Environmental

We are committed to being a net lease leader in environmental sustainability over the long term. 

Read the 2025 Corporate Responsibility Report arrow_right_alt

Our Commitment

As a net lease REIT, substantially all of our properties are leased to our tenants on a triple-net basis, whereby tenants are responsible for operation and management of the properties, including energy usage and sustainability practices. Despite this lack of direct control, we take a proactive approach to sustainability, embedding environmental considerations throughout our process, beginning with due diligence and throughout ownership.

Sustainability Objectives

Implementing Technology We implement technology to collect and analyze tenant emissions data, which allows us to quantify emissions drivers across the portfolio, prioritize decarbonization opportunities and proactively manage reporting and transition risks.
Tenant Engagement We systematically engage in tenant outreach and partnership, delivering tailored solutions and advancing shared goals for efficiency, durability and responsible long‑term growth.
Sustainability Projects We pursue solar and broader energy solutions, including battery storage, fuel cells and power infrastructure upgrades, to expand access to reliable and renewable energy in ways that create shared value for our tenants, communities and the company.

Our Portfolio

6.1M sq. ft. of green certified buildings in our portfolio¹ ²
39% of portfolio (by sq. ft.) under a green lease² ³
60%+ of tenants enrolled in electricity usage data reporting³ ⁴
A solar carport installation at a W. P. Carey tenant
¹ For a building to be considered “green-certified” under our investment criteria, it must at a minimum be certified by LEED, BREEAM or a similarly recognized organization or certification process. LEED™—an acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design™—and its related logo are trademarks owned by the U.S. Green Building Council and are used with permission. Learn more at www.usgbc.org/LEED. BREEAM is a registered trademark of BRE (the Building Research Establishment Ltd. Community Trade Mark E5778551). The BREEAM marks, logos and symbols are the Copyright of BRE and are reproduced by permission.
² Portfolio information reflects pro rata ownership of real estate assets (excluding operating properties) as of March 31, 2026.
³ As a percentage of square footage.
⁴ Data as of December 31, 2025.

Emissions Reduction Target

Established a near-term reduction target for our Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions

  • Target: 34% reduction in absolute Scope 1 and 2 market-based greenhouse gas emissions by 2028 from a 2023 base year⁵
  • Aligned with the Paris Agreement and the Science Based Targets initiative ("SBTi")
⁵ We expect to achieve our target primarily through the purchase of unbundled, verifiable renewable energy certificates (RECs) or international equivalents, in conjunction with RECs generated from projects within our portfolio.

Case Study: Sustainable Real Estate

In June 2025, we completed the sale-leaseback of a state-of-the-art food processing facility located in Tennessee. The facility was built as the company's new primary food production facility, providing a significant increase in production capacity to serve existing and new customers.

This tenant placed the environment, society and governance at the forefront of its initiatives. This commitment is exemplified by the LEED Silver certification achieved for this facility, made possible through remarkable design features. The facility is also powered by 100% renewable energy.

Exterior photos of a WPC owned facility amongst lush green tree-topped hills

Waste Impacts

Removal of pallets from traditional landfill waste to recycler

Removal of food waste from traditional landfill waste to biomass energy
in Cleveland

Use of balers to bale all plastics, which facilitates the recycling of significant plastics

Water Impacts

Chemical-free water treatment system for refrigeration

Installation of low-flow fixtures utilizing grey water harvested from the roof in all washrooms

Automated controls in hand-washing stations and washrooms

Climate/GHG Impact

LED and auto on/off lighting

Electric car charging

Harmonic filters

Explore More Case Studies

Photo of solar carports

Universal Technical Institute of California

Installation of direct-owned carport solar system at the Universal Technical Institute of California, following an initial sale-leaseback in 2007.

Photo of PetSmart facility in Arizona

PetSmart

Installation of direct-owned solar rooftop on a 620,000-square-foot facility in Arizona, following an initial sale-leaseback in 2001.

Solar panels on a rooftop

Healthcare Products Distributor

$17 million sale-leaseback of a 162,000-square-foot warehouse in the Chicago metropolitan area, with a follow-on rooftop solar system installation under a power purchase agreement (PPA).

Tenant Engagement Survey

54%
of 2022 tenant survey respondents indicated their company had sustainability goals
41%
of tenant survey respondents indicated interest in partnering with WPC on renewables