JACKSONVILLE, Fla., June 25, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Regency Centers Corporation (“Regency” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ:REG), the preeminent national owner, operator, and developer of shopping centers, has released its Corporate Responsibility Report for 2018. This year’s report reemphasizes the Company’s approach to corporate responsibility, outlines the progress made during the year and describes commitments to future goals in the key areas of environmental, social, and governance initiatives. The full report can be accessed on the Regency Centers website on the Corporate Responsibility page.

“Regency’s commitment to corporate responsibility is evident in our team’s 2018 accomplishments in key areas of environmental, social and governance initiatives, which are exemplified by the Company’s recent inclusion in the S&P 500 ESG index, and MSCI rating upgrade to A,” said Martin E. “Hap” Stein, Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “This year, I am proud of our impressive progress and excited to share our key objectives and goals within each of our pillars of responsibility. Through achievement of these objectives, Regency’s progress will continue to benefit our employees, communities, the environment, tenants, and shareholders.”

People

Regency’s objective is to maintain a high level of employee engagement with an overall score of 85% or greater, while maintaining our award winning benefits and wellness plans and enhancing our focus on diversity. Accomplishments include:

• Recognition as one of the top organizations in the country for employee engagement at 87% – top three for the Company’s size – with the Employee Voice Award
• Recipient of the First Coast Healthiest Companies Award for the 11th consecutive year, with five years of Platinum recognition for its commitment to employee health
• Completion of nearly 11,000 hours of employee training and continuing education that provide direct access to leadership, professional development, 360-degree employee feedback and coaching, and internship programs
• Further enhancement of highly competitive benefits package to include new parental and compassion leave policies

Communities

Adhering to Regency’s core values and culture, the Company’s objective is to contribute to the betterment of communities through investment and philanthropic efforts. This includes a commitment to monetary donations as well as employees donating their time through volunteer hours annually. Accomplishments include:

• Long-standing partnerships with philanthropic organizations, including the United Way, Habitat for Humanity, the YMCA, as well as corporate matching programs for employee-driven initiatives that promote the betterment of the community represented by $1.4 million of employee and company-matched donations to philanthropic partners
• The Regency Centers Fresh Look® initiative and its focus on bringing the best merchants to thoughtfully designed destinations, all while connecting the properties to our neighborhoods through positive community impacts
• Recipient of the prestigious Silver MAXI Award for community engagement practices as awarded by the International Council of Shopping Centers
• Development and redevelopment starts of nearly $200M, with projects that improve the neighborhoods we serve contributing to a goal to start $1.25 billion of developments and redevelopments over the next five years

Ethics and Governance

Regency’s objective is to maintain best-in-class corporate governance with adherence to the highest ethical behavior and corporate oversight, while continuing to achieve the highest overall scores from leading shareholder advisory firms. Accomplishments include:

• A commitment to ethical business practices and corporate oversight, resulting in a top ISS Governance Quality Score of 1
• Execution of Board refreshment and diversity initiatives designed to increase the breadth and expertise of experience with 25% female representation and an improvement in average tenure to 8 years
• Formalization of Board of Directors oversight of Regency’s Corporate Responsibility Program, with the Nominating and Governance Committee of the Board now acting as the governing and oversight body of the Corporate Responsibility Committee

Environmental Stewardship

Regency’s objectives include a continued commitment to being good stewards of our environment while reducing our overall impact, represented by our renewed goals to reduce energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions and waste, coupled with our focus on climate resiliency. Accomplishments include:

• Recipient of the GRESB Green Star for 4 consecutive years
• Completion of solar arrays at 17 shopping centers, producing approximately 5,700-megawatt hours of clean and renewable power each year
• Installation of 80 new Tesla level III chargers at one location, now tied for the largest Tesla Supercharger station in the nation
• Continued implementation of water conservation initiatives, including high-efficiency irrigation systems now at over 130 shopping centers
• Completion of a sea level rise analysis to support our commitment to climate change preparedness and resiliency that positions the Company for long-term success

Regency’s Corporate Responsibility Report follows the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards framework. This report has been prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards Core option.

About Regency Centers Corporation (NASDAQ: REG)

Regency Centers is the preeminent national owner, operator, and developer of shopping centers located in affluent and densely populated trade areas. Our portfolio includes thriving properties merchandised with highly productive grocers, restaurants, service providers, and best-in-class retailers that connect to our neighborhoods, communities, and customers. Operating as a fully integrated real estate company, Regency Centers is a qualified real estate investment trust (REIT) that is self-administered, self-managed, and an S&P 500 Index member. For more information, please visit regencycenters.com.

Laura Clark
904 598 7831
LauraClark@RegencyCenters.com

Source: Regency Centers Corporation