GRESB Merges with the Green Building Certification Institute

GRESB, a source of sustainability data for the global real estate industry, has announced its merger with the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI), a non-profit organization providing independent certification of buildings and professional credentialing processes.

While GBCI has historically focused on measuring the sustainability performance of commercial, residential, and public buildings, GRESB has established itself as the industry standard for transparency at the real estate investment enterprise and portfolio level. Currently the global benchmark covers the sustainability performance of more than 800 unique REITs, private equity funds, joint ventures, and directly held pension fund portfolios around the world.

“Joining forces with GBCI enables us to deliver on the demands of both the property industry as well as the financial markets,” said Nils Kok, CEO of GRESB. “Together, we will be able to execute our roadmap towards investment grade data at a higher speed. This move is a logical next step in providing comprehensive sustainability information to the real estate sector, from individual assets to the portfolio level.”

GRESB, an industry-driven initiative, has played an instrumental role for institutional investors and industry associations, providing assessments and data on the sustainability performance of property portfolios globally. While GRESB will continue to independently conduct its annual Survey, the merger is an important step in its strategy to advance transparency in the sustainability performance of the real estate sector and enhance the metrics that constitute the most important sustainability considerations for its stakeholders.

Patrick Kanters, MD Real Estate & Infrastructure at APG Asset Management and non-executive director on the board of GRESB: “Institutional investors continue to seek for ways to better assess the value of sustainability in real estate. The combined sustainability expertise, networks and resources will further GRESB’s unique offering, while the continued, active involvement of institutional investors on GRESB’s Board ensures that future demands of the market and stakeholders will be met.”

Rick Fedrizzi, CEO of GBCI: “Since 2000, GBCI has evaluated and certified more than 10 billion square feet of green building space around the globe, and that number is increasing. We are excited about the possibilities from combining our network, knowledge and skills with GRESB, enabling both organizations to deliver better service and support, research, education and training.”

The merger will provide the global real estate industry with a powerful set of integrated sustainability solutions, linking real time performance, asset certification, and portfolio-level reporting to provide investment-grade data. These solutions will leverage GBCI’s established expertise providing rigorous third-party review, verification and training, which will be extended to the GRESB Survey, complementing GRESB’s unique capabilities to assess and benchmark critical aspects of environmental performance, social responsibility, and corporate governance. Together, GBCI and GRESB will provide investors with reliable information to inform global real estate investment decisions.