GREI purchases lands for further development on a willing buyer-willing seller principle. No involuntary resettlement or economic displacement was caused as a result of the previous acquisitions, meaning that PS 5: Land Acquisition and Involuntary Resettlement was not found relevant to the completed and on-going developments. The Company intends to follow this practice in future. The Company’s properties are located in a modified urban environment and risks on biodiversity are limited – PS 6 is therefore considered not applicable. PS 7 is not applicable as no Indigenous Peoples are known to be present. PS8: Cultural Heritage are not found relevant to this project. However, the Company plans to develop a land plot located in the central part of Bucharest, where nearby historical buildings may be affected by new developments. GREI will ensure that proper consultations are conducted and the relevant approvals are obtained from state architectural and cultural heritage authorities; GREI will also engage construction contractors who will develop each new construction project as per applicable law. Future acquisitions will adhere to the applicable IFC’s PSs. 

The proposed investment is expected to have limited environmental and social impacts which will be site-specific with none anticipated to be significant. Further, the impacts can be avoided or mitigated by adhering to recognized performance standards, procedures, guidelines and design criteria as described in the following sections. Thus, this is a Category B project in accordance with IFC’s Policy on Environmental and Social Sustainability.

Key environmental and social issues applicable for this investment are: design and construction of buildings in accordance with national construction codes and standards, particularly related to seismic resistance and life and fire safety; effective implementation of the environmental, occupational health and safety management plans during construction; energy efficiency and other resources consumption during assets operation. 

Management System, Policy and Management Programs:

Globalworth has a strategy to build a ‘green’ portfolio of commercial properties certified in accordance with internationally recognized ‘green’ standards. The Company acquires properties that either have received green accreditation or have the potential to receive in the future. New developments are designed to be energy efficient and sustainable aiming to achieve LEED Gold or BREEAM Very Good or higher accreditations. Sustainability considerations are integrated into the core of the business processes of the Company’s starting from investment opportunity sourcing to asset management and are guided by the market demand, stock exchanges’ listing requirements and external lenders standards. The Company agreed to articulate formally its own sustainability

policy.

The Company has a management system and the relevant procedures in place, to identify risks and manage issues related to energy efficiency, water conservation and reuse, waste avoidance, reuse and recycling. The Company develops management plans, covering building renovation and repair, wastes recycling, environmental monitoring, ‘green’ certification process.

The Company engages reputable construction contractors with solid track records, those contractually should have in place an environmental, health and safety (EHS) management system for the execution of its work. Based on the design documentation, a construction contractor develops the construction work and management plans to address environmental and occupational health and safety issues (e.g. job safety instructions, storm water runoff management, waste management and etc.), traffic and transport management plan. A construction contractor is

supervised regularly by the Company’s development team in Romania.

Identification of Risks and Impacts

The identified investment opportunities are subject to preliminary analysis, risk assessment and suitability for the Company’s investing policy. The proposed acquisitions are considered by the investment committee and undergo due diligence, including environmental due diligence is conducted by professional consultants.

The board’s audit and risk committee is responsible for review and assessment the Company’s risk control systems and ensures that risk policies and strategies are effectively managed. Sustainability risks such as energy efficiency, fire and structural safety are considered as part of overall business risks.

Environmental assessment studies and the relevant environmental management programs for the new development properties are developed a part of the construction design, submitted for the state expert review. Construction contractors with capacity to manage environmental and health and safety risks inherent to construction operations are hired through the bidding process.

Organizational Capacity and Competency

GREI has in-house professionals experienced in real estate development and engages qualified design, construction contractors and consultants to ensure its property’s design and development in compliance with ‘green’ standards (BREEAM and LEED).

GREI’s construction and development team includes technical and engineering staff responsible for managing all construction, environmental, utility connection issues and supervision over contractors’ operations and performance. Construction works are implemented by qualified construction contractors and supervised by a project manager assigned from the Company.

GREI’s asset management team is responsible to ensure ‘green’ certification and ongoing compliance of operating properties, as well as implementation of energy efficiency measures, utility management, control over health and safety issues and security. Asset managers and inhouse servicing staff at each property are responsible for supervising day- to-day asset management, including housekeeping, segregated waste collection and disposal and managing other operational issues. Other non-core activities, such as equipment maintenance are outsourced

to specialized companies, those have contractual obligations to manage labour, environmental, health and safety issues, train staff and provide personnel protective equipment. The Company’s capacity is considered to be adequate and in line with IFC PS 1 requirements.

Emergency Preparedness and Response

In each case as set out in the applicable laws and regulations, (i) the Company’s properties have developed emergency preparedness and evacuation plans, that includes responsibilities in the event of emergencies, emergency notification system, actions to be undertaken by emergency teams and other employees; (ii) the buildings are equipped with life and fire safety equipment as per local regulation, including an automatic fire detection system and fire alarm, automatic sprinkler, when applicable, fire extinguishers, evacuation exits and emergency lighting; and (iii) evacuation drills for various scenarios (earthquake, fire, natural hazards) are performed regularly.

Monitoring and Review

The Company ensures that regular monitoring of compliance with lenders’ and the London Stock Exchange requirements is conducted, that is carried out by external consultants and in-house compliance officer, whose responsibilities include providing guidance and advice on regulatory and compliance matters.

The Company’s head of asset management unit is responsible for supervision of property’s operational performance (electricity and water consumption, waste management, emergency preparedness, etc.) and compliance with established targets. Regular reports are provided for the Board’s review, which oversees asset management initiatives, property management, plans for buildings’ performance improvements and refurbishment, ‘green’ certification of the portfolio.

The development team is responsible for supervision of new developments, that is conducted through regular meetings, discussions and reporting.

 Human Resources Policies and Procedures, Working Conditions

The Company employs approximately 110 professionals. The Company provides labour conditions in accordance with the national labour codes in terms of employment, working hours, training, leave, employees safety, wages and benefits. The Company has no formalized HR policies and procedures. The Company is in the process of hiring of HR Manager, who will be in charge of development and implementation of HR policies and procedures. The Company is committed to adopt HR policies in line with IFC Performance Standard 2 (ESAP #2).

Occupational Health and Safety

The head of asset management unit is responsible for occupational health and safety (OHS) issues, including ensuring of staff training, OHS performance oversight. Third-party suppliers contractually are required to have staff properly trained and equipped by personal protective equipment in accordance with the type of performed works. Asset managers are responsible for permitting works performed by third-parties’ employees within the area of a property in line with the Company requirements.

Workers Engaged by Third Parties 

For the development and renovation projects qualified design and construction contractors are generally hired through a bidding process. Construction contractors are contractually required to comply with local laws (e.g. in Romania such laws include minimum age of employment) as well as to implement safety procedures and practices (e.g. job safety instructions, safety talks and briefings etc.). Third-party workers (security, equipment servicing workers) are hired in compliance with the applicable national labor law.                                                 

GREI holds a portfolio of property certified in accordance with BREEAM and LEED standards (18 green certified properties and other 8 properties are under the ‘green’ certification or recertification process). New developments are designed in accordance with BREEAM standard requirements and the technical and design solutions are selected to maximize energy saving, water efficiency, use of renewable energy, use of harvesting and recycled water, use eco-friendly construction materials and substances, wastes minimization and recycling, human well-being. In accordance with the investing policy the Company acquires only buildings with high potential to be turned to ‘green’, that is thoroughly estimated at the due diligence phase and considered by the investment committee. After acquisition of a building it undergoes retrofitting according to a renovation plan, that is aimed to have it prepared for ‘green’ certification.

Office buildings are connected to municipal sewerage system and industrial facilities (TAP and Dacia warehouses) are equipped with wastewater treatment facilities. Monitoring of treated wastewaters is conducted in accordance with national regulations.

The Company avoids hazardous materials use during the asset management and each property has developed the waste recycling plan aimed to maximize a portion of recycled wastes. All properties contract licensed waste handling companies for the transport and disposal of non-recyclable solid wastes. Wastes generated during the construction and renovation phases are managed by the construction contractors in accordance with the developed waste management plans.                                                 

 Structural safety

Romania is situated in an area of seismic activity and the national regulations cover seismic risks in respect of the design and execution of construction works. The Company strictly adheres design and construction standards for seismic risks prevention during the new developments, that is confirmed by a construction permit issued by the state authorities.

Life & Fire Safety

The core risk from commercial property operations relates to life and fire safety. The Company follows Romanian fire safety regulations, those are harmonized with EU fire safety regulations. The Company holds fire safety permits for each building as required by the national legislation, which requires a detailed assessment of the L&FS conditions. In accordance with the Romanian fire regulations construction permits for public buildings (shopping malls with the area above 400 m2 and office buildings with the area above 600 m2) and tall buildings are subject to fire authority opinion and endorsement.

Community safety

Construction contractors aim to mitigate the risk of accidents for the general public during construction phase through measures such as: access control, barricading and signage. GREI employs unarmed security guards to secure buildings, and there have been no material security or fire incidents since the start of operations in Romania.                                             

 GREI recognizes the importance of stakeholder engagement and discloses information through its annual report. The Company has committed to start producing its reports according to the global reporting initiative (GRI) standard as of 2019. GREI currently produces on a yearly basis a comprehensive annual report. The Company has contact details (phone number, e-mail) provided on its web-site http://www.globalworth.com.

For the new development the Company in collaboration with state and municipal authorities will hold the consultation process with communities and interest parties on the land development plan in line with applicable laws and regulations. During the construction period signage will be posted at the entrance to a construction site indicating certain details related to the construction as prescribed by applicable laws and regulations. Any grievances/complaints could be submitted to a construction contractor or directly to the Company.

Contact Person: Alexandru Zahiu

Company Name: Globalworth Real Estate Investments Limited

Address: (Romanian office) Globalworth Tower, 26th floor, 201 Barbu Vacarescu Boulevard,

2nd district, 020276, Bucharest, Romania

Email: alexandru.zahiu@globalworth.com

Phone: +40 730 800 037