Case studies

Pass the Plate

Oxford’s Retail team launched #PassThePlate2020 across 10 Canadian shopping centres in partnership with Food Banks Canada. The organization has a goal to raise $150 million to alleviate hunger in Canada, in response to the pandemic. Food Banks Canada represents ten provincial associations, more than 600 affiliated food banks and more than 300 food agencies. The organization serves 85 per cent of Canadians across the country who rely on food banks. Oxford’s commitment comes in response to Food Banks Canada’s “I ATE” campaign urging Canadians to make monetary donations to help raise funds.

As part of the effort to raise money for Food Banks Canada, Oxford launched a social campaign encouraging Canadians to share a video or photo featuring a plate with the hashtag #PassThePlate2020. Oxford donated $5 for every post, equivalent to ten meals, to Food Banks Canada. Canadian celebrities including Canada’s Drag Race contestant Lemon, TV personality Rick Mercer, Kim’s Convenience’s Nicole Power and Andrew Phuong, and actors Dani Kind and Juno Rinaldi shared videos of themselves passing the plate to launch the campaign and encourage others to do the same. Employees and customers could also add donations to an Oxford shopping centre gift card. The campaign raised $210,000.

Our shopping centres play an important role in their communities. It’s important to use this reach to mobilize the wider community to act against increasing food insecurity that’s been accelerated by the pandemic. Pass the Plate inspired donations at a variety of levels, prompting continual action among employees and customers alike.

Standing up for inclusion and diversity

With a strong people-first approach, Oxford and OMERS are committed to fostering an environment that stands for Inclusion and Diversity (I&D).

OMERS newly launched I&D strategy and governance structure is built on a strong values-based foundation. It was met with enthusiasm and optimism by the entire enterprise and stands on the following pillars: Grow our Culture, Become a Leading Employer, Investing in our People, and Create a Rewarding Employee Experience.

Employees understand that advancing I&D is crucial to unlocking their full potential and to ensure the pension promise is met: to be the steward and guardian of the retirement income of more than half a million active members. Data shows that I&D leads to more engaged employees with less turnover, more trust, increased innovation and collaboration, and greater diversity of thought (Bourke, 2016).

Great strides have been made over the last year to deliver on our I&D mandate and move the dial forward. With the development of ten I&D subcommittees, employees are benefitting from resource groups, community advocacy and an enhanced governance model featuring senior leaders and active business champions across the enterprise. With a strong focus on continued learning, inclusion-centered employee events see strong support, such as with a recent Becoming Anti-Racist webcast that saw +600 attendees. +600 people leaders engaged in live, interactive conscious inclusion workshops — 93% said they would recommend the learning. +800 employees have already accessed online resources, which provide support on allyship and gender affirmation. Additionally, all employees have access to +300 curated activities that encourage them to be part of the change.

These efforts demonstrate how everyone is accountable to the I&D strategy. With strong leadership, trust and transparency, we can continue to cultivate an environment that is good for our business, people, members, and communities at-large.

Murals that matter

In the summer of 2020, downtown Washington, DC became a hotspot of social justice protests in the nation’s capital. With many buildings boarded-up, downtown DC’s Business Improvement District (BID) mobilized a group of local artists from the Denver Smith Foundation / Design Foundry and P.A.I.N.T.S. (Providing Artists with Inspiration in Non-Traditional Settings) Institute to transform these boards into positive symbols of love, unity, and hope, and to beautify downtown. The 27 mural exhibit showcased artistic expressions in solidarity with the Black Lives Matters movement on storefronts at Gallery Place with messages like “Black Lives Matter”, “Change the World” and “Justice Now”.

Wanting to continue the theme, 900 16th Street commissioned P.A.I.N.T.S. to do the same with the support of the building’s main tenant, Miller & Chevalier. With messages like “Unity, Love, Change” and “Black Medics Lives Matter” surrounding the building. The public experience of these plywood barriers, now reframed through vibrant art, shifted from “stay away” to “come look.” The murals speak to the impact that art can have on the built environment as well as the nation’s urgent need for dialogue and reflection.

The untouched plywood that protected the buildings was donated to Second Chance, a nonprofit that salvages usable materials, resells to the public and uses the revenue to provide job training to those with employment obstacles in the Baltimore area. Oxford is proud that we can be supportive of such an important cause and hope that recent events bring real change.

See more here.

Industrial EV hits the road

Oxford’s Canadian industrial team has an ambitious sustainability target – to certify its entire portfolio to BOMA Best, one of Canada’s leading green building certification bodies, over the next couple of years. Sustainability is top of mind for the team, with already a handful of buildings certified several years back, it’s no stranger to the program, nor to Oxford’s long-standing corporate sustainability commitments. At the end of December 2020, six more buildings became certified and the team is on track to certify six more in 2021.

As a salute to the joint landlord-tenant sustainability efforts, the Toronto, Canada team added an electric vehicle to the Oxford industrial fleet. This marks the first EV but the team has its eyes set out on adding more, trucks included. Additionally, the team has a plan to install EV charging stations across the Greater Toronto Area business parks, to support customer fleets and parking where anticipated.

The Oxford branded EV is a clear example of the leadership and commitment the industrial team has to sustainability – to do their part to reduce carbon emissions across their communities.

Bike donations on the rise

Our people are teaming up across the portfolio to give old bikes a second chance at finding a home. During a time when getting outside for some activity is critical to youth mental and physical health, it is comforting to know our retail and multi-residential communities are banding together with local organizations to refurbish and find homes for lost or old bikes.

During a major parking garage renovation at 1101 Bay, a multi-residential building in Toronto, Canada, the property team discovered over 30 abandoned bikes left behind by previous residents. Instead of throwing them away, the team found Bikes Without Borders, an organization that collects bikes, refurbishes them and then donates them to refugees and families in need. The team worked with their contractors, who graciously donated their time and truck to transport the bikes to the Central Toronto Academy, where students work to refurbish the donated bikes. A true collective effort to bring life back into these abandoned bikes.

Square One, a shopping centre in Mississauga, Canada partnered with a local high school teacher and founder of the Grow, Lead, Excel Movement, Janice Lowe, to expand her bike donation program, which gives bikes to students who don’t have them. The shopping centre has a Lost and Found diversion program to keep items out of landfill and organizes old items for donation instead, where possible. It was an easy fit with the teacher’s program. The team shared their story over social media in hopes of garnering more donations. The program ended up donating 160 bikes by the end of the summer. Check it out here!

Amazing Race – Oxford edition!

How do you build community while many of our customers worked from home this past year? With a fun four-week challenge known as, Amazing Race, Oxford edition. Throughout the month of July, customers from Oxford Place and 401 West Georgia (Vancouver, Canada) were challenged to a virtual contest, travelling across Canada through fitness challenges and scavenger hunts. Coordinated and hosted by Oxford Place’s Fitness Centre Manager, 40 teams of two joined in for the chance at winning a top prize and claiming the title of winner.

All events were tailored to be completed socially distanced, with a focus on moving the body. Events included: Planking in the Prairies; scavenger hunts in search of geese, maple syrup, mascots or even fleur de lis; and walking enough steps to cover the Cabot Trail! We’re already looking forward to the next Race!

What did our customers say?

• “Thank you again for putting together this wonderful race. We had a great time!”
• “Thanks again for all your hard work in keeping us distracted during these times.”