Grosvenor Europe, one of four operating companies of the privately-owned international property group, Grosvenor Group, has achieved 5 Green Stars in the annual Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB).
GRESB assesses the sustainability performance of real estate and infrastructure portfolios and assets worldwide. As part of the corporate rankings, Grosvenor Europe scored 83 points, nine points ahead of its peer group.
The company said that reflects a commitment to “making a lasting positive contribution to the places in which we are active”.
The Grosvenor European Retail Partnership (GERP) Fund, which owns a portfolio of Swedish shopping centres, achieved a new Green Star, securing 4 star status, and ranking 8 points ahead of the peer group average and 20 points ahead of the GRESB average.
Grosvenor’s portfolio was acknowledged for strong sustainability performance, following the BREEAM certification of three centres and having achieved a 1.5% reduction in energy consumption and a 16.2% reduction in water usage, the equivalent of five Olympic swimming pools.
Social sustainability also delivered strong results, with Skärholmen Centrum, part of the Retail Centres V Fund, maintaining 3 star status and increasing its score to 68 points. It ranked particularly highly for governance and social responsibility, with scores above the peer group average, reflecting our commitment to working with local groups such as Mitt 127, and the municipality, to deliver positive benefit in the community.
Lidingö Centrum, acquired this spring, was not included in this study.
Liverpool ONE, part of the Grosvenor Liverpool Fund, retained its 5 star ranking, improving its score to 84 (2017: 79). It achieved a 14% reduction in electric consumption due to an increased contribution from solar power generated energy.
RPA Perspective The latest GRESB Real Estate Assessment shows the European real estate sector continues to leave Asia and other regions trailing in its wake in sustainability performance measures.
With European companies and funds reducing global gas emissions by 5.6%, Europe maintains its leadership position compared to other regions. Similarly, with a 2.2% fall in water consumption, the average water consumption reduction for European participants outperforms the other regions.
The findings do suggest the sustainability performance of the global real estate sector has increased as a whole. The global average GRESB Score increased again, reaching 68 (out of 100), with listed entities retaining their lead over the private sector. Increases were seen across all regions: Asia, Europe, North America and Australia/NZ.
These results are of value to Asian investors as some analysts believe the importance of these benchmark assessments will grow in stature as investors increasingly place a premium on Environmental, Social and Governance (EGG) performance standards.
Sara Lucas, executive director, Portfolio, Grosvenor Europe, said of the report findings: “Grosvenor takes a long- term view of its responsibilities and activities, with sustainability considerations an important factor in all investment, asset management and development decisions. This approach is driven by our Living Cities philosophy, which guides us to make investments which deliver lasting commercial and social benefit to the communities in which we operate.
“To achieve this, we aim for continuous improvement in performance, through measurement and monitoring, and are thrilled that so many of our vehicles and assets have beenrecognised for their contributions in this area.”
Since inception in 2009, GRESB has established itself as a roadmap to high sustainability performance for the real estate sector. This allows the collation of comprehensive data about energy performance, carbon management, water conservation, waste management and health and wellbeing across the industry.
GRESB annually reviews the sustainability work of large property companies and funds based on an ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) perspective. Over 903 companies and funds, 75 infrastructure funds, 280 infrastructure assets and 25 debt portfolios were assessed.