Sustainability

RMZ’s Executive Board of Directors have a long term view of RMZ’s ESG strategy throughout the year. From our nominated Executive Board Member - K Jayakumar, the board receives regular updates on the company’s ESG initiatives. An ESG Steering Committee at RMZ, comprising of senior executives is responsible for executing business group mandates. Each of our business groups is the primary decision-making body on all ESG matters. They drive these ESG initiatives based on our business imperatives along with industry developments & practices. We incorporate ESG factors into our investment decisions, starting with the due diligence of a potential investment through the exit process. During the initial due diligence phase, we utilize our operating expertise and industry-specific engagement guidance to identify material ESG risks and opportunities relevant to the potential investment. We perform deeper due diligence if required by utilizing internal experts and third-party advisors as needed. All investments made by the company are approved by our investment committees. They are based on a comprehensive set of predetermined criteria that evaluate potential risks, mitigants and opportunities. ESG matters are part of this evaluation, including corruption, health & safety, and other environmental, social and governance considerations. As part of each acquisition, the investment teams create a tailored integration plan that includes material ESG-related matters for review or execution. ESG risks and opportunities through the investment’s life cycle are identified and assessed during due diligence and then actively managed by each portfolio company with support from the investment team responsible This recognizes the importance of local expertise, which provides valuable insights of asset types and locations in which we invest, coupled with RMZ’s broad investment expertise. We believe there is a strong correlation between actively managing all facets of ESG effectively and enhancing investment returns.

“We believe that acting responsibly toward our stakeholders is fundamental for operating a productive, profitable and sustainable business. It reinforces our philosophy of conducting business with a long-term perspective in a sustainable and ethical manner. We believe that robust ESG principles and practices go hand in hand with a business for a wide variety of reasons. And we have been embedding these into our development, asset management platforms and business operations for many years.”

K. Jayakumar

Sr. Managing Director - Executive Board

01Environmental

We believe that our operating businesses are well positioned toward a net zero-carbon economy. We are one of the country’s largest owners of real estate. And our office portfolios are heavily weighted towards properties that meet high environmental sustainability standards. We are consistent with the expectations of our tenants, which we view as enhancing rental revenues and lowering operating costs.
From a decarbonization standpoint, we intend to be a leader in both driving the transition to net zero and measuring and reporting on the same, in line with industry standards. We are working from a strong foundation and intend to do more. This includes enhancing our climate change mitigation and adaptation processes to ensure they are properly factored into our governance and risk management protocols and measuring and monitoring our greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions across the business.
We will also be active in the sustainable finance market, with issuances in 2022 across green bonds and sustainability-linked debt. Some of our assets and investments are well-suited for sustainable financing, and we continue to look for opportunities to access capital in this manner.

02Social

We are committed to a positive, open and inclusive work environment in all our offices. This creates an environment that encourages strong relationships, provides an environment conducive to development and enables us to benefit from diverse perspectives. This further enhances our ability to add value to our people. Beyond our employers, we also acknowledge the positive contribution to the communities in which we operate.
In addition, philanthropic and other community activities are an opportunity to increase the engagement of our teams and support the development of our people.
A focus on diversity and inclusion is another aspect of a positive work environment and our efforts in this regard have resulted in significant progress. Specifically, over the next five years, we will more than double our employee population in the asset management business. During this period, we would also double our female representation at the most senior levels of the organization.
Finally, while the health and safety of our employees have always been a priority, it required additional focus as we navigated through the COVID-19 pandemic. Subject to individual personal health considerations, we brought our employees back to the office when it became permissible. We believe this was important to reinforce our culture of collaboration, enable the development of our employees and address their mental health. There were four principles we followed to accomplish this safely:

Adherence to local requirements

Strong safety protocols - often exceeding government requirements

Mitigating the risk through continuous reviews of changing protocols

Respect for each employee’s privacy

Health and safety in the workplace also represent an integral part of how our businesses are managed. As health and safety risk varies across industry sectors and the nature of operations, we emphasize the importance of having operating businesses directly accountable and responsible for managing and reporting risks within their operations.

03Governance

We continue to prioritize our data privacy and security. In 2022 we will undertake initiatives to further protect our environment by enhancing our access controls and anti-malware protections, and improving our detection and response capabilities through the use of automated technologies. Annually we will review our cybersecurity program, and periodically we have an external party assess our program maturity based on the NIST Cybersecurity framework. The results of this assessment will validate the strength of our program.
In addition to continued mandatory cybersecurity education for all employees, we will implement additional training for specific groups, such as new employees or employees in roles where the impact of a cyber-incident is high (e.g., finance teams and human resources). The strength of this effort will be evident through improved results in our phishing simulations.
Finally, we continue to align our business practices with leading frameworks for responsible investing and demonstrate our commitment by serving as a member and active participant in industry forums and other organizations. Through our membership in organizations, we will remain actively involved in discussions aimed at advancing ESG awareness across private & public markets and enhancing our reporting and protocols in line with evolving best practices.