COPT Earns GRESB “Green Star” in Sustainability

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COLUMBIA, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Corporate Office Properties Trust (COPT or the Company) (NYSE: OFC) announced that it earned an overall score of “Green Star,” in the recently released survey results from GRESB. “Green Star” represents the highest quadrant of achievement from the survey. This is COPT’s first year of participation in the GRESB survey and its results rank the Company sixth out of twelve listed office participants in the United States. GRESB also ranked COPT 38th among 155 North American participants across all asset types and 205th out of the 688 operating portfolios worldwide that participated in the 2015 survey.

“We are pleased to have scored so highly on our initial participation in the GRESB survey,” stated Roger A. Waesche, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of COPT. “We are committed to reporting progress in advancing our sustainability efforts annually; the GRESB survey results validate COPT’s efforts to be a leader in sustainability,” he stated.

The GRESB (or Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark) 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.

COPT released its initial sustainability report in February 2015 to describe the programs and policies the Company has evolved since 2003. The report can be found on the Investors tab of the Company’s corporate website, www.COPT.com, as well as on the sustainability-related website, www.COPTGreen.com, that the Company launched in February 2015. COPT anticipates posting its 2015 sustainability report to both websites before calendar year-end.

Company Information

COPT is an office REIT that focuses primarily on serving the specialized requirements of U.S. Government agencies and defense contractors, most of which are engaged in defense information technology and national security-related activities. As of June 30, 2015, COPT derived 75% of its annualized revenue from its strategic tenant niche properties and 22% from its regional office properties. The Company generally acquires, develops, manages and leases office and data center properties concentrated in large office parks primarily located near knowledge-based government demand drivers and/or in targeted markets or submarkets in the Greater Washington, DC/Baltimore region. As of June 30, 2015, the Company’s consolidated portfolio consisted of 179 office properties totaling 18.0 million rentable square feet. COPT is an S&P MidCap 400 company.

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, 2014.

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 October 1, 2015