answers to questions such as the most billion-dollar disasters in 2023, the most in-demand features for apartment renters, the highest impact climate solutions, and more.
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