SAN DIEGO– BioMed Realty, a leading provider of real estate solutions to the life science and technology industries, today provided a recap of its 2022 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) achievements.
GRESB
BioMed Realty is a portfolio company within Blackstone’s Core+ Life Sciences Real Estate strategy, which exceeded peer benchmarks and received a 4-star rating in the 2022 GRESB Real Estate Assessment, a key measurement of ESG performance within the industry.
Key initiatives that factored into the GRESB results include:
- 175 energy-efficiency projects since 2016, including replacing HVAC cooling towers and implementing LED retrofits. Since their inception, these projects have saved more than 38.5 million kWh of electricity.
- Continued partnerships with tenants to pursue sustainable development, including working with Takeda to target Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold and WELL Gold certifications at 585 Kendall in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
“As leaders in real estate, we have a responsibility to design and maintain spaces that serve the needs of our tenants and local communities today and tomorrow, and our commitment to promoting environmental and societal health at every step of our projects is a testament to that,” said Tim Schoen, CEO of BioMed Realty. “These GRESB results deliver added confidence to our tenants and investors, and validate BioMed Realty’s efforts to fulfill the market’s growing demand for sustainable buildings. We look forward to using these benchmarks to continue to push the envelope on creating the labs of the future.”
Portfolio Initiatives
Building for climate resiliency, BioMed Realty leverages technology and automation in an effort to reduce the environmental footprint of its projects across all core innovation markets. The Company aims to create sustainable buildings that foster innovation and promote health, wellness, and inclusivity throughout the entire project life cycle, as demonstrated in developments such as:
- Dexter Yard (528,000 square feet in Seattle, Washington), which provides tenants with the ability to add specific building systems to neutralize airborne impurities. The property’s healthcare-grade filtration system and site amenities helped it earn Fitwel 2 star certification in May 2022.
- Gateway of Pacific (2.2 million square foot campus in South San Francisco, California), which places health and wellness at the center of building design, incorporating sustainability features such as on-site energy generation, rainwater capture, high-efficiency HVAC systems, and electric vehicle infrastructure. As a result of these implementations, Gateway of Pacific Phase 1 obtained LEED Platinum certification while the campus’s world class amenities center Traverse, featuring a state-of-the-art health club and multi-faceted dining options, received Fitwel 2 star certification, both attained in February 2021.
- Granta Park (1.3 million square foot campus in Cambridge, UK), where BioMed Realty has focused sustainability initiatives on protecting and preserving natural features within the campus, upgrading HVAC systems, and installing EV charging stations. Granta Park’s recently redeveloped Portway Building holds a BREEAM Excellent rating, attained in November 2021, and incorporates photovoltaic panels to help generate electrical power.
“Our ESG strategy is a critical part of our objective to ensure that our life science infrastructure withstands the tests of time and climate change,” said Jon Bergschneider, BioMed Realty’s President of West Coast Markets, who leads the Company’s ESG program. “In the coming year, we’ll continue to engage with our partners and tenants to identify areas where we can strengthen and fine-tune our ESG practices to move our industry forward while elevating the value of our portfolio.”
