Canada's Greenest Employers (2025) - Flipbook - Page 32
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CANADA'S GREENEST EMPLOYERS (2025)
Crown turns sustainability plans into action
P
reet Jassal completed
her master’s degree in
environment and
sustainability, learning
about the impact of
industries and individuals on the
environment — and, conversely,
the role they can all play in
improving the health of the
planet. Now, as a sustainability
specialist at Crown Property
Management Inc., she’s using her
expertise to educate her
colleagues on how they can
contribute to the company’s
responsible investment mindset.
We’re truly bringing
plans to action as we
integrate energy, waste,
water and GHG reduction
strategies into our property
investment cycles.
relating to our business to ensure
everyone considers their
day-to-day activities through a
sustainability lens. I’m hoping that
these sessions help reinforce
everyone’s awareness of their role
in contributing to, not only to the
environment, but also to the
longer-term value and resilience
of our properties.”
The company, and the real
estate sector broadly, has a major
role to play in reducing GHG
emissions, says Anna Huang, vice
president. The built environment
accounts for approximately 40 per
cent of global carbon emissions.
Much of that comes from the
energy needed to heat, cool and
power buildings. In Toronto, that
figure is even higher, at 56 per cent
of the city’s total emissions.
As an integrated investment and
property management company,
Crown is well positioned to
quickly take action, says Huang.
“We have spent time understanding our operational and
property data and devising
rational plans,” she says. “We’re
truly bringing plans to action as
we integrate energy, waste, water
and GHG reduction strategies into
our property investment cycles.”
Huang joined the firm two years
ago. At the time, investors and
businesses were placing a growing
emphasis on decarbonization and
sustainability, but lofty public
statements often weren’t backed
by concrete action. She says
Crown managing partner Emily
Hanna’s pragmatic, investmentdriven approach to decarbonization resonated with her own
investment background. The
company’s efforts allow it not only
to do good in the world but to
— Anna Huang
Vice President
Toronto-based Crown, a
vertically integrated commercial
real estate investment firm, is
active in every aspect of the real
estate ownership and investment
cycle, including acquisitions,
leasing, construction and property
management. The firm integrates
plans to reduce greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions, energy, water
use and the non-hazardous waste
of the properties it owns and
operates into each asset strategy.
As part of that effort, Jassal has
been hosting lunch and learns and
developing learning modules for
each of the company’s business
units. “People can get lost in the
jargon,” says Jassal. “So, we’ve
focused on the practical aspects
Crown features work from local artists in the lobbies of its buildings.
attract institutional investors,
quality tenants, and ultimately
achieve higher returns for its
investors, she says.
Crown has completed in-depth
reviews of the energy, waste, water
and GHG reduction potential
across approximately 70 per cent
of its 4.9 million-square-foot fund
portfolio. It’s an “intensive and
lengthy” process that involves
working with external engineering
consultants, Crown’s own
operational team, and artificial
intelligence platforms to develop
decarbonization recommendations. These include implementing intelligent retrofits such as
replacing natural gas boilers with
air-source heat pumps, as well as
operational changes like lowering
heating setpoints during
unoccupied hours.
The company also integrated
