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30Properties(1)
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5.5Msquare feet of gross leasable area (GLA)(1)
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84.6%portfolio occupancy (including committed)(2)
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5.2yrweighted average lease term(2)
Dream Office REIT (TSX:D.UN) is a premier office landlord in downtown Toronto with approximately 3.5 million square feet owned and managed. Dream Office has carefully curated an investment portfolio of high-quality assets in irreplaceable locations in one of the finest office markets in the world.
(1) Excluding investment in joint ventures as at September 30, 2021.
(2) Excluding investment in joint ventures and properties under development as at September 30, 2021.
(2) Excluding investment in joint ventures and properties under development as at September 30, 2021.
Developing and maintaining high-quality, energy efficient office buildings has become a differentiator that allows us to appeal to a broader range of tenants and sustain high occupancy rates.
2020 Highlights
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Green Lease LeaderRecognized as a Green Lease Leader (Gold) by the Institute for Market Transformation and the US Department of Energy Better Buildings Alliance in 2021 -
Green Will
Initiative
Joined the City of Toronto Green Will Initiative to support Toronto-based best practices for low carbon buildings and operations in 2021 -
Top Reducer350 Bay Street won BOMA Toronto’s 2021 Building Challenge Top Reducer Award as part of the Beyond Earth Hour Challenge
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$50,823donated to charities and
NGOs in 2020 -
Well Health-Safety RatingRecognized as Canada’s largest commercial portfolio to earn the WELL Health-Safety Rating in 2021
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Return to Operationsplans were updated to ensure the safe return of our tenants to our buildings amid the COVID-19 pandemic
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Five Star RatingD.UN achieved a five-star GRESB rating in its first GRESB submission -
100%of properties assessed for climate change risk as of September 30, 2021
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Developed ESG FrameworkD.UN’s new ESG Framework sets out the most material sustainability topics and how we are responding based on the type of asset class and specific objectives
ESG Scorecard
| Indicator | 2019 (8) | 2020(8) | YOY % Change(8) | On track for target | 2025 target |
| Energy (1) | |||||
| Energy consumption (ekWh) | 170,417,623 | 141,298,958 | -17% | √ | 10% reduction of energy consumption by 2025 versus 2019 baseline |
| Energy intensity (ekWh / sq. ft.) | 26.5 | 21.8 | -18% | ||
| GLA metered or sub-metered for energy consumption | 25.7% | 28% | 9% | ||
| Emissions (1)(2) | |||||
Scope 1 emissions (tCO2e) |
10,981 | 9,121 | -17% | ||
Scope 2 emissions (tCO2e) |
15,013 | 12,162 | -19% | ||
Total GHG emissions (Scope 1 and 2; tCO2e) |
25,994(3) | 21,283 | -18% | √ | 10% reduction of emissions by 2025 versus 2019 baseline |
GHG emissions intensity (kgCO2e / sq. ft.) |
4.03 | 3.3 | -18% | ||
| Water (1) | |||||
Water Consumption (m3) |
405,633 | 274,097 | -32% | √ | 10% reduction of water consumption by 2025 versus 2019 baseline |
| Water intensity (m3/sq. ft) | 0.064 | 0.042 | -34% | ||
| Percentage GLA separately metered or sub-metered for water consumption |
2.8% | 2.8% | 0% | ||
| Waste generation (4)(5) | |||||
| Waste to landfill (tonnes) | 674 | 430 | -36% | ||
| Waste diverted (tonnes) | 539 | 565 | 5% | ||
| Total waste generated (tonnes) | 1213 | 995 | -18% | ||
| Waste diversion | 44% | 57% | 30% | √ | 75% waste diversion target by 2025 |
| Certifications | |||||
| Percentage of portfolio that has a green building certifications (6) | 96% | 93% | √ | 100% certification (any program) of all Canadian office sites by 2025 | |
| Percentage of eligible portfolio that has an Energy Rating(7) | 83% | 83% |
| Metric | Women | Men |
| Employees(8)(9) | 40% | 60% |
| Managers(8) | 46% | 54% |
| Executive Team(8) | 0% | 100% |
| Role | Responsibilities | Status |
| Compensation, Health and Environmental Committee | Provide oversight of sustainability at the Board level | Ongoing |
| ESG Executive Committee | Adopt ESG framework | Ongoing |
| Head of Sustainability | Oversee the implementation of the ESG framework | Ongoing |
| Sustainability and ESG Team | Implement ESG Framework | Ongoing |
(1) Energy, emissions and water metrics reflects all properties in D.UN’s portfolio as of December 31, 2020 where D.UN pays the utility bills. Excludes developments and major renovations.
(2) GHG emissions are calculated in accordance with the World Resource Institute Greenhouse Gas Protocol. Calculations in this table capture activities Dream Office has direct and indirect operational control over:
Scope 1 emissions generated directly from its operations, including heating with Office’s properties
Scope 2 emissions indirectly associated with generation of purchased electricity, heating, cooling and steam consumed by properties
(3) In the previous report, the 2019 metric was reported as 23,819 tCO2e and 4.5 kg tCO2e/sq.ft. This has been updated in this report to reflect the accurate GHG emissions and GHG emissions intensity.
(4) Data coverage represents 89% of D.UN’s portfolio in 2019 and 80% of D.UN’s portfolio in 2020. Reduction in data coverage is due to missing data.
(5) 100% of waste generated at Sussex Centre which is a co-owned asset by D.UN and MPCT.UN is included.
(6) Based on total GLA owned by D.UN as of June 30, 2021 representing 5.5M sq ft of portfolio including owned GLA of Sussex Centre.
(7) Represents the percentage of portfolio (based on sq. ft.) using ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager.
(8) Each years energy, GHG, water, waste, building certification and energy rating data is based on the relevant properties owned for the full calendar year in that year.
(8) Includes only employees 100% dedicated to Dream Office REIT and shared services functions for the Dream entities. Excludes employees on unpaid leaves of absence (e.g., permanent disability, long-term disability, parental leave) and interns.
(9) Includes employees at all levels.
Environmental
Due to COVID-19 and the transition to working remotely, energy and water consumption and waste generation in our office properties significantly decreased in 2020.
366 Bay Street Profile
Throughout its history, D.UN has been developing in-house expertise to lower the embodied carbon footprint for new developments by re-using as much of the existing buildings as possible instead of demolishing carbon intensive materials and starting anew.
Within our ESG Framework, we call this Sustainable Redevelopment. Building off our successes at 30 Adelaide Street East and 357 Bay Street in Toronto, D.UN is taking the opportunity to revitalize its latest boutique modernist building in Toronto’s financial core at 366 Bay Street to provide the latest technologies that companies and their employees want plus a sophisticated, luxury look and feel that will impress their clients and partners.
Situated in the middle of the Dream Collection buildings, 366 Bay Street will be improved with better floor layouts, improved air quality systems, and new technology for smart building applications. Dream is also actively implementing the recently announced social procurement strategy to ensure equality in accessing opportunities for individuals and companies to do business with Dream. Additionally, by redeveloping a building from 1959, Dream is retaining in-place embodied carbon, which is significantly more efficient, from a GHG emission perspective, than demolishing and building new.
Building Certifications(1)
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100%BOMA BEST certification of
all Canadian properties
over 100,000 sq.ft -
12%LEED certified buildings, downtown Toronto -
85%WELL certified buildings
(1) Based on total GLA owned by D.UN as of September 30, 2021, representing 5.5M sq ft of portfolio, including owned GLA of Sussex Centre. Properties may have more than one certification.
Key Accomplishments
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As part of the Dream group of companies’ commitment(1), D.UN, is supporting the Net Zero Asset Managers (NZAM) Initiative, which is a group of international asset managers committed to supporting the goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 or sooner, in line with global efforts to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
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As part of the Dream group of companies’ commitment, D.UN is supporting the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investing (UN PRI) initiative, which includes a group of more than 4,300 investment managers and asset owners from nearly 90 countries committed to developing a more sustainable global financial system. -
D.UN is an official supporter of the Task Force for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) which provides guidance and recommendations to help companies provide better climate disclosures to support capital allocation. More than 2,300 companies support the TCFD and Dream is one of the first Canadian public real estate companies to become an official supporter.
(1) While DRM is the official signatory, D.UN will be an active participant in the reporting to the NZAM initiative and UN PRI as part of the Dream group of companies’ commitment.
Social
D.UN’s strength as an organization comes from our strong and diverse workforce. Our employees possess expertise in a wide variety of areas that benefit our business, from real estate management and development to capital markets, risk, insurance and many more.
Return to Operations Plans: Supporting our Tenants to Return to Work Safely
As we continue navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, keeping our tenants safe at work is our number one priority.
Over the last year, we improved tenant-facing Return to Operations plans to help ensure the safe return of tenants to our office buildings. As part of these plans, we’ve prepared our buildings with numerous safety measures to ensure a safe and healthy workplace for our tenants and their employees.
We have implemented a variety of enhancements including increased cleaning measures, new operational safety checks, building employee PPE, HVAC upgrades, UV lights and behavioural and directional signage. We’ve also acquired some of North America’s leading safety designations including WELL Health-Safety ↗ and Post Promise ↗.
D.UN Employee Gender Breakdown(1)
(1) Includes only employees 100% dedicated to Dream Office REIT and shared services functions for the Dream entities. Excludes employees on unpaid leaves of absence (e.g., permanent disability, long-term disability, parental leave) and interns.
(2) Includes employees at all levels.
Governance
As part of the ESG Framework, D.UN links ESG performance to executive and employee goals and compensation.
We are proud to share that D.UN achieved a five-star rating achievement in the 2021 Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) real estate assessment. D.UN received a score of 91/100 which is one of the best first year scores among GRESB participants, placing it in the top 20% of the benchmark. The 2021 GRESB real estate assessment covered the reporting period January 1 – December 31, 2020. This score exceeds the GRESB average of 73/100 and is attributed to our ability to collect environmental data for all of our properties, simultaneously achieve strong utility and GHG reductions and our high building certification rate, among other strengths.
Established in 2009, GRESB has become the leading ESG benchmark for real estate and infrastructure investments across the world, used by 140 institutional and financial investors to inform decision-making and covering $5.7 trillion of AUM and nearly 117,000 individual assets.
Sustainability at D.UN is managed by the following:
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Governance, Environmental and Nominating Committee
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Provide oversight of sustainability at the Board level
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ESG Executive Committee
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Adopt ESG Framework for each Dream entity
Communicate sustainability strategy and commitment across company and key external stakeholders
Delegate implementation to D.UN’s Sustainability and ESG team
Reports to the Compensation, Health and Environmental Committee
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Head of Sustainability
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Oversee the implementation of the ESG Framework for each Dream entity
Embed sustainability strategy and commitment across company and key external stakeholders
Reports to the ESG Executive Committee on a quarterly basis
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Sustainability and ESG Team
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Oversee and manage portfolio sustainability initiatives, including, building certifications, energy, water and waste management and monitoring, as well as strategic initiatives
Meets quarterly with the ESG Executive Committee
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Sustainability Working Groups
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Responsible for advancing sustainability initiatives and activities at company and property level.
Includes four working groups covering the following focus areas: Green Property Operations, Employee Engagement, Tenant Engagement, Reporting and Communications
Includes representatives from central functions, regions and properties
Each group reports monthly to the Sustainability and ESG team
Environmental
BOMA Beyond Earth Hour Challenge
D.UN’s 350 Bay Street was the Top Reducer of this year’s Beyond Earth Hour Challenge, which saw buildings compete to reduce energy use over a 60-hour weekend period. Hosted by BOMA Toronto, the Challenge evaluated competitors in two categories: Building and Tenant. This was the second D.UN property to win BOMA’s Beyond Earth Hour Challenge. In 2020, 67 Richmond Street West won for impressive energy reductions over the earth hour weekend.
Environmental
Smart Building Pilot
In 2020, we continued our Smart Building Pilot project at 80 Richmond Street West in Toronto to reposition this 80-year-old asset as a technological market leader. Despite delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the new Building Automation System (BAS), Smart LED lighting, upgraded tenant workplace experience app and advanced indoor air quality sensors are nearing completion. The pilot also involves modernizing the HVAC system to the latest standards and adding a variety of energy management and people counting technology features to optimize operations and improve tenant comfort. In early 2022, we expect the project to move into the testing and commissioning phase, getting real world feedback from our tenants and building operators.
80 Richmond Street West is also currently undergoing certification under the BOMA BEST Smart Buildings program as well as WiredScore’s SmartScore certification. These new certifications sets a global standard for how to measure smart buildings while also guiding owners and managers on digital transformation within the built environment. In 2021, we will also finish developing a new Digital Transformation standard that will apply to future construction projects as well as serve as a benchmark for our existing assets. This standard includes requirements for base building networks, converged operations platforms, sub-metering and security systems as well as the outcomes from the Smart Building Pilot at 80 Richmond.
Social
WELL Health-Safety Rating
In 2021, Dream Office was recognized as Canada’s largest commercial portfolio to earn the WELL Health-Safety Rating for 25 buildings across Canada totalling 4.6 million square feet. Our property management teams have implemented a wide range of protocols and design solutions to ensure a safe and healthy return as part of our Return to Operations plans for tenants. This includes upgraded air filtration systems, enhanced cleaning protocols and reducing contact with high-touch surfaces, which all meet rigorous and thorough criteria set out by the International WELL Building Institute.
Social
ArtworxTO
Dream is proud to be a supporter, as part of ArtworxTO’s Year of Public Art, of the initiative Project Reframed, which aims to highlight and empower local, emerging BIPOC artists. As part of ArtworxTO’s Year of Public Art, through the initiative Project Reframed, Dream Office REIT and Dream Unlimited unveiled a large-scale, seven-storey portrait photograph by emerging artist Jorian Charlton in the heart of the Financial District.
The stunning artwork adorning 330 Bay Street and the largest to date among the Year of Public Art pieces unveiled in 2021, spanning 3,000 sq. ft. and climbing 70 ft. high. The art will be on display until Spring 2022, as construction is underway on the building to modernize its façade.
An up-and-coming artist, Charlton is best known for her portrait photography and innate ability to capture intimate moments. Her experiences as a Jamaican-Canadian have informed her work, culminating in her distinct style that effortlessly fuses fashion, identity, and beauty with black representation.
Social
UVC light sanitation in elevators
As part of our Return to Operations plans, we have installed UV sanitation ventilation fans to keep people safe while using the elevators in our buildings. These units consist of ventilation fan and fluorescent UVC lamps, which work together to continuously draw in air, treat it with UV light to kill 99.9% of viruses and bacteria and expel clean, sanitized air into the elevator.
Sustainability Reports
- Previous years +
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Policies
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Declaration of Trust
Dream Office REIT’s Declaration of Trust governs our operations and includes such topics as investment guidelines and operating policies, financing restrictions, units and distributions, and the responsibilities and obligations of the Trustees.
Disclosure PolicyThe objective of our disclosure policy is to ensure that communications to the investing public about Dream Office REIT are timely, factual and accurate, and disseminated in accordance with all applicable legal and regulatory requirements. The policy covers topics including trading restrictions and blackout periods, confidentiality, and designated spokespersons. This policy applies to all trustees, officers and employees of Dream Office REIT and its subsidiaries, including trusts and partnerships in which Dream Office REIT owns directly or indirectly at least a 50% equity interest.
Code of ConductOur Code of Conduct (the “Code) is our statement of the values and principles that guide us in our day-to-day business activities. The keystones are: integrity, respect, fairness, accountability and transparency. The Code supports our commitment to operate our business at the highest level of legal, moral and ethical standards. The Code applies to all trustees, officers and employees of Dream Office REIT and subsidiaries.
Whistleblower PolicyAt Dream Office REIT, we are steadfast in our commitment to maintaining the highest business and personal ethical standards by dealing openly and honestly with our investors, tenants, suppliers and employees. With our Whistleblower Policy we marry this commitment to that of securities laws and regulations with respect to accounting standards and internal control standards. We have contracted EthicsPoint Inc., an independent service provider, to manage any complaints or concerns on our behalf. This service reports directly to the Audit Committee of Dream Office REIT and is available seven (7) days a week, 365 days a year. Any concerns may be reported directly, confidentially, and, if preferred, anonymously, through www.ethicspoint.com
Majority Voting PolicyThe Trust has a majority voting policy, requiring that each Trustee nominee receive the support of a majority of the total number of votes cast by the unitholders entitled to elect such Trustee nominee, failing which such Trustee shall submit his or her resignation to the Board for consideration.
Diversity Inclusion & Advancement CommitmentAs one of Canada’s leading real estate companies, we always invest with purpose, embracing creativity and diversity, passion and innovation, while positively impacting our communities and the world around us.
Board Diversity PolicyDream seeks to maintain a Board comprised of talented and dedicated trustees whose skills and backgrounds reflect the diverse nature of the business environment in which Dream operates. Accordingly, the composition of the Board is intended to reflect a diverse mix of skills, experience, knowledge and backgrounds, including an appropriate number of women trustees.
