The new report, “Building Inclusive & Sustainable Communities,” showcases Daniels’ commitment to enhancing accessibility in new home construction, both within the communities they build and across the real estate industry.
Highlights from the 2023 report:
- Completed 38 new accessible homes through Daniels’ Accessibility Designed Program (ADP) for a total of 198 ADP suites since launch of the program in 2017 and invested $217,000 in support of initiatives that accelerate accessibility.
- Spent $550,000 in social procurement, by engaging 43 local suppliers and artists of which 90 per cent are diverse suppliers.
- Trained and secured employment placements for 27 youth in two neighbourhoods through the CRAFT and Moving Towards Opportunity (MTO) Programs which generated $211,000 in local economic development.
- Launched MPV2, Brampton’s largest low-carbon master-planned community, under the Daniels Decarbonization Roadmap, released in the same year.
- Published four carbon labels in three new communities launched in 2023.
TORONTO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Daniels Corporation (“Daniels”), one of Canada’s pre-eminent builders and developers, recognized for its commitment to city-building and social impact, proudly presents its 2023 impact report. This report is a testament to the company’s unwavering dedication to fostering inclusive and sustainable communities.
The comprehensive report, entitled ‘Building Inclusive & Sustainable Communities,’ enumerates Daniels’ distinctive approach to real estate development and construction. Over its 40-year commitment to shaping a better tomorrow, Daniels has focused on social impact initiatives and strides toward decarbonization.
Daniels uses its business as a positive force, enriching communities by valuing people, partnerships and the planet.
With focus on progress made in 2023 around Daniels’ groundbreaking social impact and sustainability initiatives, this year’s report shines a spotlight on Daniels’ trailblazing journey into creating more accessible buildings and communities, propelled by the launch of its Accessibility Designed Program (ADP) in 2017.
“At the heart of this report lies a compelling narrative of using our business as a positive force, exemplified by Daniels’ pioneering efforts to enhance accessibility in new home construction. With a keen focus on innovation, equity and transparency, we demonstrate through this report that Daniels is not only reshaping its own practices but also setting a new standard for the industry,” said Heela Omarkhail, Vice President of Social Impact, The Daniels Corporation.
Building Inclusive Communities
In 2023, Daniels developed new initiatives and partnerships while building on existing ones to deliver on its social impact framework of creating affordable and accessible housing, investing in local economic development and building social infrastructure.
Daniels further strengthened its commitment to social procurement as a tool to create local economic opportunities by supporting the capacity-building of emerging businesses, social enterprises and diverse suppliers, and creating space for them to build their expertise and grow. A powerful example has been the company’s work with InfiniGuard Security and Protections Inc., a Regent Park-based social enterprise security company founded by local resident Murwan Khogali, since 2021. Starting with short term, occasional contracts for event security to ongoing contracts to commercial patrols, in 2023 InfiniGuard successfully secured the concierge services contract at Daniels’ Artworks Tower and Artsy Boutique Condominiums. In 2023 alone, $292,000 in local economic development was generated by InfiniGuard with a total of $700,000 in economic impact since 2021.
Furthermore, Daniels has made significant investments to support artists, entrepreneurs and not-for-profit organizations through its Social Impact Commercial portfolio, to create opportunities for individuals and groups to access commercial space at subsidized lease rates. For instance, Wanasah, a not-for-profit mental health agency addressing urgent mental health needs of Black youth and their families, moved into one such commercial office space in Regent Park.
Building Sustainable Communities
In February 2023, with the launch of the Daniels Decarbonization Roadmap, Daniels outlined a performance-based plan to drastically reduce the carbon footprint for the company’s next two development-cycles. The strategy is an industry-first in quantifying and reducing Whole Life Carbon emissions from real estate development. With a data-driven approach to reducing the carbon impact of its communities, the goal is to reach Near-Zero Whole Life Carbon — a transformational level of emissions reduction — for all new communities starting development in 2026.
As part of this strategy and Daniels’ commitment to educating homeowners and tenants, the company has implemented the voluntary disclosure of emissions performance through the creation of a unique carbon label for each of its new communities coming to market. The carbon labels help homeowners and tenants understand the carbon impact of the homes Daniels is building and enhances accountability to the Decarbonization Roadmap commitments. The creation of carbon labels demonstrates Daniels’ environmental stewardship and commitment to meeting emissions reduction targets.
“The launch of our Decarbonization Roadmap is the start of a process to operationalize our values. Our industry needs to transition to net zero as quickly as possible, without increasing the affordability challenges that we are all struggling with. We believe that the path to get there will be grounded in an intentional and data-driven strategy that produces steady progress in all aspects of how we build. As a leader in our industry, we are committed to this journey while sharing our progress in an open and transparent way,” said Adam Molson, Vice President, The Daniels Corporation.
Inclusion by Design
In 2017, Daniels responded to a critical need within the real estate development industry by launching its groundbreaking Accessibility Designed Program (ADP). This initiative emerged from invaluable feedback from homebuyers, revealing a significant gap in accessible housing options. The feedback underscored the scarcity of new homes tailored to meet mobility and other accessibility requirements.
Recognizing its unique position to address this pressing need, Daniels embarked on a transformative journey. Exceeding conventional standards outlined by the Ontario Building Code (OBC) for barrier-free homes, Daniels sought to redefine what it means for a home to be truly accessible. Through extensive consultations with the accessibility community and industry experts, Daniels gained profound insights into the lived experiences of individuals with disabilities, seniors aging in place, and those seeking more inclusive living spaces.
Daniels’ ADP set a new benchmark for accessibility in North America. Going beyond mere compliance, this program elevates the standard for inclusivity in home design and construction.
By prioritizing accessibility features, the ADP standard ensures that multi-residential communities developed and built by Daniels are not only accessible but truly inclusive.
The 2023 Impact Report unveils a comprehensive Spotlight Report titled “Inclusion by Design,” offering an in-depth exploration of Daniels’ ongoing accessibility journey and the remarkable progress achieved over the past six years.
“It’s never been more important for us at Daniels to stay focused and act on our commitments to building thriving communities that foster inclusion and sustainability,” said Jake Cohen, Chief Operating Officer, The Daniels Corporation. “We are in a transformational moment, what we do today and how we do it will impact the future of our communities for generations to come. As we continue to listen and learn alongside the communities we build, we will continue to push barriers and reimagine the way we build vibrant and resilient communities,” added Cohen.
To read Daniels’ 2023 Impact Report, please visit https://danielshomes.ca/social-impact/.
About The Daniels Corporation
The Daniels Corporation is one of Canada’s pre-eminent builders/developers, building nearly 40,000 new homes across the Greater Toronto Area for over 40 years. Daniels is the developer of TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto’s Entertainment District and the City of the Arts community on Toronto’s East Bayfront. Among its many initiatives, Daniels partnered with Toronto Community Housing to revitalize 53 of the 69-acre Regent Park community in Toronto. Regent Park is home to the World Urban Pavilion, a collaboration between the Urban Economy Forum, UN-Habitat, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and Daniels. Understanding that quality of life is created by much more than physical buildings, Daniels goes above and beyond to integrate building excellence with opportunities for social, cultural, and economic well-being.
Contacts
For more information or to request an interview, please contact:
Emma McNally
Kaiser & Partners
Emma.McNally@kaiserpartners.com
647.786.5890