GRESB Names Kilroy Realty North American Office Leader in Sustainability for Fifth Time; Kilroy Realty Named to Dow Jones Sustainability World Index

Kilroy Realty Corporation (NYSE: KRC) announced today that for the fifth time it has been named the North American leader in sustainability by GRESB. GRESB is widely recognized as the most rigorous standard for measuring the sustainability performance of real estate companies and funds. GRESB participation has become standard practice for most of the world’s fund managers and listed property companies and it ranked KRC first among 250 participants across all asset types in the Americas.

In addition, for the third time KRC has been selected as an index component of the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index. Established in 1999, the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) are a family of best-in-class benchmarks for investors who have recognized that sustainable business practices are critical to generating long-term shareholder value and who wish to reflect their sustainability convictions in their investment portfolios. Only six North American real estate companies were named to the DJSI World Index this year.

“We have integrated sustainability into every aspect of our business, creating value for our employees, tenants, shareholders and community,” said John Kilroy, KRC's Chairman and CEO. “We are proud of our global recognition from GRESB and DJSI and remain deeply focused on environmental performance and social impact.”

About GRESB. Mission-driven and investor-led, GRESB is the environmental, social and governance (ESG) benchmark for real assets. We work in collaboration with the industry to provide standardized and validated ESG data to the capital markets. The 2019 real estate benchmark covers more than 1,000 property companies, real estate investment trusts (REITs), funds, and developers. Our coverage for infrastructure includes 500 infrastructure funds and assets. Combined, GRESB represents over USD 4 trillion in real asset value. More than 100 institutional investors, with over USD 22 trillion AUM, use GRESB data to monitor their investments, engage with their managers, and make decisions that lead to a more sustainable real asset industry.

About Dow Jones Sustainability Indices. Created jointly by S&P Dow Jones Indices and RobecoSAM, the DJSI combine the experience of an established index provider with the expertise of a specialist in Sustainability Investing to select the most sustainable companies from across 60 industries.

The indices serve as benchmarks for investors who integrate sustainability considerations into their portfolios and provide an effective engagement platform for investors who wish to encourage companies to improve their corporate sustainability practices.

About Kilroy Realty Corporation. Kilroy Realty Corporation (KRC), a publicly traded real estate investment trust and member of the S&P MidCap 400 Index, is one of the West Coast’s premier landlords. The company has over 70 years of experience developing, acquiring and managing office and mixed-use real estate assets. The company provides physical work environments that foster creativity and productivity and serves a broad roster of dynamic, innovation-driven tenants, including technology, entertainment, digital media and health care companies.

At June 30, 2019, the company’s stabilized portfolio totaled approximately 13.5 million square feet of office space located in the coastal regions of Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, the San Francisco Bay Area and Greater Seattle and 200 residential units located in the Hollywood submarket of Los Angeles. The stabilized portfolio was 93.8% occupied and 97.2% leased. In addition, KRC had five projects totaling approximately 2.1 million square feet of office space that were 55% leased and 801 residential units. KRC also had two projects in the tenant improvement phase, The Exchange on 16th, totaling approximately 750,000 square feet, with the office space fully leased to Dropbox, and 96,000 square feet of retail at One Paseo, which was 94% leased.

The company’s commitment and leadership position in sustainability has been recognized by various industry groups across the world. In September 2019, the company was recognized by GRESB as the leader across all asset classes in the Americas. Other sustainability accolades include NAREIT’s Leader in the Light award for the past five years, the EPA’s highest honor of Sustained Excellence and winner of ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year for the past six years. The company is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index. At the end of the second quarter, the company’s stabilized portfolio was 59% LEED certified and 75% of eligible properties were ENERGY STAR certified. More information is available at http://www.kilroyrealty.com.

Forward-Looking Statements. This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations, beliefs and assumptions, and are not guarantees of future performance. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to uncertainties, risks, changes in circumstances, trends and factors that are difficult to predict, many of which are outside of our control. Accordingly, actual performance, results and events may vary materially from those indicated or implied in the forward-looking statements, and you should not rely on the forward-looking statements as predictions of future performance, results or events. Numerous factors could cause actual future performance, results and events to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements, including, among others: global market and general economic conditions and their effect on our liquidity and financial conditions and those of our tenants; adverse economic or real estate conditions generally, and specifically, in the States of California and Washington; risks associated with our investment in real estate assets, which are illiquid, and with trends in the real estate industry; defaults on or non-renewal of leases by tenants; any significant downturn in tenants’ businesses; our ability to re-lease property at or above current market rates; costs to comply with government regulations, including environmental remediation; the availability of cash for distribution and debt service and exposure to risk of default under debt obligations; increases in interest rates and our ability to manage interest rate exposure; the availability of financing on attractive terms or at all, which may adversely impact our future interest expense and our ability to pursue development, redevelopment and acquisition opportunities and refinance existing debt; a decline in real estate asset valuations, which may limit our ability to dispose of assets at attractive prices or obtain or maintain debt financing, and which may result in write-offs or impairment charges; significant competition, which may decrease the occupancy and rental rates of properties; potential losses that may not be covered by insurance; the ability to successfully complete acquisitions and dispositions on announced terms; the ability to successfully operate acquired, developed and redeveloped properties; the ability to successfully complete development and redevelopment projects on schedule and within budgeted amounts; delays or refusals in obtaining all necessary zoning, land use and other required entitlements, governmental permits and authorizations for our development and redevelopment properties; increases in anticipated capital expenditures, tenant improvement and/or leasing costs; defaults on leases for land on which some of our properties are located; adverse changes to, or enactment or implementations of, tax laws or other applicable laws, regulations or legislation, as well as business and consumer reactions to such changes; risks associated with joint venture investments, including our lack of sole decision-making authority, our reliance on co-venturers’ financial condition and disputes between us and our co-venturers; environmental uncertainties and risks related to natural disasters; and our ability to maintain our status as a REIT. These factors are not exhaustive and additional factors could adversely affect our business and financial performance. For a discussion of additional factors that could materially adversely affect our business and financial performance, see the factors included under the caption “Risk Factors” in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018 and our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements are based on currently available information and speak only as of the dates on which they are made. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statement made in this press release that becomes untrue because of subsequent events, new information or otherwise, except to the extent we are required to do so in connection with our ongoing requirements under federal securities laws.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190917006107/en/