San Francisco-based Prologis, a leading logistics real estate firm, announced the release of its annual sustainability report last month.
By Patrick Burnson
Published: August, 2016
San Francisco-based Prologis, a leading logistics real estate firm, announced the release of its annual sustainability report last month. The report documents the company’s activities in the three dimensions of sustainability: environmental stewardship, social responsibility and corporate governance and ethics. Highlights from the report include:
Environmental Stewardship
The certification of 45 projects totaling 15 million square feet of sustainable buildings in 2015, bringing the company’s total sustainable building certifications to 68 million square feet across 173 projects in 15 countries.
Solar installations in the company’s footprint increased by 30 megawatts (MW) to 149 MW in nine countries.
73 percent of the company’s operating portfolio now has efficient lighting, up from 68 percent in 2014.
Social Responsibility
$1.5 million donated by Prologis and the Prologis Foundation to local nonprofits.
More than 9,900 employee volunteer hours contributed, including those during IMPACT Day, Prologis’ global day of service, to more than 60 nonprofit organizations in the areas of education, human welfare and the environment.
105 months of rent-free distribution center space donated to 18 nonprofits through Prologis’ Space for Good program.
Corporate Governance and Ethics
REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) industry’s corporate governance leader for the 13th year in a row, according to Green Street Advisors.
“As I look back on this past year, I am proud of our sustainability accomplishments and inspired by my fellow employees,” said Jeannie Renne-Malone, the company’s vice president of sustainability. “Their efforts to minimize our environmental impacts, engage with our communities, and act with uncompromising integrity are the lifeblood of our sustainability program. Together, we will work diligently so that Prologis is resilient in the face of complex and interrelated global challenges and to ensure that our sustainability program will leave a lasting positive impact for generations to come.”
Port of San Francisco Moves Forward on Pier 80 Marine Terminal
Bay Crossings readers may recall that the renovation and development of San Francisco’s historic Pier 1 is the result of a private-public partnership between Prologis and the Port of San Francisco. The project created an innovative workplace using open space and sustainable design that preserves the building’s historic industrial past and reinforces the company’s culture and business.
The Port of San Francisco continues on its path of commercial cargo sustainability as it moves forward on inaugurating a 15-year marine terminal management agreement for Pier 80, the port’s cargo terminal in the southern waterfront, with Pasha Automotive Services (PAS).
As reported here in June, the new agreement with PAS promises to transform Pier 80 from an underutilized asset to a thriving marine terminal, creating new revenue for the port and significant economic and employment benefits for San Francisco.
Port of Oakland Inaugurates New Rail Facility
As covered further in this month’s Green Pages feature on page 11, the Port of Oakland welcomed the first train to use a new, $100 million near-dock rail facility at the former army base last month. The new tracks are located in the port’s Outer Harbor intermodal terminal area. They were designed as part of a strategy to enhance the port’s intermodal capabilities.
The port wants to attract more discretionary cargo through Oakland. Discretionary cargo is cargo which is not local to the region and can be shipped through any number of seaports in the United States, Canada or Mexico. The cargo on the inaugural train was originally destined for Canadian seaports.
The 100-car train carried Archer Daniels Midland agricultural products from the Midwest that were headed to Asia. The cargo was transferred from the rail cars directly into containers by port tenant Capital River Group and was delivered to the terminals for export. The Port of Oakland has seen a growing market for agricultural products, especially from California’s Central and Salinas valleys and the Midwest.
“The port envisioned a rail yard that would bring cargo through Oakland,” said Port of Oakland Maritime Director John Driscoll. “This was made possible by maritime business partners such as Union Pacific Railroad and government funding partners.”
The new tracks are part of a phased rail expansion. They consist of five manifest yard tracks and eight support yard tracks. Manifest yards are used for receiving rail cars that come from Class I railroads. Support yards are used for short term storage. Warehouses and distribution centers are also envisioned on the former army base.
The rail yard was built using California state Trade Corridor Improvement Funds (TCIF) and federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants.
Patrick Burnson is the Executive Editor of Logistics Management. (www.logisticsmgmt.com)
