BEACHWOOD, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SITE Centers Corp. (NYSE:SITC), an owner of open-air shopping centers in affluent, suburban communities, announced today the release of its 2020 Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Report. The report was completed in alignment with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) metrics and frameworks. The report intends to provide updates on the annual results of Site Centers’ corporate responsibility & sustainability programs. The full report can be found at https://www.sitecenters.com/2020CRS
“I am excited to present our 2020 Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Report, which is our seventh sustainability report and our fifth formal report completed to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards,” said David Lukes, President, and Chief Executive Officer. “Looking back, I find that despite its challenges, 2020 was a year that underscored the factors that make SITE Centers excel; namely, the dedicated, hardworking, and thoughtful individuals who continue to work tirelessly toward a more sustainable, more inclusive, and more community-oriented future.”
Report Highlights
Recognition
- Included in Newsweek’s list of America’s Most Responsible Companies.
- Included in the 2020 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (“GEI”) comprised of public companies committed to transparency in gender-data reporting and which have exhibited performance on specific gender-data metrics.
- Rated “Green Star” by GRESB (Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark) for our sustainability benchmark results with an above-average rating relative to our peer group with respect to our level of public ESG disclosures.
- Recognized as a Silver Green Lease Leader by the U.S. Department of Energy and The Institute for Market Transformation for our development and implementation of green leases.
Governance
- Maintained ISS Governance Quality Score of 1.
- Aligned Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Reporting with Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) metrics and framework.
People
- 200 SITE Centers female employees participated in the Women of Influence program.
- Awarded $25,000 in scholarships to SITE employees.
- Formed SITE Helpers – a diversity, equity, and inclusion steering committee. The SITE Helpers acronym was derived from its key components: Humility, Empathy, Listening, Process, Education, Reconciliation, Support.
Social
- Engaged with our communities through our YOUnity program to contribute to over 250 charitable organizations and to raise over $274,000 in donations.
- Raised $35,000 from the employee gift matching program.
- SITE employees volunteered at 17 different organizations for a total of 272 hours.
- SITE employees donated time to serve as board members for 9 non-profit organizations.
Environmental
- Since 2018, SITE Centers has converted over 5,847 metal halide fixtures to LED parking lot fixtures. The upgrades created significant energy savings and provided aesthetic improvement to lighting levels for tenants and customers.
- Installed white reflective roofs as part of an ongoing programmatic replacement strategy at owned and managed properties totaling 550,000 square feet in 2020 and 31.8 million square feet over the lifetime of our program. These reflective membranes allow for sunlight to be reflected into the atmosphere, thereby reducing the urban heat island effect, decreasing the cooling costs of our tenants, and reducing demand on local electrical grids.
- Reduced like-for-like energy consumption by 4.1% over 2019 at SITE’s wholly-owned assets.
- Operated 333 electric car charging stations that facilitated 456,000 charging sessions across the owned and managed portfolio at the end of 2020. These units provide necessary infrastructure for electric vehicle utilization in surrounding communities and allow SITE to play an additional role in global carbon reduction.
- Utilized solar panels at 13 owned and managed properties to generate 3,268-megawatt hours of renewable power in 2020, which reduced consumption of non-renewable energy sources.
- Employed water conservation strategies include xeriscaping, rainwater collection, re-use of greywater for chiller systems, drip irrigation installations, native landscaping, and intelligent metering.
- Worked with tenants to identify recycling and composting opportunities to divert approximately 30% of the waste generated at owned and managed centers away from landfills.
- 79% of new leases executed at SITE’s wholly-owned properties contained green lease language.
About SITE Centers Corp.
SITE Centers is an owner and manager of open-air shopping centers located in suburban, high household income communities. The Company is a self-administered and self-managed REIT operating as a fully integrated real estate company, and is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol SITC. Additional information about the Company is available at www.sitecenters.com. To be included in the Company’s e-mail distributions for press releases and other investor news, please click here.
