Environmental, Social, and Governance is a Priority at American Campus Communities

American Campus Communities (NYSE: ACC), the nation’s largest owner, manager and developer of high-quality student housing communities in the United States, published a report outlining its continued commitment to sustainability.

This update comes after the company formalized an internal multi-departmental Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) task force in 2019 to manage and implement structure around the company’s environmental, sustainability and social initiatives.

“ESG is a natural extension of our values and is not only the right thing to do for our society and the planet, but it makes good business sense as well,” said Bill Bayless, chief executive officer of American Campus Communities. “While this update covers our 2019 work, we are publishing it in 2020 - a year that has been quickly and dramatically reshaped by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

During the pandemic ACC transformed its market research and training departments into the COVID-19 critical data group. The group developed a university tracker information tool, which monitors the latest ordinances, public health guidelines and university policies in the 92 markets it serves.

“With our core values as our guide, we responded immediately with a pledge to provide every resident with a home, regardless of their ability to pay rent on time,” Bayless said.

Through the newly established Resident Hardship Program, ACC has provided nearly $20 million in rental relief to residents and has offered thousands of additional deferments of rent payments to residents and parents who have been financially impacted by COVID-19.

“While this crisis is unprecedented, our commitment to our ESG principles is unwavering,” Bayless said. “To ensure our company endures and is responsive in any situation, in 2019 we conducted a materiality assessment to identify our most relevant ESG issues and formalized our ESG programs.”

ACC made industry-leading strides with its commitment to ESG, including developments of Plaza Verde at the University of California, Irvine, and LightView at Northeastern University, both targeting Platinum Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certifications. The company has previously completed 37 projects across the country to be LEED, more than any other student housing provider. LEED is the most widely used green building rating system in the world. ACC also retrofitted 125 acquired and older communities with sustainability best practices.