July newsletter | Get familiar with the assessment timeline; new insights into ESG reporting from GRESB Partners

Now that the 2023 reporting period has officially closed, the GRESB team, in partnership with Sustainability Assurance Services (formerly SRI), is hard at work validating, scoring, and benchmarking the newly submitted data.

While aggregated final figures, takeaways, and trends will be shared publicly in October, we are more than happy to share that our participation numbers have recorded a new increase once again.

While we work on the final results, make sure to review our assessment timeline for key dates and milestones just around the corner:

• August 1-30: Take advantage of our new “customize peer group” functionality, currently available in test phase. Learn more about this feature here.
• September 1: Mark your calendar as your preliminary GRESB results will become available.
• September 1-15: This is your window to take advantage of the Review Period, in case you believe that there has been incorrect or incomplete data input
• October 2: Final GRESB results available to participants and investors.

For any questions, please contact the GRESB Helpdesk.

Infrastructure Standards Committee update
The Foundation Board (FB) recently voted to add six new members to the Infrastructure Standards Committee (ISC): Jane Baseby (PATRIZIA AG), Lucinda Callow (DWS Group), Olta Cibuku (Amp), Shali Lingaretnam(Victorian Funds Management Corporation), James Milner-Smith (Neos Networks), and Ruairi Revell (abrdn). The new ISC members represent a diversity of organizations, sectors, and geographies and are joining just in time to offer their perspective on the updates proposed to the 2024 Infrastructure Standards. We are grateful for their commitment to advance the GRESB Standards and, on behalf of the GRESB Foundation Board Chair, Patrick Kanters, the ISC Chair, Katherine Sherwin, and the entire Foundation Board, we are excited to welcome them to the ISC!

The FB’s selection decision was very difficult as we received numerous applications from highly qualified applicants. We will continue to accept applications on a rolling basis, so we encourage interested candidates to continue to apply for the Standards Committees by completing this nomination form. We truly appreciate the enthusiasm to support the growth of the GRESB Standards and we will work to engage with all of you as GRESB continues to evolve.

IFRS Standards
GRESB applauds the recently released IFRS standards, which represent a milestone for sustainability disclosure. Furthermore, the GRESB Foundation appreciates IFRS’ recognition for the core elements of GRESB’s approach to science-based standards development. Since the new IFRS standards define materiality solely in reference to financial investors, the new S1 and S2 standards will need to be used in coordination with more holistic reporting frameworks, such as GRI and GRESB. To that end, GRESB expects there will be significant overlap between the SASB-based IFRS S1 and S2 standards, given the high alignment with the SASB standard, as well as its real estate indicator objectives/scopes.

For more information on the existing GRESB alignments, please review how GRESB aligns with common ESG reporting frameworks.

Through GRESB Insights, we seek to highlight case studies on ESG integration in real assets, data-driven analyses into how the industry is responding to sustainability challenges, and educational articles exploring topics covered in the GRESB Assessments.

The theme this month was “ESG Reporting.” Below are the latest GRESB Insights:

• Navigating ESG conversations to improve long-term business outcomes | Verdani Partners
• ESG reporting in the real estate industry: How to eliminate endless spreadsheets and avoid greenwashing | Predium Technology GmbH
• 2023: a wave of new ESG reporting requirements | Deepki
• Bridging the data gap: How utilities data monitoring platforms complement building management systems for robust ESG reporting | nanoGrid
• Enhancing transparency and accountability: The importance of ESG reporting | EVORA Global
• Upleveling your ESG program with the GRESB Benchmark Report | Stok
• Getting more from your ESG data | Yardi Systems
• ESG reporting: Regulatory updates and the need for strong internal governance | Longevity Partners
• ESG’s evolution in GRESB: Shifting focus from ambition to action​ | Schneider Electric
• The path to creating valuable ESG reporting | Veris Residential
• ESG data collection: How Artificial Intelligence can be a game changer | Stonal
• Data is gold: The power of data in residential real estate | Utopi

See all of our GRESB Insights. Next month’s topic is “Sustainable Infrastructure.” View our editorial guidelines and submit an article here.

IMN ESG Decarbonizing Real Estate Forum | July 18-19, 2023 | Dana Point, CA

The conference will take an in-depth look at how regulations will continue to evolve and what institutional investors should expect in terms of their current and future investments. GRESB’s Dan Winters will be presenting a deep dive into GRESB.

International Green Build Conference 2023 | August 1, 2023 | Petaling Jaya, Malaysia

Hosted by GreenRE and REHDA Institute, this conference brings together international speakers and industry experts to explore sustainable built environments. GRESB’s Trey Archer, Business Development Director, Asia, will be speaking at the event.

IGCC 2023 Climate Change Investment and Finance Summit | August 21 – 22, 2023 | Sydney, Australia

This two-day event will offer insights from market practitioners and policymakers and explore, exploring the latest opportunities in climate policy, accelerating climate investment locally and globally, advancing investor practices, corporate engagement, and managing regional physical risks.  

2nd Annual ESG & Data Management in Real Estate Forum| September 14-15,2023 | Amsterdam, Netherlands

This event will cover a wide range of topics, from the growing importance of sustainable building design to data reporting directives. GRESB’s Anna Olink will moderate a panel on navigating EU taxonomy and related regulations

PERE Seoul Forum 2023 | September 19, 2023 | Seoul, Korea 

This event aims to connect Korean investors with global managers, providing an opportunity for network expansion and sharing actionable insights into how Korea’s most active private real estate investors are looking to allocate capital.

PEI Responsible Investment Forum | September 19-20, 2023 | San Francisco, CA

The forum brings together institutional investors, fund managers, consultants, and associations to discuss effective ESG strategies that balance sustainability with enhanced returns on investments. Chris Pyke, GRESB’s Chief Innovation Officer, will moderate a panel on real assets and ESG integration.

PERE Tokyo Forum 2023 |September 21, 2023 | Tokyo, Japan 

This event will gather 200+ of the biggest local investors, global asset managers, and strategic partners shaping the future of Japanese real estate investing

International Green Build Conference 2023 | August 1, 2023 | Malaysia

Hosted by GreenRE and REHDA Institute. This one-day conference brings together international speakers and industry experts to explore sustainable built environments, addressing the growing demand for businesses to raise the bar on sustainability and showcase their commitment to climate action in line with global goals.

See our events calendar for a full overview of upcoming events.

GRESB is growing and looking for new people! Please feel free to share with your network.

Our most recently added open positions:

• Financial Controller (French speaking) | Amsterdam
• Infrastructure Associate, ESG and Sustainability | Amsterdam
• Content Marketing Internship | Amsterdam
• Climate Data Analyst – Intern (Asset Impact) | Paris or Berlin
• ESG Internship | Amsterdam

Learn more about careers at GRESB here.

> From net zero to zero: A discussion paper on grid-interactive efficient buildings | Green Building Council Australia

​​> Rating the ESG rating agencies | Financial Times

> Masters of the ESG universe | The Fifth Estate

​​> IFRS Foundation welcomes culmination of TCFD work and transfer of TCFD monitoring responsibilities to ISSB from 2024 | IFRS

​​> Insights on GRESB 2023 – What respondents need to know | Cundall (Podcast)