Retail REITs got noticeably greener in 2021, according to public company investor reports from recent weeks. These corporate responsibility reports, which document REIT efforts to reduce waste and emissions within their property portfolios, are a window into the sustainability measures the marketplaces industry is putting into action.

Regency Centers reduced greenhouse gas emissions within its portfolio by 7% from 2020 to 2021. That tracks with its goal of reducing emissions by an average of 5% annually through 2028. The company also reduced energy consumption at its 400 retail properties by 4%, outpacing its goal of an annual 2.5% reduction from 2020 to 2028. The landlord also increased its waste diversion by 1%, in line with its goals.

For its part, Kimco Realty spent more than $265 million in 2021 to make existing properties more sustainable and to incorporate sustainable measures in new properties. The activity helped lower common area water usage at its properties by 8% from 2020 to 2021, and Kimco plans to reduce it by 20% from 2020 to 2025. The company has also established low-carbon transportation infrastructure at 7% of its properties. Its goal is to establish such infrastructure at 20% of its properties by 2025.

Mall owners are cutting energy use, too. Macerich has 2030 goals for carbon neutrality, waste reduction and water conservation at its 52 properties and already has met some and is on track for the others, the company reported. The landlord reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 9% from 2019 to 2021, solid waste reduction by 35% from 2015 to 2021 and water consumption by 20% from 2015 to 2021.

Meanwhile, Simon made outsize progress in its water efficiency goals. The company originally aimed to reduce water consumption by 20% from 2013 to 2025, but it reached an 18.5% reduction from the 2013 level in 2019 and 26% in 2020. So in 2022, Simon will set a new target. The company credits active benchmarking of water consumption data and monthly tracking and analysis. “We focus our water efficiency measures on water usage in restrooms, irrigation, air conditioning and cleaning,” the company’s report reads. “Examples of the new equipment we purchase for restrooms include low-flow fixtures, aerators, automatic shutoffs, low-flow toilets and waterless urinals.”

Simon also bought renewable energy for the first time in 2021, contracting with an electricity supplier for 150,000 megawatt-hours of renewable energy certificates and power offtake from solar and wind energy sources in Texas.

Sustainability measures saved Sonae Sierra 14 million euros in operating costs in 2021. The company, which has 8 billion euros worth of assets under management, also claimed to be the first Portuguese real estate company to refinance part of its corporate debt through the issuance of sustainability-linked bonds, namely greenhouse gas emissions and the recycling rates of owned and managed retail properties.

Investors also increasingly are calling on landlords to show how they mitigate climate risks like storms, droughts, heat, floods and fires. Some REITs accounted for this concern by hiring consultants. Regency Centers, for example, hired a firm to do a climate risk analysis on any properties the company may consider purchasing and to evaluate its entire existing portfolio over the next four years. And Kimco has retained a security consultant to build a safety and disaster preparedness program for its 537 properties.