WashREIT Announces $350 Million of Green Bonds for Eligible Green Buildings that Achieve BREEAM Certification
April 21 2021 - 12:28PM
Business Wire
Leading US-based REIT leverages globally
recognized certification program as core element towards achieving
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) commitment
WashREIT (NYSE: WRE) in Washington, D.C. recently announced an
expansion of its Green Bond Framework for eligible green projects,
including eight multifamily assets acquired in 2019. As outlined in
WashREIT’s Green Bond Framework, WashREIT intends to achieve BREEAM
In-Use Very Good certifications for the majority of these
assets.
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WashREIT will allocate the majority of the proceeds to buildings
that achieve BREEAM certification as part of its multipronged
approach to address energy efficiency, water efficiency, and
renewable energy projects. This commitment will be an essential
part of WashREIT’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)
roadmap, particularly for demonstrating alignment with the Task
Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), the United
Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) and other
disclosure reporting frameworks. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic,
WashREIT’s commitment represents a part of the booming green bond
market expected to exceed $1 trillion globally by the end of
2021.
“This is a momentous achievement for the US REIT market to
recognize the caliber and rigor of the BREEAM certification
program, particularly for WashREIT’s multifamily assets in the
Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, said BREEAM Director Shamir
Ghumra. “The challenge in meeting a Very Good certification, which
represents the top 25% of BREEAM certified assets, demonstrates an
important next step in WashREIT’s commitment to benchmarking,
verifying, and sharing sustainability best practices across their
portfolio. We applaud WashREIT as a trailblazer in the U.S. for
this high-performance investment.”
WashREIT intends to move forward with BREEAM certification for
The Assembly, a portfolio of seven multifamily properties across
Northern Virginia and Montgomery County, Maryland, in addition to
the Cascade at Landmark in Alexandria, Virginia. These eight
properties represent roughly 2,400 units. The green bonds also come
on the heels of WashREIT’s energy consumption reduction goal of 20%
by 2025, below a 2015 baseline, mitigating the portfolio’s impact
on climate change. As part of this effort, WashREIT will continue
tackling environmental impacts of asset development, climate risk,
waste management, and transportation.
“Not only are these certifications a way to elevate operations
to the WashREIT sustainability standard, but we are raising the bar
for the entire value-add multifamily sector, which has often lacked
investment in sustainability and efficiency opportunities,”
Steve Riffee, CFO of WashREIT, said. “We intend to be among
the first in the country to achieve BREEAM certifications for
existing multifamily properties.”
This news is the second in a wave of firsts with BREEAM and the
Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Montgomery, MD became the first
jurisdiction in the United States to recognize BREEAM for building
tax credits and includes both BREEAM In-Use for existing buildings
and BREEAM New Construction for new buildings. The green building
program awards building owners with tax credits by achieving a
BREEAM Excellent certification or better. We look forward to
continuing to see BREEAM as an integral component of regional green
building programs across the U.S.
About WashREIT
WashREIT owns and operates uniquely positioned real estate
assets in the Washington D.C. market. Backed by decades of
experience, expertise and Our portfolio of 43 properties includes
nearly 7,000 multifamily apartment units and approximately 3.4
million square feet of commercial space. Our shares trade on the
NYSE and our company currently has an enterprise value of
approximately $3 billion. With a track record of driving returns
and delivering satisfaction, we are a trusted authority in one of
the nation's most competitive real estate markets. To learn more,
please visit washreit.com.
About BRE Group
BRE is a world leading, multi-disciplinary, building science
center with a mission to improve buildings and infrastructure,
through cutting-edge research and knowledge generation. BRE
maintains a range of products, services, standards and
qualifications that are used around the world to bring about
positive change in the built environment. Learn more at
www.bregroup.com.
BREEAM is the world’s leading sustainability assessment
methodology for masterplanning projects, infrastructure and
buildings. It recognizes and reflects the value in higher
performing assets across the built environment lifecycle, from new
construction, through performance in operation, to refurbishment.
BREEAM does this through third party certification of the
assessment of an asset’s environmental, social and economic
sustainability performance, using standards developed by BRE. This
means BREEAM rated developments are more sustainable environments
that enhance the well-being of the people who live and work in
them, help protect natural resources and make for more attractive
property investments. Learn more at www.breeam.com.
Twitter: @BRE_BREEAM LinkedIn:
linkedin.com/showcase/breeam-official
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Isabella Sarlo, Antenna Group 201-465-8045
isabella.sarlo@antennagroup.com For press inquiries, please email:
breeam@antennagroup.com or call (201) 465-8034.
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