At Essex, we understand the importance of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) best practices, their impact on our business, and how they contribute to the organization's success. With better data and proven programs, we have expanded our ESG efforts across our portfolio, decreased our environmental footprint, and improved the lives of our residents and associates alike.


As leaders in our industry, our continued commitment to providing sustainable apartment homes is unwavering. Through renovation and development projects, we have ensured our residents can live more sustainably - 16 of our apartment communities are LEED-certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) with two additional developments targeting LEED certification, a designation indicating a universally agreed-upon, holistic system for reducing environmental impacts, saving resources, impacting human health, reducing carbon emissions and addressing climate change.


In total, we have developed 32 properties that have received or are targeting green building certifications (LEED, GreenPoint, or BUILT GREEN). We are confident these initiatives will continue contributing to long-term sustainable returns for our shareholders.

View our Current ESG Report

 

Our Values

With our company values of Act With Integrity, Care About What Matters, Lead At Every Level, Do Right With Urgency, and Seek Fairness, we are focused on providing a positive workplace that celebrates employee engagement, learning and development opportunities, performance management, wellness and benefits, and diversity and inclusivity.

Essex Values Culture

ESG Highlights

 

17.4%

Decrease in Scope 1
and 2 GHG emissions

235%

Increase in PV solar
and 2 GHG emissions

46.4%

Waste diversion rate

40%

Board of Directors
are women

Gender Pay Parity
across Essex

-26%

Change in worker's
compensation claims
from 2021

Goals & Progress

We are excited to introduce a new set of goals for 2023 that focuses on our environmental, social, and governance work. These goals include reducing our environmental impact, increasing the impact in the communities in which we operate, and maintaining our commitment to equity.

Energy

Energy

Metric: Reduce Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG Emissions by 35% from 2018 baseline by 2030 Progress: 2018 emissions: 54,636 MTCO2e 2022 emissions: 45,111 MTCO2e % reduction: 17.4%

Water

Water

Metric: Reduce whole building like-for- like water usage by 10% from 2021 baseline by 2030 Progress: 2021 baseline: 3.067M Kgal 2022 usage: 3045M Kgal 2022 reduction: .7%

Waste

Waste

Metric: Direct 50% of waste by 2030 Progress: 2018 baseline diversion: 40.2% 2022 diversion: 46.4%

Philanthropy

Philanthropy

Metric: Donate $3 million to charitable causes between 2021-2030 Progress: $280,000+ donated in 2022

community service

Community Service

Metric: Increase associates who use annual VTO hours by 100% between 2022-2025 Progress: 92 associates registered 444 VTO hours in 2022

Wellness

Wellness

Metric: Increase associate engagement in wellness programs to 75% by 2025 Progress: 69% of associates were registered with our wellness platform in 2022

DEI

DEI

Metric: Maintain gender pay parity Progress: Developed a robust, multiple regression analysis model, confirming pay decisions were not based on gender in 2022. We continue to maintain our gender pay parity.

Diversity

DEI

Metric: Continue to disclose diversity metrics Progress: Annual EEO-1 Report for 2022

United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Aligning with the United Nations’ International Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), our sustainable apartments and Corporate Social Responsibility strategy focus on reducing our environmental impact through solutions and technology surrounding energy efficiency, renewable energy generation, water conservation, and waste management. The result: sustainable living for our residents and a better planet for us all.

 

  • Goal 03 - Good Health Well Being
  • Goal 05 - Gender Equality
  • Goal 6 - Clean Water Sanitation
  • Goal 07 - Affordable Clean Energy
  • Goal 08 - Decent Work Economic Growth
  • Goal 09 - Industry Innovation Infrastructure
  • Goal 10 - Reduced Inequalities
  • Goal 11 - Sustainable Cities Communities
  • Goal 12 - Responsible Consumption Production
  • Goal 13 - Climate Action
  • Goal 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

 

 

Sustainable Living Awards and Certifications

Since the inception of green building certifications, Essex has created sustainable apartments. Our team has developed 32 communities that have received or are targeting green building certifications, totaling nearly 10,000 eco-friendly apartments.

Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark

GRESB Green Star

For the fifth consecutive year in 2020, Essex earned a “Green Star” from the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark for its sustainable living performance.

U.S. Green Building Council

U.S. Green Building Council

Essex has developed 18 LEED apartment communities that are LEED Certified, including eight Gold and eight Silver certifications, with two additional certifications currently pending.

Build it Green: GreenPoint Rated

Build it Green: GreenPoint Rated

Essex has achieved GreenPoint Rated certifications from the most trusted independent green home certification program in California on 10 ground-up development projects.

Find Your Sustainable Living Community

Northern California

Southern California

Washington

Awards & Accolades

Join us in celebrating the awards bestowed upon us.

 

 

Essex Cares - Awards

ESG Reports

We invite you to download our latest ESG reports, which outline our environmental, social, and governance performance, and provide an overview of how we integrate ESG into our core business.