Real estate sector continues to lead on sustainability: GRESB

This year’s Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) reveals that sustainability reporting has improved in coverage and quality of data, with the average overall score increasing due to increasing implementation and measurement.

The average score is now 47 (out of 100) which is up nine points this year. The benchmark collects data from 637 listed property companies and private equity real estate funds, covering 56,000 buildings with an aggregate value of $2.1 trillion.

GRESB found that collectively, in 2013, the commercial real estate sector reduced its energy consumption by about 0.8 per cent, carbon emissions fell by 0.3 per cent, and water consumption fell by 2.3 per cent.

Sustainability is assessed annually by GRESB with a focus on: executive decisions, plans and policies; performance measurement; and stakeholder engagement.

The data provided by GRESB allows pension funds and other institutional investors to incorporate responsible investment principles into their decision-making. It is a source of portfolio-level sustainability data for the real estate industry, with  more than 40 institutional investors, representing $5.5 trillion in assets under management, using it for timely, actionable information about the sustainability performance of property portfolios.

Five years after the launch of the benchmark in 2009, GRESB participation has become standard practice for many of the world’s fund managers and listed property companies. There has been a more than 220 percent increase in response rate since 2009.

Sponsored Content

To view the results click here

 

Leave a Comment

Sort content by

US funds rally against corporate mergers

The two largest state public pension funds in the US – the California Public Employees’ Retirement Sysrtem (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS) – have filed a joint motion with the US District Court, Southern District of New York, to be designated lead plaintiff in class actions against Bank of America stemming

Hermes FM to implement ‘responsible’ management

Hermes Funds Management, 100 per cent owned by the UK’s largest pension scheme BT pension fund, will implement “responsible asset management” across its entire product range. mrec4inarticleinline Sponsored Content scnative1 scnative2 scnative3

Desperate times for US corporate plans

Investments of more than $100 billion are required to rebalance the equity allocations of the largest US corporate defined benefit plans, as they join their international peers, registering record losses for 2008 and pushing them deep into underfunded territory. mrec4inarticleinline Sponsored Content scnative1 scnative2 scnative3

US funds favour global equities allocations

The home country bias of US public pension plans is diminishing, with the average allocation to US equities, falling from 42.3 per cent to 38.1 per cent from 2003 to 2008. mrec4inarticleinline Sponsored Content scnative1 scnative2 scnative3

Barclays looks to cash in its iShares chips

Barclays has confirmed it has held discussions with a number of potential buyers over the sale of its profitable exchange-traded funds business, iShares, but says no decision regarding the sale of any assets has been made. mrec4inarticleinline Sponsored Content scnative1 scnative2 scnative3

Wilshire to drop Dow Jones for index provision

Wilshire will drop Dow Jones as the calculating engine of its indices, and will independently managed its more than 200 indices, including the high-profile Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 index, from April 1. mrec4inarticleinline Sponsored Content scnative1 scnative2 scnative3

Previous