Amsterdam, May 22, 2024 – Global investors are expanding their coordinated efforts in the Asia Pacific region to engage with the real asset industry on material ESG disclosures and net-zero strategies. Building on the success of past years, this year’s collaborative engagement campaign extends its focus to include infrastructure companies for the first time, alongside listed real estate companies and REITs.
This year, GRESB collaborated with 16 global investors with more than USD 5 trillion in assets under management to engage a select group of listed real estate and infrastructure companies across the APAC region. Through active stewardship and engagement, investors encourage real asset companies to participate in GRESB. This allows them to assess alignment with best practices on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues alongside the GRESB Standards, enabling them to identify leaders while encouraging improvements for those that are lagging.
“It’s great to see global investors using the weight of capital to encourage companies to improve their management of ESG issues. In turn, this can enhance investee companies’ financial performance and the long-term performance of investment portfolios,” said Ruben Langbroek, Head of Asia Pacific at GRESB.
The engagement rate has surpassed 50% in 2024, reflecting a significant increase from 40% in 2023 and 25% in 2022. More than 30 out of the 59 target companies have indicated interest in the investor-based campaign, signaling a rapid climb up the ESG maturity curve by regional companies.
The inclusion of listed infrastructure companies in this year’s campaign has been a resounding success, highlighting the widening scope and impact of ESG-focused engagement across different sectors and asset classes.
“By speaking to companies with a unified voice, investors can more effectively communicate their responsible investment beliefs to investee companies. The result is a more informed and constructive dialogue, leading to a stronger commitment to disclose and improve ESG practices by listed real asset companies,” Langbroek continued.
Investors who supported the collaborative engagement campaign in 2024 include:
| 4D Infrastructure | MFS Investment Management |
| Aegon Asset Management | Northern Trust |
| Australian Ethical | Principal |
| Bouwinvest | Quay Global Investors |
| CenterSquare | Schroders |
| Cohen & Steers | Heitman |
| Resolution Capital | DWS |
| Vert Asset Management | Brookfield Asset Management |
About GRESB
GRESB is a mission-driven, industry-led organization providing standardized and validated Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) data to financial markets. Established in 2009, GRESB has become the leading benchmark for sustainable real estate and infrastructure investments across the world, used by 150 institutional and financial investors to inform decision-making. The annual GRESB benchmarks include more than 2,000 real estate portfolios and funds as well as more than 170 infrastructure funds and nearly 700 infrastructure assets, collectively representing USD 8.8 trillion in gross asset value.