This is the fifteenth Prologis report on our ESG activities (Environmental Stewardship, Social Responsibility and Governance). As every year, we present new goals and our progress towards developing new standards.
„ESG is woven into our fabric, informing decision-making from the boardroom to all corners of our global operation. Our organizational commitment to ESG is strengthened by its inherent alignment with the strategic blueprint of the company, the business imperatives we call the 3Cs: Customer Centricity; Change Through Innovation and Operational Excellence; and Culture & Talent” – said Ben Bannatyne, President, Prologis Europe.
Highlights from our 2020 ESG report demonstrate how we continue to leverage our global scale to provide leading solutions in areas like energy efficiency, carbon neutrality, and customer innovation.
Environmental Stewardship – 100%
Our commitment to sustainable building design, energy efficiency and renewable energy all create value for our customers. For example, through our Prologis SolarSmart initiative, part of our Prologis Essentials program, we partnered with our customers to install 40 megawatts globally making 2020 one of the most successful years to date. Since 2016, LED lightning has been our building standard and working together with our customers we achieved almost 50% LED coverage in 2020.
Together with our clients we protect the environment, therefore we intend to illuminate 100% of the global portfolio with high-quality energy-saving LED systems by 2025. This is achievable due to our global scale and the Prologis Essentials LED - an initiative that is part of the Prologis Essentials program, established specifically for this purpose.
We are constantly looking for new opportunities to protect the environment. To achieve that, last year in Poland we finalized the purchase of energy with certificates of origin from Tauron. As a result, our Polish portfolio is now 80 percent powered by ecological energy..
2020 also marked the opening and development of multiple Smart Building projects in Europe, adopting and advancing cutting-edge sustainable technologies, materials, building techniques (like low carbon building materials, borehole thermal energy storage, electric heat pumps) and circular building design. These Smart Buildings have set an altogether new standard for warehousing and logistics, streamlining our customers’ operations from day one and optimizing productivity as they grow.
For years, our activities have proved that it is possible to effectively minimize the impact on the environment. In 2019, Prologis became the first real estate company listed on the S&P 100 to achieve operational carbon neutrality. Now we want to prove that logistics can be even greener so we have established ourselves next ambitious task.
With our newly announced global goal to achieve carbon-neutral construction by 2025, Prologis is taking a leadership role in addressing one of the largest sources of global carbon emissions: the embodied carbon of buildings.
Just south of Paris, our new Moissy 2 logistics facility will be our first carbon-neutral warehouse, avoiding, reducing and compensating 100% of construction, operations and maintenance impacts throughout the building’s life cycle. Built with no gas connection, the building will rely on design efficiencies, rooftop solar, purchased green energy and borehole thermal energy storage for heating, cooling and power.
Across Europe, we partner with the international charity Cool Earth to fund the protection of rainforest lands equivalent to five times the unavoidable embodied carbon emissions associated with constructing our buildings. While building Prologis warehouses in Central Europe we’ve been helping to protect 784 hectares of rainforest in just last year.
Social Responsibility – anytime
Our stakeholders are fundamental partners in our business’ success. To grow long-term value, we develop deep relationships and advance the interest of our stakeholders. This means creating an environment where our employees can reach their full potential, where our products and services create unique value for customers and where we advance economic opportunity and well-being in our communities.
PARKlife™ a Prologis Europe initiative, offers park facilities and amenities to customers, their employees and local communities. Many of our parks facilitate green travel options such as easily accessible public transport, EV charging stations and safe bicycle storage, which help employees get to work sustainably. Others have onsite canteens and food truck courts that provide our customers’ employees a variety of onsite dining choices. Walking trails, gyms and sports facilities are also popular amenities. Moreover, in Hungary and Slovakia, employees of our parks can benefit from sport activities on football pitches, and in Poland we have just launched open-air Book Box libraries. PARKlife™ is a mindset and is about looking at how our shared spaces and places can become the best environment for everyone who interacts with them. This is also a response to one of our clients’ biggest pain points: labour.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, our commitment to support our customers and employees reinforced our standing as an unwavering partner for our stakeholders. For our customers we supplied personal protective equipment and implemented COVID-19 protocols to keep our customers’ workforce safe and their businesses running. Our employees are the beating heart of our business, delivering value for the company and our customers and bringing our sustainability goals to fruition. As such the pandemic challenged us to conduct an immediate evaluation of our benefits and add several new offerings to support the health and well-being of our employees.
Our commitment has been appreciated - Prologis is recognized by the Wprost weekly among 50 companies in Poland, which provided employees with the best care during COVID-19. What is more – the strong engagement of our teams help us to support those hardest hit by the pandemic. Amazing effects of our December charity action Dock Doors of Giving are the best proof of that.
„In a year that posed unprecedented challenges, I am proud that our European team has continued to use their drive for innovation, growth, and partnership to support our customers and communities. It is a testament to our philosophy that puts ESG first, not only because it makes business sense, but simply because it is the right thing to do. We observe the genuine effects of our actions and the positive impact in our surroundings. That strongly motivates us to further challenges” – said Paweł Sapek, Regional Head Prologis CE.
Governance – for all of our stakeholders
Integrity is one of our core values and underpins all of Prologis business relationships. As a listed company, our performance is based on our stakeholders trust that we will always run our business with integrity and in full compliance with the regulations. Due to proper supervision, we effectively protect and develop the company, fulfill our obligations and achieve the results. In 2020 our activities in the area of governance have been recognized in Poland, where Prologis was awarded the title of the Ethical Business 2020, in recognition of our status as a socially responsible and trustworthy business partner on the Polish market.