Simon Property Group Recognized Once Again for Climate Disclosure

INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG), the country's largest owner, developer and manager of high quality retail real estate, has once again been recognized by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) with inclusion in its select Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index (CDLI). The CDP represents 551 institutional investors with $71 trillion in assets under management.

The CDLI includes only those companies within the S&P 500 Index which have displayed the most professional approach to corporate governance regarding climate change information disclosure practices. Companies are scored on their climate change disclosure and high scores indicate good internal data management and understanding of climate change related issues affecting a company and its business.

SPG, the only real estate company to be awarded the CDLI distinction, earned 96 out of 100, which was good enough for the tenth best score among all reporting companies. The overall average score for the Global 500 in 2011 was 69.

"We are gratified to be included in this preeminent group on a measure that reflects the excellence of our shopping center operations," said David Simon, Chairman and CEO of Simon Property Group. "We take great pride in the thorough and accurate measurement of our energy use and greenhouse gas emissions."

The CDLI, compiled by PricewaterhouseCoopers on behalf of CDP, provides an evaluation tool for institutional investors and other stakeholders. It is based on analysis of the responses to CDP's questionnaire which focused on greenhouse gas emissions, emissions reduction targets and risks and opportunities associated with climate change.

Paul Simpson, chief executive officer of the Carbon Disclosure Project said, "It is clear today, more than ever, we must build momentum to decouple economic growth from emissions. Managing carbon emissions and protecting the business from climate change impacts is fundamental to achieving sustainable and strong shareholder returns. Companies that make the Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index," Simpson continued, "have demonstrated good internal data management practices for understanding greenhouse gas emissions and have shown a strong awareness of the business issues related to climate change including climate-related risks and opportunities."

The S&P 500 report, including names of companies featured in the Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index, can be found at www.cdproject.net.

Simon Property Group

Simon Property Group, Inc. is an S&P 500 company and the largest real estate company in the U.S. The Company currently owns or has an interest in 391 retail real estate properties comprising 261 million square feet of gross leasable area in North America, Europe and Asia. Simon Property Group is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana and employs more than 5,000 people worldwide. The Company's common stock is publicly traded on the NYSE under the symbol SPG. For further information, visit the Simon Property Group website at www.simon.com

About CDP

The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) is an independent not-for-profit organization holding the largest database of primary corporate climate change and water information in the world. Some 3,000 organizations across the world's largest economies now measure and disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and assessment of climate change risk and opportunity through CDP, in order that they can set reduction targets and make performance improvements. This data is gathered on behalf of 551 institutional investors, holding US$71 trillion in assets. For more information visit www.cdproject.net.

SOURCE Simon Property Group, Inc.