How sustainable is your property or asset portfolio? It's becoming an increasingly important question, particularly for organisations with large portfolios who want to demonstrate their green credentials to potential shareholders and investors.

One way to answer that question is to participate in the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark, or GRESB. GRESB is a voluntary annual survey which can be used to demonstrate the sustainability performance of real estate portfolios around the globe. It's currently the only benchmark which fully examines sustainability-related issues specifically for the real estate sector. 

Participants answer questions on seven aspects, with the highest weighting for 'Performance Indicators' and 'Stakeholder Engagement'. They are then scored for each aspect and given an overall GRESB score. There is no 'naming and shaming' but the highest ranking organisations or funds achieve Green Stars. Approximately a third of organisations obtainined Green Star status last year.

Since its launch in 2009, GRESB has assessed more than 1,000 property companies and funds globally and seen participation grown by 220 per cent. 

Why participate?

• Transparent performance metrics
• Well-regarded benchmark, providing assurance to investors, shareholders and other stakeholders
• Scope to improve PR recognition on sustainability
• Improving a score may lead to a fall in the operational costs of a property or portfolio
• Creates a clear focus, helping to engender continuous improvement for the organisation

Further information

For more details, contact Savills Sustainability Consultancy or read more about GRESB.