TORONTO, June 11, 2024 /CNW/ - Starlight Investments ("Starlight") is pleased to announce the release of its 2023 Sustainability Report. The report provides a comprehensive overview of the company's sustainability commitments, initiatives, achievements and progress across key areas including people and culture, social impact, operations and development, and transparency and accountability.

Starlight is committed to continuously improving the sustainability of its global operations and communities, as part of an integrated multi-year action plan. This unwavering focus on sustainability excellence aligns with the company's overarching purpose – to invest with impact, while driving positive social, economic and environmental change as leaders in sustainable real estate.

"At Starlight, we take shared responsibility in making a positive impact across all of our operations and communities. We set ambitious targets to monitor our progress and embed sustainability principles into every facet of our organization," said Glen Hirsh, Chief Operating Officer, Starlight Investments. "Our significant progress over the past year underscores our ongoing commitment to advancing our social and environmental initiatives and drives us to keep striving for a better, more sustainable and inclusive future for all."

For the second consecutive year in 2023, Starlight ranked first in the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) Canada Residential Multi-Family Non-listed peer group and recorded strong improvements in the performance of its Starlight U.S. Residential and Starlight Commercial Private business lines. 

In 2023, Starlight focused on its people value proposition in an effort to maximize the overall employee experience, placing a high priority on career growth and wellness and launched a new Diversity Council, which will drive initiatives to foster a more inclusive workplace where every individual feels valued and respected. The company also developed a training program focused on allyship and the organization's Code of Conduct. Starlight continues to work extensively in collaboration with its professional third-party property management partners, to implement regular training as well as resident engagement activities to foster inclusiveness, quality of life and a sense of community.

Last year, Starlight made contributions to more than 30 local charities. In alignment with the organization's core mission, in 2023 the company held its inaugural Impact Day. As part of this new milestone to put impact into action, more than 350 Starlight employees rallied together to give back to the communities where they live and work in support of several important causes.

In addition to extensive people and culture and social impact programs, the company remains steadfast in its commitment to the environment. Starlight has developed a decarbonization pathway that charts a course towards achieving net zero emissions by 2050 and has set an interim target to reduce emissions by 50% over its 2019 baseline by 2035.

As one of Canada's most active real estate developers and multi-family residential property owners, Starlight is dedicated to ensuring the longevity of its existing communities. Building preservation and enhancements remain at the centre of the company's strategy and support efforts to preserve current housing stock, improve amenities, increase safety, and reduce environmental impacts and operating costs – ultimately enhancing resilience, livability and long-term value. Starlight implements extensive enhancement plans across its portfolio, providing residents and commercial tenants with healthy, efficient, comfortable and safe spaces.

In Canada, Starlight has a targeted development pipeline of over 28,000 rental suites over the next ten years, with hundreds of rental homes that were newly occupied in 2023. In addition to the company's extensive development pipeline to create much-needed new rental housing, Starlight continues to convert underutilized space within its existing residences and communities into additional new rental homes for individuals and families.

2023 SUSTAINABILITY REPORT HIGHLIGHTS:

• Achieved a like-for-like portfolio-wide reduction in carbon emissions intensity of 16.3% since 2019, with a developed pathway towards net zero emissions by 2050.
• Launched a Diversity Council, while the third annual employee survey revealed that 92% feel Starlight fosters a diverse and inclusive place to work.
• Ranked 1^st in the GRESB Canada Residential Multi-Family Non-listed peer group for the second year in a row.
• Achieved green building certifications across 70% of Starlight's Commercial portfolio highlighting a holistic approach to sustainability that integrates value-add environmental practices.
• Received the Next Generation Employment Innovation Award from the University of Waterloo for the company's comprehensive annual summer student program.
• Over 1,000 rental suites were made available to vulnerable and at-risk individuals and families through partnerships with social housing providers.

To review Starlight's full 2023 Sustainability Report, please click here.

For further information and to learn more about Starlight's sustainability commitments and initiatives, please visit Starlight's website.

About Starlight Investments

Starlight Investments is a leading global real estate investment and asset management firm with CAD $28B AUM. A privately held owner, developer and asset manager of over 68,000 multi-residential suites and over 7 million square feet of commercial property space, we offer a range of investment vehicles across various real estate strategies. Starlight's guiding mission is to balance our tenure with visionary curiosity to create positive impact for investors and communities alike. At Starlight, we invest with impact. Learn more at www.starlightinvest.com or connect with us on LinkedIn.

SOURCE Starlight Investments