GRESB: What Has Changed Since 2021?
The 2022 GRESB Portal opened on the 1st of April and closes on the 1st of July. This article will look at the key changes since the 2021 process.
What is GRESB and why submit?
GRESB, Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark, is the global standard for environmental, social and governance (ESG) benchmarking and reporting for real assets.
In 2021 GRESB covered more than 1,500 property companies, real estate investment trusts (REITs), funds, and developers representing $5.7 trillion in assets under management. The infrastructure benchmark included over 700 funds and assets.
GRESB allows for firms to monitor investments, engage with their managers, and make decisions that lead to a more sustainable real asset industry and aligns with international reporting frameworks, such as TCFD, GRI and PRI.
Updates
There have been minimal updates to the 2022 Real Estate and Infrastructure Assessments due to the development of a Five-year Roadmap that will help guide GRESB Standards into the future. The Five-year plan will be written in collaboration with industry stakeholders and will help ensure GRESB Standards and Assessments continue to provide value as they evolve into the future, while remaining globally relevant for all members.
The GRESB Portal has been updated to improve the overall user experience and to address speed-related issues. Further updates to the Real Estate and Infrastructure Assessment include:
Real Estate Assessment
In Entity and Reporting Characteristics, “Social Housing” has been added as an available selection option under “Investment style” for non-listed entities.
In, Management, ‘Senior Management’ has been added to the answer option “C-suite level staff”.
In Performance, a new validation rule has been added, requiring the reporting of energy consumption values if 100% data coverage is reported;
Additional guidance has been provided on how phased developments should be reported in the GRESB Real Estate Assessment; and
Additional guidance has been provided on how energy from heat pumps or other geothermal sources should be reported in the GRESB Real Estate Assessment.
Infrastructure Fund Assessment
In Entity and Reporting Characteristics, Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) has been added as a new optional field in EC2.
In Management, ESG leadership commitments, the following environmental and social specific commitments have been added to the indicator:
- The Climate Pledge
- Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative
- 40:40 Vision
Infrastructure Asset Assessment
In Entity and Reporting Characteristics, Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) has been added as a new optional field in EC2.
In Management, the indicator title “Is the entity's management system accredited to, or aligned with, ESG-related management standards?” has been changed to “Does the entity have a management system accredited to, or aligned with, ESG-related management standards”;
The following environmental and social specific commitments have been added to the indicator: the Climate Pledge and 40:40 Vision.
In water discharge, within the Performance section, the metric Non-compliance is now mandatory.
Deadline
The GRESB portal is now open, and companies have until the 1st of July 2022 to submit. However, the deadline to request a Response check is the 1st of June.
How we can help
The Orbis Advisory team can help you complete your GRESB submission, score highly within your industry sector, and align to industry best practises. We work across a broad range of sectors to develop and support ESG strategies to meet investor demands, prepare for upcoming legislative changes, and create tangible benefits both now and in the future. Please see our website to explore our full range of services, or send an email to info@orbisadvisory.com for any inquiries.
Sources
https://gresb.com/nl-en/real-estate-assessment/#assessment-resources
https://gresb.com/nl-en/infrastructure-fund-assessment/#assessment-resources
https://gresb.com/nl-en/about-us/five-year-roadmap/
https://gresb.com/nl-en/gresb-key-dates/
https://gresb.com/nl-en/insights/a-look-ahead-to-the-2022-assessments/