For the eighth consecutive year, Australia and New Zealand’s real estate market has been ranked the world’s number one for sustainability in the internationally recognised 2018 GRESB real estate results.
GRESB (Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark) is a global benchmark for environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance of real assets, defining and measuring standards for sustainability performance.
In 2018, GRESB assessed 903 real estate companies, funds and developers across 64 countries, comprising more than 79,000 assets worth in excess of $4.9 trillion.
This year the Australia/New Zealand region recorded its highest score of 76, compared with 73 in 2017. The global average was 68, increasing from 65 in 2017, indicative of our continued world leadership, but also the increasing recognition internationally of the importance of sustainability reporting.
“Voluntary, independently assessed green building certification programs like our Green Star ratings are supporting and driving market transformation here and around the world,” says GBCA CEO Romilly Madew.
“They are vital standards in helping investors understand and measure the metrics across the full spectrum of environmental, social and economic sustainability measures, increasingly influencing the value of buildings.”
A record 73 Australian and New Zealand companies reported to GRESB this year, representing a property portfolio worth more than $447 billion.
GRESB results also showed 60 per cent of the region’s property companies and funds promote tenant health and wellbeing via their buildings and services, compared to just 24 per cent globally.
GRESB head of Asia Pacific Ruben Langbroek says the region was responding decisively to new sustainability challenges facing the sector, such as the drive for net-zero-carbon emissions.
“The new data paints a picture of a region not only further raising the bar on sustainability performance,” Langbroek says, “but also paving a clear path for others to follow.”