Orion is Committed to Being a Good Corporate Citizen

The Orion leadership team is committed to collaborating with tenants to implement environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) initiatives across Orion's portfolio. We are committed to making ESG an integral component of Orion's long-term strategy for the success of Orion, as well as the communities and tenants that Orion serves.

Orion is committed to engaging with our stakeholders on a regular basis. In 2023, we conducted our first materiality assessment to identify key ESG focus areas that are of most importance to our stakeholders and to our business. Our approach consisted of identifying key factors from top ESG raters and rankers. We also reviewed our top investors and their stewardship principles. We engaged with over 80 internal and external stakeholders representing our tenants, employees (including our executive officers) and our Board of Directors to obtain input on which ESG topics are most important for Orion to address in setting corporate strategy and policies. The results of the assessment provide valuable insight into our stakeholders’ key ESG priorities. The results were reviewed by Orion’s Board of Directors and will inform our ESG strategy going forward. The results of the materiality assessment indicate general alignment between the issues that internal and external stakeholders identify as significant, with both groups identifying the areas related to human capital management and areas related to business governance as important. For more information, please see our 2023 Materiality Assessment.

Social Responsibility

Orion’s culture is driven by our team members’ connections to each other and the communities in which they live and work.

Our corporate culture is based on treating others the way we would like to be treated and we strive to foster a work environment that is inclusive, fair and engaged. We value our employees and their individual and collective contributions to the Company in the furtherance of our corporate, operational, social, environmental and governance initiatives. We offer our employees comprehensive benefit packages, including parental and dependent care leave, and generous PTO. For more information, please see our Careers page.

In 2023 as part of the Company’s ESG initiatives and to better understand and further team member satisfaction and development, Orion conducted its first company-wide employee survey to monitor employee engagement, well-being, and satisfaction, among other items. The survey’s total participation rate was of 93%. We take pride in the culture that has been established thus far and has identified areas of improvement based on the survey findings. Survey insights showed that 87.5% of employees were proud to work at Orion.   

Community partnerships give employees the opportunity to effect positive change within Orion, the industry and their communities. For more information, see our community outreach program, O2.

Environmental Stewardship

Orion is committed to following environmentally friendly policies with regard to energy and water efficiency, alternative power sources, waste management and other initiatives to help preserve and protect the environment.

A significant majority of Orion’s tenants’ leases are double or triple net-leases. Double and triple-net leases are leases in which the tenant occupies the property as if it is the owner.

While Orion does not control the business operations of the tenant, as the property owner, Orion nevertheless recognizes that the operation of commercial real estate assets can have a meaningful impact on the environment – particularly with respect to resource consumption and waste generation – and on climate change.

 

When Orion acquires new properties, Orion will perform environmental assessments, known as Phase I assessments, to identify potential environmental liabilities or risks associated with the property and will assess whether there are any environmental certifications or ratings.

During the investment analysis process, Orion considers the property’s:

  • energy efficiency,
  • green certifications, such as Energy Star® or LEED,
  • available renewable energy sources, such as solar power,
  • and EV charging stations. 

We seek to include green lease clauses in new leases and lease amendments, such as cost recovery clauses and clauses that require tenants to share utility consumption data. 

Our tenants

During 2022, Orion conducted a tenant survey to gather information regarding property specific environmental features, including energy management practices.  This survey revealed that a number of Orion’s tenants employ a variety of environmentally friendly energy management initiatives, such as LED lighting, motion detection lighting systems, energy efficient windows and energy and water efficient appliances. Orion is committed to engaging and collaborating with its tenants to understand its impacts and seek to identify areas of improvement to minimize our collective footprint. For more information, please see our tenant survey.

Our footprint

Orion understands the importance of waste and resource management.  Orion’s corporate headquarters is located in a LEED green building, which certifies that the building is a healthy, efficient, carbon and cost-saving green building.  With respect to general waste reduction, Orion does not generate hazardous waste.  Because Orion does not generate hazardous waste, Orion does not have a hazardous waste management program.  Orion’s corporate offices have implemented recycling programs. Orion’s offices are equipped with general waste receptacles as well as a variety of recycling receptacles for paper, plastics, glass, and aluminum.  Orion encourages its employees to make smart choices when it comes to waste generation and disposal.

Climate Change

At Orion, we acknowledge the need to prepare for potential climate change-related impacts to our business and properties. We also acknowledge that we, primarily through our tenants’ use of energy and water, and generation of waste, have an impact on climate change. 

In 2024, Orion conducted an inventory of its properties to identify the appropriate scope for purposes of greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions measurement, and then calculated GHG emissions for its scope 1 and scope 2 properties for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023. As shown in the table below, the majority of our GHG emissions consisted of scope 2 emissions, resulting from our purchased energy from the grid for our corporate offices and vacant properties in our portfolio.

 

2023 Greenhouse gas emissions (tons of CO2e)

Total GHG emissions

6,682

Scope 1 GHG emissions

251

Scope 2 GHG emissions

6,431

 

2023 Energy consumption (KWh)

Total energy consumption

14,452,586

Energy from non-renewable sources

10,891,278

Energy from renewable sources*

3,561,308

*Orion calculated the energy from renewable sources by using the EPA’s percentages of fuel sources by relevant eGrid subregions.

Corporate Governance and Compliance

Orion is committed to conducting business with integrity. This core value is embedded in Orion’s culture and reflected in our commitment to conducting all activities in accordance with the highest ethical standards, sound corporate governance policies, and in compliance with all legal and regulatory requirements, including all local, state, and federal environmental, and health and safety-related legislation and regulations. 

Our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics contains general guidelines for conducting the business of the Company consistent with the highest standards of business ethics. We expect all Company employees, regardless of their level or location, to adhere to these standards. Numerous laws and regulations cover employee health and safety. Orion is committed not only to comply with all relevant health and safety laws, but also to conduct business in a manner that protects the safety of its employees. Orion provides employees with a safe and healthy working environment and does not tolerate the use of child or forced labor.  Employees are required to acknowledge the Code and complete mandatory and annual ethics training, which cover conflict of interest and anti-corruption topics.

Similarly, Orion expects its vendors and third-party providers to also comply with all relevant environmental and health and safety-related legislation and regulation. Our commitment to understanding the interests and perspectives of our stockholders is a key component of our corporate governance strategy. Orion is highly active in meeting with current and prospective investors and responding to investor queries.

Cybersecurity

The Board of Directors is responsible for Orion’s cyber risk oversight. Orion has established a risk committee (the “Risk Committee”), comprised of members of senior management whose responsibilities include identifying, assessing, and managing enterprise-level and material risks to Orion, including information technology (“IT”) and cyber risks. Orion management, including members of the Risk Committee, provides regular updates to the Board of Directors regarding material matters with respect to Orion, including cyber matters. These updates include quarterly updates to the board with respect to material cyber events and twice a year cybersecurity program overviews covering cybersecurity strategy, assessment, risks, notable events and governance. Orion has developed policies and procedures with regard to cyber incident responses which policies and procedures are based on key components of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (“NIST”) Cybersecurity Framework, together with other best practices.

As part of its management of cybersecurity risks, the IT department conducts regular cybersecurity training of Orion’s employees, which includes an annual training given to all employees and internal contractors, targeted trainings for employees and internal contractors with specific roles within Orion and simulated cyber threats, including phishing exercises that spoof common and novel tactics used by threat actors.

To learn more about Orion's ESG Policies, click here.

To read Orion's ESG FAQ, click here.

To see Orion’s Additional Resources, including its SASB Table, Materiality Assessment, and Tenant Environmental Survey, click here.

To learn more about Orion’s community outreach program O2, click here.