COPT Publishes 2016 Sustainability Report

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COLUMBIA, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Corporate Office Properties Trust (“COPT” or the Company) (NYSE: OFC) has posted its 2016 Sustainability Report on the ‘Investors’ tab of the Company’s corporate website, www.copt.com.

In the 2016 Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (“GRESB”) survey, COPT earned a “Green Star” score, the survey’s highest quadrant of achievement. This is COPT’s second consecutive year of GRESB participation, and the second year attaining the Green Star ranking. The 2016 results also ranked the Company 7th out of 12 listed office participants in the United States, 11th among 47 total United States office participants, and 130th out of the 733 total participants in the survey worldwide. Please contact COPT’s IR department to obtain a copy of the Company’s 2016 GRESB survey.

The GRESB survey is widely recognized as the most rigorous standard for measuring the sustainability performance of real estate companies and funds, and GRESB participation has become standard practice for most of the world’s fund managers and listed property companies. For more information, please refer to www.gresb.com.

“We are pleased to continue and improve our external reporting for sustainability,” stated Stephen E. Budorick, COPT’s President & Chief Executive Officer. "We are committed to reporting our progress in advancing sustainability efforts annually, and look forward to discussing our platform with stakeholders,” he stated.

Company Information

COPT is an office REIT that owns, manages, develops and selectively acquires office and data center properties in locations that support United States Government agencies and their contractors, most of whom are engaged in national security, defense and information technology (“IT”) related activities servicing priority missions (“Defense/IT Locations”). We also own a portfolio of Class-A office properties located in select urban/urban-like submarkets within our regional footprint (“Regional Office Properties”). As of December 31, 2016, we derived 87% of core portfolio annualized revenue from Defense/IT Locations and 13% from our Regional Office Properties. As of December 31, 2016, our core portfolio of 152 office properties encompassed 16.3 million square feet and was 94.4% leased.

Forward-Looking Information

This press release may contain “forward-looking” statements, as defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, that are based on the Company’s current expectations, estimates and projections about future events and financial trends affecting the Company. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “estimate,” “plan” or other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which the Company cannot predict with accuracy and some of which the Company might not even anticipate. Accordingly, the Company can give no assurance that these expectations, estimates and projections will be achieved. Future events and actual results may differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements.

Important factors that may affect these expectations, estimates, and projections include, but are not limited to:

  • general economic and business conditions, which will, among other things, affect office property and data center demand and rents, tenant creditworthiness, interest rates, financing availability and property values;
  • adverse changes in the real estate markets including, among other things, increased competition with other companies;
  • governmental actions and initiatives, including risks associated with the impact of a prolonged government shutdown or budgetary reductions or impasses, such as a reduction in rental revenues, non-renewal of leases, and/or a curtailment of demand for additional space by the Company's strategic customers;
  • the Company’s ability to borrow on favorable terms;
  • risks of real estate acquisition and development activities, including, among other things, risks that development projects may not be completed on schedule, that tenants may not take occupancy or pay rent or that development or operating costs may be greater than anticipated;
  • risks of investing through joint venture structures, including risks that the Company’s joint venture partners may not fulfill their financial obligations as investors or may take actions that are inconsistent with the Company’s objectives;
  • changes in the Company’s plans for properties or views of market economic conditions or failure to obtain development rights, either of which could result in recognition of significant impairment losses;
  • the Company’s ability to satisfy and operate effectively under Federal income tax rules relating to real estate investment trusts and partnerships;
  • the Company's ability to achieve projected results;
  • the dilutive effects of issuing additional common shares; and
  • environmental requirements.

The Company undertakes no obligation to update or supplement any forward-looking statements. For further information, please refer to the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, particularly the section entitled “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016.

Corporate Office Properties Trust
IR Contacts:
Stephanie Krewson-Kelly, 443-285-5453
stephanie.kelly@copt.com
or
Michelle Layne, 443-285-5452
michelle.layne@copt.com

Source: Corporate Office Properties Trust

Released April 10, 2017