Pension funds join forces to 'green' real estate investments

MANILA, Philippines - Eleven of the world’s largest pension asset managers, representing $1.4 trillion in assets under management, and some of the leading real estate industry associations have joined forces to create the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (‘GRESB’).

The GRESB Foundation will execute an annual survey to scrutinize the sustainability of fund managers in the real estate industry. The goal is to simultaneously create shareholder value and reduce the sector’s substantial carbon footprint, by creating more transparency in the environmental sustainability of real estate investment managers.

The GRESB follows from a 2009 award-winning initiative by the founding members (European pension asset managers APG, PGGM and USS), who cooperated with Maastricht University (Netherlands) to measure the energy efficiency and sustainability of their real estate investments. The benchmark serves as a starting point for engagement.

The GRESB Foundation launched its first survey on March 28, and the collected data will provide input for the 2011 benchmark. GRESB is unique in scope and coverage, covering both the global property market and the entire universe of private and listed entities.

A large group of leading, international pension asset managers has joined the initiative, including ATP (the largest pension fund in Denmark), the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Fund (the largest pension fund in Canada), Mn Services (the third largest pension asset manager in the Netherlands), Hermes Real Estate (one of the largest real estate managers in the UK), the Local Government Superannuation (Australia) and Victoria Fund Management Corp. (Australia). Other asset managers that joined the ranks include Aviva Investors (UK) and the US-based Paramount Group. Leading real estate industry associations, including the Asia Pacific Real Estate Association (APREA), the Asian Association for Investors in Non-Listed Real Estate Vehicles (ANREV), and Jones Lang LaSalle, are actively supporting the GRESB Foundation.

By using information collected by GRESB, institutional investors will be able to compare the environmental performance of individual property investments with their environmental real estate targets. The intention is that this benchmarking will serve as a catalyst for environmental engagement in real estate investments. The results of the survey, which are expected in September of this year, will form the basis for a collective effort towards a more resource efficient institutional real estate industry.

More information about the GRESB Foundation and the benchmark can be found at www.gresb.com.