Quick takes from our latest ESG report

We’re excited to announce the release of our annual Environmental, Social and Governance Report. This year’s edition provides a comprehensive review of Walker & Dunlop’s ESG programs and metrics.

Here are some quick takes to whet your appetite:

Environmental

• Almost one-third of total occupied square footage we leased in 2022 was in green-certified buildings.
• Our employee-led Green Task Force concentrates on reducing resource and electricity usage, waste, commuting emissions, and the company’s overall carbon footprint.
• We remain committed to being carbon neutral each year and are working towards our goal to reduce emissions (Scope 1, 2, and 3) by 50 percent from 2019 levels on a per-employee basis by 2025.
• Our flexible work policy, which includes two or more remote days per week, has already had a positive impact on reducing Scope 3 emissions, especially from employee commuting.
• In 2022, Walker & Dunlop was ranked as the #1 Fannie Mae Green lender in the U.S., financing $1.9 billion of loans on buildings with green certifications.

Social

• In accordance with our "Drive to '25" ESG goals to increase the proportion of women in management positions to 35 percent and underrepresented groups in management to 25 percent by 2025, we are happy to report year-over-year growth of 1 percent in both categories. As of year-end 2022, these proportions were 28 percent for women and 11 percent for underrepresented groups.
• In a recent engagement survey, 88 percent of our employee respondents felt they can be themselves at work. 95 percent believe that people at Walker & Dunlop are treated fairly regardless of their age or race, and 94 percent believe that people are treated fairly regardless of their gender. We’re happy to say that these numbers have continued to increase year over year.
• In 2022, we implemented a new online learning management system designed for workforce training and development.
• In July 2022 we launched our first in-person Analyst training program, which provided recent college graduates with the opportunity to gain on-the-job training and get exposure to the different areas of commercial real estate. During the year, we also re-launched W&D’s Manager Training Program.
• We launched our first annual W&D Week of Service, in which we participated in office-sponsored food donation drives, Red Cross blood drives, and other community volunteer activities—all with an eye to building and supporting the communities we serve.
• In 2022, we continued our commitment to financing affordable housing across the country. For the year, we financed over $9 billion of affordable and workforce housing and were named Fannie Mae’s #3 Affordable Housing Lender. We have set a goal to originate $60 billion of cumulative affordable lending between 2021 and 2025.

Governance

• In 2022 and 2023, the Audit Committee has been overseeing the update of the inventory of key risks and associated controls, receiving at least quarterly reports on information security and cybersecurity matters, including data privacy, protection, and risk mitigation strategies.
• In 2021, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee (NCG Committee) initiated formal Board-level oversight of ESG matters. The ESG Working Group, comprising department heads and other key stakeholders, oversees the company's short and long-term ESG strategy. This group reports to the NCG Committee and is responsible for tracking progress towards the 2025 ESG Goals, overseeing ESG reporting, and enhancing communication across the ESG program.

Our commitment to ESG matters extends from the Board of Directors to the line of business employees who work diligently every day to support the communities we serve. Our determination to achieve our “Drive to ‘25” goals is stronger than ever, as you will see from the results contained in the annual ESG report. Download your complimentary copy today.