Six years of unbroken sustainability leadership

Six years of unbroken sustainability leadershipAustralia’s largest property companies continue to lead the world in environmental, social and governance performance, with six years of unbroken leadership at the top of the GRESB survey.GRESB, the global real estate sustainability benchmark, finds Australian and New Zealand property companies continue to outperform other regions, with an average score of 74 in 2016, compared to the global average of 60.Property Council chief Ken Morrison says, “this is Aussie leadership that is making real progress in terms of emissions, energy and water usage.”GRESB found that the Australia/NZ region decreased its energy consumption by two per cent over the reporting period, and reduced carbon emissions by four per cent.Morrison says the result confirms that Australia is “serious about cutting emissions and energy usage” and that companies and funds are now beginning to report on health and wellbeing indicators too.Welcoming the GRESB results, chief executive officer of the Green Building Council of Australia, Romilly Madew says Australia’s property industry has delivered more than 1320 Green Star projects, and investors are increasingly demanding reliable data on energy efficiency and sustainability to help guide their decision-making.Four Australian entities were acknowledged as ‘regional sector leaders’ – the Lendlease Sub-Regional Retail Fund, DEXUS Office Trust, Australian Prime Property Fund Commercial (Lendlease) and Stockland (Diversified – Retail/Office).Stockland was also named global sector leader for diversified office/retail, while Frasers Property Australia came first globally for diversified office/industrial/non-listed funds.”While companies and funds in Australia and New Zealand are competitive, they are unusually open in collaborating and in sharing experiences and insights,” Morrison says.GRESB’s head of Asia Pacific, Ruben Langbroek, agrees, saying that Australia’s leadership reflects a long-term commitment to sustainability and a “pervasive spirit of collaboration and knowledge sharing”. The Property Council’s National Sustainability Roundtable provides a forum for sustainability leaders of the industry to drive industry-wide strategies and guide advocacy for effective government policy.