TC6.1: Community Engagement Program – Above Green

Intent

This indicator examines the strategies used by the entity to support communities associated with its operations. A structured and comprehensive approach to community engagement demonstrates the extent of integration of community engagement issues into the entity’s overall strategy.

Requirements

Select yes or no. If yes, select all applicable sub-options.

Does the entity have a community engagement program in place that includes ESG-specific issues?

Yes
- Select all topics included (multiple answers possible)
  - Community health and well-being
  - Effective communication and process to address community concerns
  - Enhancement programs for public spaces
  - Employment creation in local communities
  - Research and network activities
  - Resilience, including assistance or support in case of disaster
  - Supporting charities and community groups
  - ESG education program
  - Other: ______________
- Describe the community engagement program and the monitoring process (maximum 250 words)

________________________

Open text box: The open text box will not be used for scoring, but will appear in the Benchmark Committee for reporting purposes. Describe the community engagement program and the monitoring process. The description should refer to the applicable topics included in the community engagement program and elements below:

Program objectives
Examples of specific activities/projects
Scope of the activities/projects

Validation

Other: State the alternative topic included in community engagement. It is possible to report multiple other answers.

See Appendix 2a for additional information about GRESB Validation.

Scoring

2 points, S

Scoring is based on the number of selected options. It is not necessary to select all options to achieve the maximum score.

Other: The 'Other' answer is manually validated and points are contingent on the validation decision.

Open text box: The open text box is not scored and is for reporting purposes only.

See the Scoring Document for additional information on scoring.

Terminology

Assistance or support in case of disaster: Financial, social or other assistance required to respond to disaster situations, such as the formation of a disaster response team and training.

Community/public: Persons or groups of people living and/or working in any areas that are economically, socially or environmentally impacted (positively or negatively) by the entity’s operations.

Community concerns: Issues of importance raised by the community, that are causing social, mental or other distress.

Community engagement: Community engagement refers to the communication, interaction, and formation of relationships between the entity and those groups.

Enhancement programs: Programs designed to improve public spaces to increase accessibility and livability, and encourage greater community interaction and well-being.

Health and well-being program: Program designed to address and increase the health and wellbeing of the local community.

Public spaces: Refers to spaces that are open and accessible to the public for social and recreational use.

Research and network activities: Activities and events organized for/with groups and members of the local community for the purpose of research and networking.

Resilience: Preparedness of the built environment towards existing and future climate changes (i.e., the ability to absorb disturbances such as increased precipitation or flooding while maintaining its structure). This can be achieved by management policies, informational technologies, educating tenant, community, suppliers and physical measures at the asset level.

Supporting charities and community groups: Providing financial, social or other support to local community groups and charities.

ESG education program: A program designed to increase awareness and knowledge of ESG issues within the community.

References

EPRA Best Practices Recommendations on Sustainability Reporting, 3rd version, September 2017: 5.9