by Brianna Crandall — October 8, 2012—Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB), an industry-led organization committed to rigorous and independent evaluation of the sustainability performance of real estate portfolios, recently released its 2012 report tracking the progress of sustainability in companies around the world. An Executive Summary is also available.
The 2012 GRESB Report is based on sustainability data gathered from almost 450 property companies and funds around the world. It provides aggregate information for 36,000 properties, representing $1,300 billion in global assets under management.
According to GRESB, the survey responses show that real estate investors and managers are intensifying their focus on improving the sustainability performance of their assets. GRESB notes that there was a 30% increase in the response rate to this year’s survey, with particularly significant increases in Europe and the Americas.
Key trends indicated from the survey data include:
- Sustainability is growing in importance: 88% of property companies and funds now have dedicated resources to manage the sustainability performance of their assets; 80% have an articulated vision or strategy on sustainability; and 92% have charged a senior manager with the ultimate responsibility for sustainability issues.
- Energy consumption is the main policy focus at 81%, up slightly from 2011 when it was at 75%. Importantly, 60% of respondents now collect and report energy consumption data, compared to only 34% in 2011.
- Greenhouse gas emissions of 171 property companies and funds decreased by 6%, a reduction of 432,000 metric tons of CO2 in absolute terms, equivalent to removing 85,000 cars from the road.
- Green building certification is becoming more prevalent, with 51% of respondents including green building certificates in their portfolio. LEED certification is the most widely adopted.
GRESB will follow up the report with its online scorecards in mid-September. Accessible to respondents and authorized investor members via a secure online portal, these contain further information regarding individual fund and property company results.
