GRESB, the global ESG benchmark for real assets, has launched the GRESB Real Estate Pre-Assessment, a standalone ESG evaluation for companies and funds that are capital raising, undergoing due-diligence, have a short hold strategy and those that have begun incorporating ESG into their operations.
More investors are directing capital toward companies and funds that are measuring and managing ESG risks and opportunities. This trend is fueling demand for ESG reporting across a wide set of investment strategies, across all stages of the real estate investment cycle and in new markets.
The GRESB Real Estate Pre-Assessment is designed to address this demand by providing a preliminary ESG assessment comprised of a subset of indicators from the GRESB Real Estate Assessment. The indicators focus on management and policy aspects and exclude property level information.
Mathieu Elshout, senior director, Private Real Estate Europe, PGGM, states, “PGGM requires all non-listed property investments to participate in the GRESB Real Estate Assessment, which shows the importance of ESG performance for all our investments. The GRESB Pre-Assessment serves a role in our due diligence process for future investments as well as for investments in markets that are at an early stage of the ESG movement.”
Given this focus, the Pre-Assessment is suited for companies and funds that are capital raising, undergoing due diligence, have a short hold strategy and those that have started to incorporate ESG into their operations.
It will offer a way for these entities to respond to new forms of ESG due diligence that investors are performing across an ever-widening variety of fund strategies, property companies, and markets.
Reporting to the Pre-Assessment requires a low commitment of time and resources and can be used as a stepping stone for participation in the full GRESB Real Estate Assessment.
The GRESB Pre-Assessment can be performed at any time between Oct. 23, 2017 – April 1, 2018. Once submitted, the data is validated, scored and benchmarked using the GRESB methodology.
The ESG landscape has shifted, and work is in progress to help real estate fund managers and property companies adjust to the market realities and to meet the expectations from investors.
The GRESB Pre-Assessment is the next step on the road to helping all real estate companies and funds, to obtain an ESG evaluation against a global standard in every stage of the investment cycle.
Patrick Kanters, managing director global real estate & infrastructure, APG Asset Management, says, “The GRESB Assessments gives us the required ESG performance insight of our investments, and with the GRESB Pre-assessment we get the opportunity to receive the necessary information ahead of the decision-making related to private real estate investments.”