by Brianna Crandall — October 16, 2013—The International Sustainability Alliance (ISA) network of property managers and owners recently published its Annual Benchmarking Report 2013 at the international trade fair for property and investment, Expo Real. Data on more than 1000 properties (6.5 million sq m) across the globe was entered for this year’s report, providing a key insight into the sustainability performance of some of the world’s leading commercial real estate.
“This is our fourth annual benchmarking report, and the ISA database now covers more than 16.5 million sq m of buildings, which amounts to over 150 billion euro of assets,” says Philip Buttery, Chief Executive of ISA. “We have the largest independent database of sustainable property in the world at a detailed property and individual asset level. This allows our members to identify good and bad performers in their own portfolio, and make sound investment decisions based on this analysis.”
The Annual Benchmarking Report 2013 provides an overview of the ISA database based on property type (retail, office, industrial etc.), floor area and global location; the document also provides an outline of the criteria used to compile the database.
Members collect and enter data relating to the energy, water and waste impacts of their property portfolio. Using this data, the ISA system generates a report based on nine Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Of these, three “intensity” KPIs can be used to generate benchmarks for similar properties types in a comparable country or region. Members use these benchmarks to compare their performance at building, country and portfolio levels.
These KPIs can be used by ISA members to prioritize actions to improve the performance of both individual buildings and of whole portfolios. Tailored annual reports for each alliance member summarize their KPI data and highlights areas for action to improve sustainability.
This year has seen the organization grow with a group of “portfolio members,” including Bopro in Belgium, Egis in France and Habitech in Italy, providing ISA services to companies who require benchmarking services on just a few properties and cannot justify ISA membership in their own right.
For a free copy of the 2013 report, e-mail info@theisa.org.
The International Sustainability Alliance (ISA) is a global network of leading corporate occupiers, property investors, developers and owners dedicated to achieving higher sustainability in the built environment. ISA partners with the BRE Trust to evaluate its portfolios for a range of purposes including benchmarking and CSR (corporate social responsibility) reporting of the sustainable performance and environmental impact of its buildings. This also provides a platform for certification against BREEAM In-Use and other compatible standards.
