GRESB, the global environmental, social and governance (ESG) benchmark for real assets, today released the global results for the 2018 GRESB Real Estate Assessment.
A record 903 real estate companies, funds and developers reported to GRESB covering more than 79,000 assets across 64 countries. This highlights the increasing transparency and measurement of ESG performance across the global real estate sector. Adding the Public Disclosure Dataset, GRESB has full coverage of the major listed real estate indices.
Notable in this year’s benchmark is the increased asset-level reporting on ESG data by more real estate companies and funds than ever before. Close to 50,000 assets were reported at the asset level, more than doubling the 2017 number and giving an unrivalled set of detailed ESG data and insights for the real estate investment market.
“Participation in GRESB has grown again in 2018 as investors seek standardized and validated ESG data to assess the sustainability of their real estate assets,” says Sander Paul van Tongeren, Co-Founder and Managing Director at GRESB. “This investor interest, backed up with accurate performance benchmarking, is empowering the spread of sustainable best practices across the world. We congratulate all participants in the 2018 GRESB Assessments. Their efforts are shaping the future of sustainability leadership for the sector.”
The global average GRESB Score increased again, reaching 68 (out of 100), with listed entities retaining their lead over the private sector. Increases were seen across all regions: Asia, Europe, North America and Australia/NZ.
The sector achieved an important 4.9% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions year-on-year, accounting for Scope 1, Scope 2, as well as Scope 3 emissions (associated with tenant operations). In addition, 2018 saw a 2.5% average reduction in energy consumption and a 0.5% decrease in water consumption globally.
“The 2018 GRESB results are proving that expectations have fundamentally changed in the real asset sector and investors are increasingly asking for greater transparency about the ESG performance of real asset portfolios,” said Mahesh Ramanujam, chairman, GRESB Board of Directors, and president & CEO, Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI). “We are pleased by the continued increase in participation this year as it is clear that ESG is gaining prominence and becoming common practice. We congratulate all participants in the 2018 Assessments for the critical role they are playing in creating a world with more sustainable buildings and infrastructure.”
2018 GRESB Global Sector Leaders
This list of Global Sector Leaders recognizes the real estate companies and funds taking measurable steps to incorporate sustainability into their operations and communicate their performance to investors and other stakeholders.
- Achmea Dutch Health Care Property Fund, Syntrus Achmea Real Estate & Finance, Non-listed – Healthcare
- Australian Prime Property Fund Commercial, Lendlease, Non-listed – Office
- Australian Prime Property Fund Retail, Lendlease, Non-listed – Retail
- Bouwinvest Dutch Institutional Hotel Fund N.V., Bouwinvest REIM, Non-listed – Hotels
- Build to Rent (1), Legal and General Investment Management, Non-listed – Residential
- Castellum AB, Listed – Diversified – Office/Industrial
- Equity Residential, Listed – Residential
- Frasers Logistics & Industrial Trust, Listed – Industrial
- Hines Master Fund Management Company S.a.r.l. on behalf of Hines Real Estate Master FCP-FIS, Hines, Non-listed – Diversified – Office/Retail
- Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc., Listed – Hotels
- J.P. Morgan U.S. Core, J.P. Morgan Asset Management, Non-listed – Diversified
- J.P. Morgan U.S. Value Add, J.P. Morgan Asset Management, Non-listed – Diversified – Office/Residential
- Kilroy Realty Corporation, Listed – Office
- Leisure Fund Property Partnership, Legal and General Property, Non-listed – Other
- Nomura Real Estate Master Fund, Inc., Listed – Diversified
- Stockland, Listed – Diversified – Office/Retail
- Swire Properties Limited, Listed – Other
- Triovest Realty Advisors Inc., Triovest Realty Advisors Inc., Non-listed – Diversified – Office/Industrial
- UBS German Logistic Fund, UBS Global Asset Management, Non-listed – Industrial
- Unibail-Rodamco, Listed – Retail
You can view the 2018 GRESB Real Estate results here.
