From the CEO

At Avison Young, we believe that our responsibility extends beyond our day- to-day to include the well-being of our planet and the communities we serve. Our teams pride themselves on finding local solutions in all the markets we operate in to help solve global challenges. This report highlights our work in affordable housing, city regeneration, industrial transformation, powering the green energy transition and supporting our local communities.

Alongside that, real change and real impact require an inclusive approach to ensure nobody, no company, no city or country is left behind in the shifts the built environment and our economy are facing. Building on our partnership with the World Economic Forum (WEF), in December 2023 we established the Social Value in Urban Regeneration Taskforce to spearhead urban regeneration. The Taskforce is made up of experts and thought leaders from 26 public and private sector organizations and will soon publish a toolkit designed to tackle systematic issues and promote an inclusive approach to how we build and future-proof our cities and urban areas.

I am energized by our involvement with WEF, from the valuable work the Taskforce is doing and the conversations we’re a part of there, to our role on the Steering Committee of the Davos Baulkutur Alliance and our contributions to the Affordability and Social Value and the Rebuilding Ukraine focus groups.

We also remain deeply committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) within our organization, recognizing that true innovation and progress are only possible when every voice is heard and valued.

Our commitment to equality is not just corporate rhetoric, it’s intentional and a personal mission for me. I’ve often spoken about the importance of supporting women and all under- represented groups in commercial real estate, and I’m proud to see our company take meaningful strides in this area.

DEI is a core pillar of our strategy, and we will continue to champion initiatives that foster a culture of respect, inclusion, and opportunity for all. Alongside our efforts to close the gender pay gap in our U.K. business and introduce inclusive policies in all markets, we are also advancing our employee resource groups, which play a vital role in ensuring that diverse perspectives are represented and empowered across our organization.

While we are ever-conscious of our efforts to move our industry forward, we maintain our focus and commitment to our own net-zero journey. We set a target to achieve net zero in all our workplaces by 2040, and we are gaining momentum in this area - evidenced by some of our recent office relocation projects.

For example, we are extremely proud of our global HQ project in Toronto – which was completed by a cross-functional team of our very own people - a team that was 80% female with expertise in brokerage, advisory, project management, ESG, experiential branding and workplace strategy. There, we signed a green lease in the iconic, retrofitted and WELL Core- certified 222 Bay, and are pursuing LEED and WELL certifications for our space.

In addition, we have completed a 12-month post-occupancy evaluation of our new office in Manchester, U.K., which confirms we have reduced our Scope 2 emissions by nearly 60% as a result of its relocation, fit-out and operation.

We celebrate the success of these projects and are committed to applying the valuable lessons we’ve learned to future initiatives, both for our company and our clients.

Also front of mind is ensuring our teams are equipped and educated to keep pace with the increasing complexity of developing ESG regulations and emerging trends impacting our clients. We are seeing the evolving requirements clearly through both new and existing client requests, and our teams are connecting around the world, responding to familiar and not-so-familiar challenges and opportunities with unmatched collaboration, innovation and excitement.

As I take this moment to reflect on our 2023 results and stories of success, it’s clear that with each step forward, we are not just meeting the challenges of today—we are building the opportunities of tomorrow. And with that, our shared commitment to driving meaningful impact only grows stronger.

Thank you for your partnership.