News & Press

OTTAWA, ON, Oct. 24, 2022 /CNW/ - Minto Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX: MI.UN) (the "REIT") today announced the publication of its 2021 Environmental, Social and Governance ("ESG") Report (the "Report") as well as the results from the 2022 GRESB real estate assessment.

The Report emphasizes that the REIT's mission to build better places to live includes taking responsibility for its actions and committing to do better.

"As conscientious leaders in a resource-intensive industry, we know that everything we do impacts the environment, our employees, and our communities," said Michael Waters, Chief Executive Officer of Minto Apartment REIT. "As we look toward the future of the REIT, we continue to build on our ESG strategy and make progress in key areas including building business resilience, positively affecting our communities, reducing our environmental impact and creating a more diverse organization."

Across all its operations and with stakeholders from employees to residents and partners, the REIT is implementing initiatives and setting targets to further its ESG objectives and goals.

ESG highlights include:

• Energy and carbon performance: The REIT reduced energy consumption by 11% and carbon emissions by 13% compared to a 2019 baseline;
• Incentivized high ESG achievement: As a strategic priority, the REIT tied 50% of individual annual bonus compensation to performance against its ESG objectives;
• Affordable rental suites for seniors: In partnership with the City of Toronto, the REIT began construction on 100 affordable, thoughtfully designed apartments with many amenities to support the physical and mental well-being of seniors in its communities;
• The 2021 Diversity and Inclusion Survey: 41% of employees participated in this inaugural survey to help the REIT better understand the demographic makeup of its team and develop insights to help create a more supportive, welcoming workplace;
• Embodied carbon study: Recognizing that emissions from the manufacture, transportation, and installation of building materials contribute to the carbon footprint of its portfolio, the REIT performed an embodied carbon study on its planned Richgrove intensification project and assessed the impact of potential embodied carbon reduction measures. Management will use the results of the study to guide material selection decisions for future construction projects; and
• 2022 GRESB results: To demonstrate its commitment to ESG transparency and performance, the REIT participated in the 2022 GRESB Real Estate assessment. The REIT achieved Green Star designation, a 3-star GRESB Rating, a score of 80 (an increase of 10 points over the 2021 score) and performed better than the peer comparison group and global GRESB averages. Additionally, the REIT received a score of 93 and Level A rank in the 2022 GRESB Public Disclosure evaluation and ranked first out of 10 in its "Canada" comparison group.

The ESG Report has been prepared in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative Standards: Core option and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board Real Estate Sustainability Accounting Standard. It can be found by visiting the REIT's website at www.mintoapartments.com/2021ESGreport.

Minto Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust is an unincorporated, open-ended real estate investment trust established pursuant to a declaration of trust under the laws of the Province of Ontario to own, develop and operate income-producing multi-residential properties located in urban markets in Canada. The REIT owns a portfolio of high-quality income-producing multi-residential rental properties located in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton. For more information on Minto Apartment REIT, please visit the REIT's website at: www.mintoapartments.com/.

This news release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities legislation, which reflects the REIT's current expectations regarding future events and in some cases can be identified by such terms as "will" and "expected". Forward-looking information is based on a number of assumptions and is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the REIT's control that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those that are disclosed in or implied by such forward-looking information. These risks and uncertainties are more fully described in regulatory filings that can be obtained on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

SOURCE Minto Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust