Launch of GRESB 2013 survey on ‘green building’

April 22, 2013 | 1 min read

Each year, in cooperation with its membership, GRESB undertakes an annual survey focused on the sustainability performance of real estate investments, measured at the portfolio level. The approximately 50 questions that comprise the survey are based on input from investors about what matters to them when examining sustainability issues. The purpose of the survey is to evaluate real estate companies and funds’ performance and to inform investors of the success and progress of initiatives to improve their sustainability. GRESB’s global membership includes more than 40 institutional real estate investors and investment managers, plus all major real estate industry associations and a large number of consultants and product vendors.

This is the fourth year that GRESB has undertaken its survey. Over that time, the response to the survey has increased substantially, from 200 companies and funds in 2009, to more than 450 in 2012. GRESB covers seven unique sustainability aspects, which address not only environmental issues but also approaches to management, policy and disclosure, building certifications, sustainability risk management and stakeholder engagement.

Participants complete the survey online via GRESB’s online portal, which remains open from 1 April until 1 July 2013. GRESB will then spend the summer analyzing all the data received. The 2013 survey results will be published in the first week of September. In addition to the publicly available annual GRESB Report, GRESB members and survey participants receive individual results that detail their respective funds’ and firms’ performance.

“The past few years have been a challenging environment for the real estate sector. However, at the heart of GRESB’s philosophy is the alignment of sustainability measures with financial performance. Our aim is to create a tool that can be used globally by investors and managers of real estate investments both to lower operating costs but also to better manage their investments and portfolios in the face of higher and more volatile energy prices, stricter legislation to combat climate change and require increased energy efficiency and the changing preferences of corporate tenants”, said Sander Paul van Tongeren, Senior Sustainability Specialist at APG Asset Management, which is one of the organizations that co-founded the GRESB in 2009.

References

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GRESB Survey 2013