Morguard: Sustainably Developing the Real Estate Industry

Morguard is one of Canada’s largest integrated real estate companies with more than 9B $Cdn in assets under management throughout Canada and the US.  Their diverse portfolio includes more than 44 million square feet of office, industrial, retail, residential and mixed-use properties. As a company, they came to appreciate the value of sustainability for not only its social and ecological benefits, but for the economic advantage gained through differentiating themselves amongst their competitors.

To integrate sustainability into their every-day practices, Morguard devised four phases of action:
Phase 1: Sustainability Assessment and Identification of Best Practices
Phase 2: Sustainability Strategy, Vision and Initiative Prioritization
Phase 3: Implementation and Engagement
Phase 4: Communications and Stakeholder Reporting

Neil Pegram, the Morguard sustainability program lead, started with an internal review and an external analysis of best practices in the industry, and then engaged The Natural Step Canada to help launch Phase 2 of their action plan. The resulting 2.5 day sustainability training and strategic planning session was co-facilitated by Neil and Natural Step Principal Advisor Pong Leung. The aim of this engagement was to foster a common understanding of sustainability amongst senior management and to promote thinking about sustainability in a more strategic, and future-focused way.  One of the highlights of the planning session was the “world café” style discussion which afforded participants the opportunity to engage in meaningful conversations in a less formal and more explorative way. “It was amazing to see the energy in the room and the authenticity of what they were saying” said Pong. This excitement is promising for the long journey toward sustainability ahead.

The workshop focused on the development of a long-term vision to help move the company forwards in this journey. A range of employees and senior management, including Morguard’s president, were highly engaged in all sessions and a wide range of initiatives resulted. In particular Morguard’s Development team committed to developing only “green office buildings” that meet industry certifications in future engagements.  Such a clear step in the right direction speaks to both the thoughtfulness and earnestness of Morguard’s drive to make the world a better place. Furthermore the enthusiasm shared among participants and the quality of the realizations established in this work shop, set Morguard up well for the next steps of their sustainability journey...Stay tuned!

Click here to see pictures from the event

TNS Advisor Pong Leung shares his reflections on the workshop in this blog