GPT Group asserts sustainability credentials

GPT Group asserts sustainability credentialsThe GPT Group has been named the most sustainable property company globally in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) for 2014/15, securing top spot for the fourth time in six years.The Dow Jones Sustainability Index assesses criteria such as corporate governance, risk management, climate-change mitigation and labour practices to evaluate the relative sustainability performance of the largest 20 companies listed on the Dow Jones Global Stock Market Index. GPT has been rated no lower than second in the DSJI’s real estate category over the past six years.GPT CEO and managing director Michael Cameron said sustainability was ingrained at GPT and that delivering social and environmental outcomes was part of business as usual at the company.”GPT continues to be driven to further improving the overall sustainability performance of the business,” he said.Cameron offers two examples of his company’s commitment to sustainability: the installation at Rouse Hill Town Centre in Sydney of 1400 solar panels, which generate enough electricity to power 80 Australian households; and replacing all lights at 800 Bourke Street in Melbourne with LEDs, thereby cutting the building’s lighting costs by more than 60 per cent.GPT’s performance in the DJSI follows impressive results achieved by the company in the 2014 Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) Survey. GPT received Green Star (top-quartile) status in the survey, as it has done since the inception of the benchmark.