sustainability report 2022
Goodman is a global industrial property specialist group. We own, develop and manage high-quality sustainable properties that are close to consumers and provide essential infrastructure for the digital economy.
We have 410 properties located in key consumer markets in 14 countries across the Asia Pacific, Europe, the UK and the Americas. With $73 billion of assets under management, we are the largest property group listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and invest significantly alongside our capital partners in our investment Partnerships.
But we’re more than our properties. We’re a collaborative team who work together to make a tangible difference for our customers, our people and communities we operate in. We believe in innovation, determination, integrity and sustainability – and we strive to make space for greatness in everything we do.
Goodman’s Own Develop Manage model focuses our business on our customers’ current and future needs.
We own and maintain high-quality properties close to consumers, we develop sustainable properties, and we manage our global investment portfolio to the highest standards. We work alongside our capital partners, which include sovereign wealth, pension and large multi-manager funds. In each market, our dedicated local teams take care of all aspects of property asset and investment management, ensuring a high level of customer service.
Urbanisation, globalisation, demographics, digitisation, sustainability and an increased focus on health and wellbeing have all changed the way people live, work and consume. These structural shifts have increased the importance of industrial properties in the global supply chain.
Globally, the logistics and warehousing sectors are now considered essential infrastructure for digital economies, and key to the efficient distribution of products to consumers. As industrial property specialists, Goodman’s long-term strategy is built on supporting our customers to operate in the most productive, sustainable and efficient way possible. We focus on key markets and concentrate our portfolio where we can create the most value for customers and investors.
Our properties are located close to consumers, in urban infill locations where barriers to entry are high and supply is limited. Choosing locations close to large consumer populations helps our customers meet rising delivery and service expectations. It also provides greater resilience for customers’ supply chains.
Accessibility
Properties located close to major transport infrastructure, like motorways, ports and airports, enable efficient deliveries and reduce supply chain costs and transport-related emissions for our customers. They also make commuting to work easier for our customers’ workforce.
By positioning our portfolio in these key locations we are fulfilling our customers’ needs for sustainable properties that provide efficiency and faster speed to market. In doing so, we are building a sustainable business for our investors.
As a specialist global industrial property group, we aim to be the best at what we do, rather than the biggest. Our properties are strategically located in major consumer markets, providing our customers with faster speed to market and the opportunity to reduce transport costs and related carbon emissions. When considering new locations, our focus is on acquiring urban infill assets or brownfields sites that can be redeveloped into sustainable properties, allowing us to minimise our carbon footprint and impact on biodiversity, relative to greenfield development. With higher density of land use in these locations, our customers are looking to maximise their supply chain efficiency with greater utilisation of automation and increased sustainability features.
Goodman’s values reflect who we are today and who we want to be long into the future.
Goodman’s purpose of making space for greatness recognises our stakeholders’ needs and drives us to help them reach their full potential.
Here’s how we make space for greatness for each of our stakeholders.
Customers
Our customers come from a wide range of industries including e-commerce, logistics, retail, consumer goods, automotive, pharmaceutical and technology. Regardless of their sector, they all need the right properties in the right locations. Proximity to their end consumer is key: increasing speed to market, and reducing transport costs and related emissions. Our customers are increasingly taking a strategic approach to their infrastructure decisions. They’re boosting their investment in our buildings to maximise both supply chain efficiency and overall capacity as the digital economy grows.
To help our customers make space for greatness, we create sustainable logistics spaces in high-quality locations. Here, the greatest ambitions of our customers can flourish as we give them the space and services they need to reach their goals.
At Goodman, we manage the investment portfolio alongside our investment partners – some of the world’s largest pension and sovereign wealth funds. We have a patient and long-term approach to managing capital and focus on growing a sustainable business over time.
This long-term approach guides our decision making. By owning, developing and managing high-quality sustainable properties in key locations, we provide both short-term and long-term benefits for our customers while simultaneously delivering sustainable returns for our Securityholders and investors.
Community partners
We work with local charities and community partners in all our markets to make a positive difference. Whether it’s working with organisations on emergency response, community and community health, children and youth, or food rescue and the environment, the Goodman Foundation provides tangible assistance that translates to real support where it’s needed most.
We make space for greatness in the communities we operate in by taking a multi-year partnership approach with the organisations the Foundation supports. We share our resources, knowledge and experience to make a tangible difference and improve the quality of life, standard of living and health of people in our communities.
Our team of around 1,000 people in 29 offices around the world are key to our long-term success. Skilled and diverse, team members use their expertise across the range of cultures and locations we operate in to deliver strong results. There are many opportunities for our people to get involved, to learn and to build rewarding careers with us. Our sustainability strategy and actions help with attracting new talent and retaining our people.
Goodman encourages innovation. We look for people who want to realise their ambitions, challenge our thinking, drive change and develop new ideas that deliver a sustainable business, making a tangible difference today – and long into the future. Through Goodman’s long-term incentive program, our team have a stake in our business, which motivates them to work hard and take a long-term strategic approach to decision making.
We acknowledge that providing a high-quality sustainable offering to our customers is a team effort, requiring relationships built on integrity. Our network of suppliers extends from our general building contractors who we work with closely to build facilities for our customers, to the providers of our office supplies.
In each case, we respect the needs of our suppliers. This ranges from implementing strategies against modern slavery to treating our suppliers as part of our team, keeping them safe and paying them fairly and on time. In return, we expect our suppliers to abide by our high standards and communicate these requirements within their own supply chains.
Goodman works as one integrated team, executing our global strategy on a local level.
Our specialist property management, development and investment management teams within countries work alongside our corporate services. By everyone focusing their skills we can provide a quality industrial property offering that best serves our customers and investors alike.
Our corporate governance statement provides more information on our corporate governance framework.
The Boards and Committees
Goodman Group is a triple stapled entity comprised of: the Australian company, Goodman Limited (GL); the Australian trust, Goodman Industrial Trust (GIT); and the Hong Kong company, Goodman Logistics (HK) Limited (GLHK). The Boards of GL and Goodman Funds Management Limited, as the responsible entity of GIT, comprise the same Directors while GLHK has a distinct Board with some overlap. Together they are referred to as the Boards.
The Goodman Boards and management team are committed to the highest standards of governance and recognise that an effective corporate governance culture is critical to the long-term performance of the business.
Goodman’s corporate governance framework underpins our commitment to maximise long-term sustainable value for Securityholders through:
Reflecting the increasing importance of sustainability issues and the continuing rate of change through technology and innovation, the Board has also agreed to establish a new Sustainability and Innovation Committee drawing on the skills and experience of Chris Green (Committee Chair), Vanessa Liu, Phil Pryke and Hilary Spann. The new Committee will commence from 1 October 2022.
View Goodman’s 2022 Corporate Governance Statement
View Goodman’s corporate governance framework documents (including Charters and Policies)