Ascendas REIT - Annual Report 2021

Sustainability Highlights Sustainability is at the core of Ascendas Reit’s business strategy. As a responsible real estate trust, Ascendas Reit is committed to growing in a responsible manner, delivering long term economic value, and contributing to the environmental and social well-being of our communities. Its standalone Integrated Sustainability Report 2021 has been prepared in accordance with the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited’s (SGX-ST) Listing Manual and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards. The report has also incorporated elements of the Integrated Reporting (IR) Framework of the International Integrated Reporting Council, and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. Guided by CapitaLand’s 2030 Sustainability Master Plan (SMP)1, Ascendas Reit conducted a review of its material ESG issues and all material issues of CapitaLand Group were deemed to be material and relevant to Ascendas Reit’s business and operating context. The Manager has adopted CapitaLand Group’s mapping of the material ESG issues under the 2030 SMP Sustainability pillars as shown below. More details can be found in the Integrated Sustainability Report 2021, available for download at ir.ascendas-reit.com/ sustainability_reports.html. COMMITMENT TO REDUCE CARBON FOOTPRINT Building upon the success of the solar installations at six properties, additional solar panels were installed at 37A Tampines Street 92 in March 2021. The newly installed PRIORITISATION OF ESG MATERIAL ISSUES 2030 SMP – Sustainability Pillars Material ESG Factors / Indicators Critical Moderate and Emerging BUILD Portfolio Resilience and Resource Efficiency • Climate change and carbon reduction • Energy efficiency • Water management • Waste management • Biodiversity ENABLE Thriving and Future- Adaptive Communities • Occupational Health & Safety • Human Capital • Stakeholder engagement • Supply Chain Management • Diversity (board and staff) • Human rights ACCELERATE Sustainability Innovation and Collaboration • Product and services (incl. customer health and safety) ANCHORED BY STRONG Governance & sustainable financial performance • Compliance • Business ethics solar system will generate an additional of 0.24 GWh annually, adding to the existing 11.2 GWh. More solar panels are expected to be installed on Ascendas Reit’s Singapore properties in the coming years. Ascendas Reit continues to hold the largest number of BCA Green Mark building certifications among S-REITs at 40. Globally, it has 49 green certified properties. Aside from minimising emissions from its operations, Ascendas Reit also encourages its community to reduce their carbon footprint. During 2021, 36 EV charging stations were added in Singapore, bringing the total number to 76 across 16 properties. Across its global portfolio, there were 227 EV charging points as at 31 December 2021. On the sustainable finance front, Ascendas Reit continues to leverage on its Green Finance Framework to improve its financial flexibility and resilience. In 2021, Ascendas Reit secured an additional S$811.4 million in green USD and AUD bank loans and entered into an inaugural S$203.0 million (US$150.0 million) green interest rate swap. As at 31 December 2021, Ascendas Reit had approximately S$1.2 billion (approximately 20% of total borrowings) worth of green financing instruments comprising green bond, green perpetual securities and green loans. PROACTIVE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT Ascendas Reit strives to foster a sense of community among its employees, customers as well as the wider community. Digital outreach continues to be the main channel of customer engagement. An example is Tabao Thursday Series which features online webinars and workshops covering a wide range of topics on health, wellness, interests groups and festivities. Campaigns were also held via your Workspace Community (yWC) which serves as a platform to enable, promote and communicate with customers to build a more vibrant, tight-knit CapitaLand community. Customers and their employees are provided with opportunities to volunteer with the Manager in signature events such as the #GivingAsOne campaign, which aims to uplift lives of vulnerable groups through virtual workshops as well as #LoveOurSeniors which involves packing and delivery of care packs, meals and bread to seniors. The Manager’s employees participated in Temasek Foundation’s nationwide mask distribution initiative where the Manager also sponsored Aperia Mall as one of the venues for mask collection. 1 CapitaLand launched its 2030 Sustainability Master Plan (SMP) in 2020 to elevate its commitment towards global sustainability in the built environment. More details are available on the CapitaLand’s Sustainability webpage at www.capitaland.com/international/en/ about-capitaland/sustainability.html Annual Report 2021 21