Triovest Demonstrates Sustainability Thought Leadership by Solidifying Its Priorities
Identifying priority issues helps companies to drive and refine their business strategies, as well as demonstrate transparency. All too often sustainability priorities are misaligned with a company’s broader business objectives. In an effort to further integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) topics into its corporate strategy, Triovest Realty Advisors embarked on a stakeholder consultation exercise – the most detailed of its kind in the Canadian commercial real estate sector.
“Triovest is committed to engaging with a wide range of stakeholders who contribute to our business success on a daily basis,” said Vince Brown, President and CEO of Triovest. “By doing so we build an environment of trust and open dialogue which supports informed business decisions and a shared enthusiasm for positive change.”
Taking such a comprehensive approach provided Triovest with valuable feedback to refine its strategy and deliver tangible results in 2015 and beyond. Relationships with the 37 stakeholders interviewed (17 external, 20 internal) were also strengthened through this exercise. These interviews set the foundation for ongoing dialogue to ensure that Triovest understands and exceeds stakeholder expectations.
“I was impressed that Triovest took the time to listen to and understand our perspective,” said Michael Brooks, CEO of REALpac. “I look forward to seeing the improvements that will result from this important exercise.”
Stakeholders were asked to rank 31 topics with regard to their level of importance; to explain the rationale behind each ranking; to identify if topics were missing and their corresponding ranking; and to identify whether or not they would increase or decrease in importance over time.
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Triovest discovered that the priorities identified internally clearly matched those of its external stakeholders. Of those, governance and financial-related topics emerged as top priorities, along with employee health and safety, engagement and development.
A growing number of companies are identifying their priority issues in order to align their reporting with the Global Reporting Initiative’s latest guidelines (G4). Triovest’s work will help to set the bar for how companies prioritize their “material” issues in the Canadian commercial real estate sector. As more robust examples of these practices become available, more companies will be motivated to approach materiality in a way that creates value.
For more detailed information on Triovest’s sustainability strategy, please look for its first public sustainability report, coming in fall 2015.
