Avison Young making more strides in global citizenship

Real estate firm’s fifth-annual Global Citizenship report shows ongoing promotion of diversity, community involvement, sustainability initiatives and employee well-being; merger with GVA creates opportunities to expand corporate social responsibility program

Editors/Reporters

Please click here to view and download Avison Young’s 2018 Global Citizenship Report.

Please click here to download a PDF of this press release.

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Toronto, ON – Mark E. Rose, Chair and CEO of Avison Young, the world’s fastest-growing commercial real estate services firm, announced today that it has released its 2018 Global Citizenship Report.

“We are pleased to present our fifth-annual Global Citizenship Report,” comments Rose. “Global Citizenship, the umbrella name unifying Avison Young’s sustainability, corporate social responsibility and philanthropy strategy, is a vital part of our culture. Our efforts in Global Citizenship exemplify our commitment to meeting our clients’ needs, actively and positively participating in the communities in which we do business, integrating sustainability, and caring about our own employees’ well-being.

“We continue to promote diversity within our organization and to create a positive and healthy workplace environment. At Avison Young, we will always strive to build a culture that enables our firm to stand out as a leader in corporate social responsibility, sustainability and philanthropy – all things that we feel contribute to the long-term success of Avison Young and our stakeholders.”

Rose continues: “Earlier this year, we announced our groundbreaking acquisition of GVA, one of the U.K.’s leading real estate advisory businesses. GVA has had a robust Corporate Responsibility (CR) program for several years with focus areas very similar to those of Avison Young – namely, governance and ethics, sustainability in services, culture and well-being, environmental stewardship, and community and charity. These focus areas closely align with the pillars of Avison Young’s culture of excellence: sustainability services, governance and accountability, operational excellence and support for our communities. As a unified organization, we look forward to merging our two programs further and amplifying our collective impact.”

“The year 2018 was an exciting one in our Global Citizenship efforts,” states Aaron Prager, leader of Avison Young’s global citizenship group and a director of the firm’s capital markets group in New York City. “The past year was made even more exciting by the merger with GVA, which is expanding and strengthening our platform’s initiatives, both internally and externally, as we go forward with our aggressive international business-growth program. Our commitment to Global Citizenship helps define who we are as a company, driving us to meet increasing demand from companies that want partners who understand the importance of setting socially responsible goals, and who are sincere in working towards achieving them.”

Jonathan Gibson, Director, Head of Sustainability U.K., who is based in Avison Young’s London office, adds: “The merger of the two business platforms has offered a significant opportunity for our growth. The ongoing alignment of Avison Young’s and GVA’s Global Citizenship and CR platforms, and our expanded efforts around sustainability, have made for a perfect fit as we set goals for future business growth.”

The company’s Global Citizenship highlights from the year included Avison Young retaining its designation as one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies for the eighth consecutive year, rolling out a new Code of Conduct, increasing internal programs to promote mental health and wellness, earning two GRESB green stars, and seeing a measurable overall reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions across the offices that Avison Young occupies.

In addition, Amy Erixon, Avison Young Principal and Managing Director of Investments, who is based in Toronto, led a team that focused on analyzing Avison Young’s own water and energy consumption. The team included Michaelyn Miyagishima, Avison Young’s Washington, DC-area operations manager, and Dominic Perry, an associate in the company’s Phoenix office who specializes in industrial tenant representation and integrating clients’ sustainability and environmental goals with their corporate mission statements.

“As a company, we believe in practising what we preach,” notes Erixon. “By actively working towards reducing our own carbon footprint, we are both positively contributing to the discourse on how companies can operate and strive to set an example within the industry. We believe these efforts are not only necessary in the world today, but will also help us bring improvements to our own clients’ aspirations in the environmental arena.”