“In the past few months, many stakeholders have inquired about what Kimco was doing in the corporate responsibility arena," hecontinues. "Most were happily surprised to learn that we were doing so much but asked why we weren't sharing our story in a more public way.”

Now they are in a four-pronged approach to spell out the REIT's broad-based definition of corporate responsibility:

* REthink Business: details Kimco's efforts to create new sources of value and address issues of concern to the industry;

* REnew Community: describes Kimco's community-building and employee volunteer effort;

* REstore Environment: outlines Kimco's environmental sustainability initiatives; and

* REsources: provides formal reporting, alliances and partnerships, and policies.

The story that the REIT had not publicly shared included such initiatives as its implementation of a utility management program to monitor resource use and reduce expenses at individual centers and its pioneering application of solar panels at shopping centers to reduce tenant energy costs. The REIT has also partnered with the International Council of Shopping Centers to develop a first-of-its-kind Property Efficiency Scorecard.