GRESB

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Australia’s property development industry has a lot to celebrate recently after the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) announced Oceania’s world-leading real asset performance rank for the ninth year running.

The GRESB benchmark takes into account the environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance of real assets and infrastructure investments from across the globe – with Oceania reaching a new world record GRESB Score of 81, up from 72 the previous year. 

This year, the GRESB assessed 1,005 property companies, Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), funds and developers, with a combined asset count of 100,000 properties valued at over $6 trillion.

On a global scale, the current GRESB Score has climbed from 68 to 72 over the past year. However, despite the upward growth trajectory, the assessment also found a subsiding greenhouse gas reduction of only 2.66% this year, compared to 4.91% in 2018 – which is not enough to meet the <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/news/a-greener-future-green-building-council-australia-discuss-climate-change">Paris Climate Agreement target</a>.

Despite the disappointing greenhouse gas emission results, GRESB’s Director of Real Estate, Roxana Isaiu expressed confidence that the overall success since the GRESB Benchmark was established in 2009 shows a tenacity that will hopefully set us in good stead to reach the goal.  

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“Even in the face of present challenges, we remain optimistic because of the breadth and depth of the sustainability ecosystem that has grown up since the inaugural Real Estate Assessment in 2009. Looking back, it has been a remarkable decade of movement building that has laid the groundwork for exponential progress to be made in 2020-2050.”
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Roxana Isaiu, GRESB’s Director of Real Estate

The GRESB is supported by a body of environmental consultancy and certification firms, including Australia's NatHERS and Green Building Council Australia.

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“The voluntary industry-led tools and initiatives we deploy in partnership with our members, like the Carbon Positive Road map and independent Green Star certification, support Australia’s property companies in their pursuit of new levels of sustainability excellence. That’s why we continue to evolve our rating tools, as we are currently doing through Green Star - Future Focus, to ensure they keep pace with the new heights industry is scaling, while also broadening accessibility so more companies can realise the benefits strong ESG performance delivers.”
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Davina Rooney, <a href="https://new.gbca.org.au/news/gbca-media-releases/australia-sets-new-record-world-leader-real-estate-sustainability-rankings/">Green Building Council of Australia</a> CEO 

<h2>Which Australian companies were included in the assessment?</h2>

Australian Prime Property Fund (Commercial, Industrial and Retail), Lendlease, Dexus Wholesale Property Fund, Dexus Property Group, Frasers Logistics &amp; Industrial Trust, Frasers Logistics &amp; Industrial Asset Mangement.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/screen_shot_2019-09-13_at_11.49.40_am.png" rel="gallery-all" title="Credit: Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="311" src="/s3/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/screen_shot_2019-09-13_at_11.49.40_am.png?itok=aZDejurF" title="Credit: Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Credit: Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark</figcaption></figure><h2>How can Australia maintain this ranking for years to come?</h2>

It is clear Australia is on the right path towards leading global environmental, social and governance performance standards, however, in order to continue breaking Oceania's GRESB record, Australia needs to build on the framework we already have in place. This could include investing in greater analysis as to what is driving the most carbon emission and focus on ways to mitigate this; relook at policy and raise minimum environmental standards; retrofit and/or <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/news/upcycling-australia-why-demolish-when-you-can-re-polish">upcycle existing buildings</a>; and engage in more detailed, <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/news/place-over-product-akron-propertys-andrew-harvey-discusses-the-concept-of-creating-a-community-centric-mixed-use-precinct">holistic town master-planning</a> to create cohesive communities which are energy-efficient, future-proofed and environmentally sustainable. Ultimately, a change in perception that it’s time to place sustainability ahead of financial gain would be the desired outcome – but whether or not that's viable will become evident over the next few decades. 

Lead image credit: <a href="https://www.tripsavvy.com/neighbours-australia-and-new-zealand-4135977">Trip Savvy</a>
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Olivia Round

Oceania maintains top rank in the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark for 2019 

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Government land organisation Landcom has received international recognition for its sustainability practices.
It placed fourth in the world and third across the Asia Pacific region in the 2018 Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) Developer Assessment.
According to its website, the GRESB is an “investor driven organisation assessing the sustainability performance of real asset sector portfolios and assets”.
The survey assesses environmental, social and governance management and implementation performance.
Landcom Chief Executive Officer John Brogden said it was the only government land organisation in the world to participate alongside publicly-listed and private companies in GRESB.
It received a score of 90 out of 100 with a maximum score in the social and governance aspects, compared to 76 last year, placing them in third behind Lendlease (fist) and Frasers (second).
The participant peer average was 67.
GRESB Head of Asia Pacific Ruben Langbroek said Landcom had shown strong demonstrative leadership in sustainable urban development.
“Through its projects, policies and processes, Landcom has shown a clear focus on material topics such as liveability, resilience, and environmental quality,” Langbroek said.
According to data provided by the GRESB, 903 property companies, real estate investment trusts, funds, and developers participated in the Real Estate Assessment, an increase of 6% on the previous year.
The assessment now covers more than 79,000 assets, across 64 countries and represents more than $USD3.6 trillion in gross asset value.
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