Asia makes headway in sustainability performance

Asia makes headway in sustainability performanceSustainability performance and reporting in commercial property has improved, with the 2014 results for the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) survey revealing sustainable property investment is rising in Asia, to the extent that the region has outperformed North America for the first time.This year’s GRESB results covered data submitted by 637 listed property companies and private equity real estate funds for 56,000 buildings with an aggregate value of US$2.1 trillion.The survey, now in its sixth year, showed a marked improvement in how Asian real estate investors and developers are integrating sustainability into the management and operations of their portfolios.The overall GRESB score for Asian property companies and funds increased by 23 per cent to 46 points, eclipsing North America (overall score of 44) for the first time. Australia/New Zealand remains the global leader in overall sustainability performance with a score of 61. The average score in Europe is 47.”The Australian and Pacific region yet again led the pack globally on sustainable property. This is a testament to the strategic, long-term focus of the key industry players in this market,” said Amanda Steele, CBRE’s head of sustainability, Pacific.”As GRESB continues to grow with investor interest, so too will the investment in Australia’s sustainable property leaders.”Asia’s response rate to GRESB this year increased by 24 per cent to a total of 92 participants, including 31 in Japan, 21 in China and 13 in Singapore. Its strongest performance was in Monitoring and Environmental Management Systems, but both Asia and Pacific lagged behind North America and Europe in green building certification.Collectively, in 2013 the commercial real estate sector reduced its energy consumption by 0.8 per cent, carbon emissions fell by 0.3 per cent and water consumption fell by 2.3 per cent.On average, listed property companies achieved a 7-point higher score compared with private funds.GRESB said it consulted the real estate industry to further develop its set of metrics.”The need for reliable, investment-grade data continues to increase with the advent of capital market interest in the topic of energy efficiency and sustainability in real estate, and GRESB will be at the forefront of providing increasingly granular, high-quality data to the industry,” said Nils Kok, GRESB’s executive director.The GRESB organisation assesses the sustainability performance of real estate portfolios (public, private and direct) around the world annually. Since its inception in 2009, the GRESB survey has attracted a 220 per cent increase in the GRESB response rate. ESG reporting has become standard practice in real estate investments, with the survey showing an improvement in both the coverage and quality of the data submitted.With more than 130 members (including 42 pension funds and their fiduciaries) jointly representing US$8.9 trillion in assets under management, the GRESB benchmark considers executive decisions, plans and policies, performance measurement and stakeholder engagement, covering the investment management and engagement process, with a clear goal to optimise the risk/return profile of their real estate investments.The survey results were released at an Asia-Pacific sustainable property investment symposium organised by CBRE in Singapore.Download the 2014 GRESB report from: www.gresb.com