What is Sustainability?

Sustainability, or the ability to be sustained, essentially means that “the state of the global environment can be maintained so that the human species can continue living toward the future.” In terms of corporate activities, it means taking action from a corporate standpoint to keep the global environment sustainable from the environmental and social viewpoints.

In the asset management business, reflecting the degree of commitment to the environment, society and governance (collectively called “ESG”) of a company as an investment target onto investment decisions and discussions with investors, etc. will lead to solution and improvement of environmental and social issues through the activities of the company. Moreover, it will contribute to the establishment of a sustainable society. As such, making investments with ESG awareness is called “ESG investing.”

Internationally, ESG investing has been advocated under the United Nation’s Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), and is becoming widely accepted and signed by many institutional investors and management agencies on a global scale.

In Japan, the Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF), the world’s largest pension fund, became a signatory to the PRI in September 2015. This became a trigger for the idea of ESG investing to spread quickly in the country.

Sustainability Policy

We are aiming at business that contribute to the realization of the sustainable society, on the basis of the Sustainability Vision established by NTT Urban Solutions. Moreover, from the perspective of placing investors’ interests over the medium to long term as our top priority, we recognize the importance of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) awareness, and work to reflect ESG awareness in all aspects of our real estate investment and management operations.

1.	Global warming countermeasures We will promote energy saving and reduction of greenhouse effect gas emissions in managing the investment assets.
2.	Measures to preserve water resources and reduce waste We will continuously work on water saving measures as well as reduction of waste and promotion of recycling.
3.	Ensuring safety and security We will promote BCPs (business continuity plans) for office buildings and implement disaster prevention measures at residential properties.
4.	Internal implementation and initiatives for officers and employees In order to implement the initiatives based on this Policy, we will educate and train officers and employees.
5.	Coordination with outside stakeholders We will coordinate with our tenants, property management companies and other stakeholders in an effort to enhance CS (customer satisfaction), as well as to achieve harmony with and vitalization of the local communities.
6.	Information disclosure to investors, etc. We will endeavor to proactively disclose information on our ESG awareness. Moreover, we will work to continuously obtain environmental certificates and assessments and disclose their details.
7.	Compliance We conduct corporate activities in accordance with environmental preservation-related laws and regulations, fully aware of the importance of corporate ethics and compliance.

Sustainability Policy (full text) PDF
(Asset management company: NTT Urban Development Asset Management Corporation)

Sustainability Promotion Structure

NTT Urban Development Asset Management Corporation, the asset management company for NUD, has installed “Sustainability Promotion Committee” (the “Committee”) to review sustainability targets and measures, cooperate with the implementation thereof, etc. in accordance with the Sustainability Policy.
The Committee convenes at least twice a year to review concrete targets and measures, track the status of progress and instruct as required under the objective of promoting environmental awareness and other sustainability.
The President & CEO serves as the Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO), while the Head of Engineering and Sustainability Management Office serves as the Sustainability Officer (SO).