GRESB
GRESB — ESG reporting standard overview with scope, requirements, and implementation guidance. Open-access sustainability resource.
GRESB: Real Estate & Infrastructure ESG Benchmark
GRESB is the leading ESG benchmark for real assets, providing standardised and validated ESG data to financial markets, with over 2,000 real estate and infrastructure entities participating in its annual assessment covering assets worth over US$8.6 trillion.
Founded in 2009 by a group of large pension funds, GRESB (formerly the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark) has become the industry standard for ESG performance assessment in real estate and infrastructure. The benchmark is used by over 170 institutional investors representing US$51 trillion in assets under management to inform investment decisions, engage with managers, and monitor portfolio ESG performance.
Assessment Structure
GRESB assessments evaluate entities across two dimensions: Management (leadership, policies, reporting, risk management, stakeholder engagement) and Performance (energy, greenhouse gas emissions, water, waste, biodiversity, tenant engagement). Participants receive an overall GRESB Score (0-100), a GRESB Rating (1-5 stars), and peer comparison rankings within their sector and region.
The assessment is aligned with international reporting frameworks including GRI, TCFD, SASB, and the SDGs, and covers topics such as energy efficiency, renewable energy, water management, waste reduction, biodiversity, health and wellbeing, resilience, and social impact. GRESB also offers a Development Benchmark for entities with significant development activities.
Impact on Real Estate Investment
GRESB has fundamentally changed how ESG is integrated into real estate and infrastructure investment decisions. Many institutional investors require GRESB participation as a condition of investment or use GRESB scores in manager selection and monitoring. The benchmark has driven significant improvements in ESG performance across the real assets sector, with average scores increasing steadily since inception.
Further Reading
- GRESB — Official website
- GRESB Standards — Assessment methodology
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