Jeannie Renne-Malone, vice president of sustainability at Prologis, Inc. (NYSE: PLD), joined REIT.com for a video interview at NAREIT’s 2016 Leader in the Light Working Forum at the Ritz Carlton – Coconut Grove in Miami.
Prologis was the industrial sector winner of the 2015 NAREIT Leader in the Light Awards. Renne-Malone noted that Prologis has won the Leader in the Light award for four consecutive years.
She attributed Prologis’ sustainability achievements to the fact that the REIT has organized its program around the three principles of environmental stewardship, social responsibility and ethics and governance (ESG). These principles are aligned with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework, she noted.
According to Renne-Malone, Prologis’ chosen sustainability route allows the company to track its goals in a transparent and credible process.
“We are truly committed to sustainability, to ESG, and we recognize that there are multiple economic, social, and environmental benefits as a result of our initiatives,” Renne-Malone said.
Renne-Malone also noted that Prologis designs its new buildings to the sustainability ratings systems in each respective market. She added that Prologis is also the first industrial real estate company to engage in the LEED Volume Program, which allows companies and organizations to apply LEED across a portfolio of similar buildings.
As for retrofitting its existing assets, Renne-Malone explained that each time a customer moves out, Prologis improves the quality of its buildings by implementing new sustainability enhancements.
Meanwhile, Renne-Malone stressed that Prologis will continue to pursue a voluntary, internationally recognized sustainability framework as long as a universal standard remains elusive.