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RioCan Yonge Eglinton Centre
2300 Yonge St, Suite 500
Box 2386
Toronto, ON
M4P 1E4
1-800-465-2733

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Corporate Responsibility ESG Strategy & Vision

RioCan is striving to be a leader by embedding sustainability across our business.

Home  >  Corporate Responsibility  >  ESG Strategy & Vision

Leading the Way on ESG

RioCan is one of the leaders within the Canadian real estate industry on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) best practices. As part of our pledge to continuous improvement, we participate in the GRESB survey every year and are proud to have earned the highest possible rating for our performance.

As a real estate investment trust, we shape the future, and as community stewards we have a responsibility to do it right, sustainably and sensibly.

We strive to lead the industry by initiating conversations about more sustainable options in the communities where we operate – conversations with all our stakeholders, including customers, tenants, employees, co-owners, investors, planners, regulators, and suppliers.

Environmental

  • 5 Star Rating
    2020 GRESB Real Estate Assessment
  • 1st Among Canadian Peers
    GRESB Public Disclosure Assessment
  • 1st REIT in Canada
    To launch a Green Bond Framework and issued two bonds valued at $850M
  • 90+ BOMA Best Certified Sites
    Representing ~50% of GLA *at 100% for commercial

Environmental Commitments

Social

  • Winner of the Greater Toronto’s Top Employers competition
  • Named one of the Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada by Corporate Knights
  • BlackNorth CEO Pledge
    Initiated by the Canadian Council of Leaders Against Anti-Black Systemic Racism
  • ILEO Charter
    Inclusive Local Economic Opportunity advances the goal of an inclusive rebuild
  • RioCan Cares program provides much needed assistance to local charities and hospitals

Social Commitments

Governance

  • ESG rating upgrade by Morgan Stanley Capital International for improving employee management programs and green building certifications
  • Received Outstanding In-House Company Diversity & Inclusion Award from Chambers and Partners for including ESG objectives in every bonus-eligible employee performance scorecard
  • Implemented a Sustainability Policy and Plan for RioCan’s Development department
  • Established RioCan Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Council and appointed DEI Officers

Governance Commitments

Our ESG Vision & Strategy

Vision

Be a leader in embedding sustainability across our business.

Strategy

As one of the Canadian real estate leaders in ESG, RioCan is making great strides to embed sustainability practices throughout every level of our business. We recognize that sustainability drives business value and we focus on three pillars of sustainability: Environment, Community and People.

Integrating Sustainability Priorities into Decision Making at All Stages of an Asset’s Life Cycle

Sustainability image
Strategic Planning

1. Strategic Planning

Identify and assess material ESG risks to update the materiality matrix, which ranks key risks in order of importance for the following year.

Acquisitions

2. Acquisitions

RioCan retains a third-party environmental consultant to conduct an environmental review for all acquisitions. In the future, we plan to expand our consideration of ESG factors in the acquisitions due diligence process.

Operations / Asset Management / Leasing

3. Operations / Asset Management / Leasing

Our Operations and Asset Management departments apply our sustainability and environmental guidelines for operations. They also consider budgeting for sustainability initiatives. Our Leasing department includes green lease clauses to outline our continuous commitment to sustainability through leasing and tenant construction.

Development / Redevelopment / Construction

4. Development / Redevelopment / Construction

Once we have selected an asset for renovation or redevelopment, we work with relevant parties to establish sustainability goals, and we apply our sustainability guidelines for development/construction.

We are taking action to drive continuous cultural improvement in our organization by implementing initiatives and setting targets to monitor progress on our ESG objectives and goals.

From our strategic decisions to our interactions – with employees, tenants, partners, those in our supply chain and the communities where we operate and develop – sustainability considerations are embedded in the way we think and do business at RioCan.

Read Our Sustainability Report