According to the new global risk report issued by the World economic forum, water-related risks are amongst the five key risks for the fifth year in a row now. According to United Nations’ estimates, by 2030 almost half of the global population will be living in regions with high water stress.
Flood Risk and Climate Change: England Flood Planners must prepare for the worst?
Developers and investors must consider the risk of flooding to the development design, planning and investment process at the earliest opportunity to help inform the decision-making process. Early engagement with the Environment Agency (EA), local authorities and environmental consultants (such as Delta-Simons who specialise in flood risk and climate change for developers, occupier and investors) will ensure that the masterplan design includes suitable, viable and cost beneficial mitigation measures. By not considering climate change during the early stages of design and during the planning process, from a flood risk perspective, the risk of the planning application being objected to or occupiers being unwilling to sign leases increases along with potential delays to timescales due to reworking and spiralling costs.
Strengthening Urban Resilience through Managing Risks and Grasping Opportunities
Without doubt, climate change has posed a fundamental threat to urban development around the world. Frequent adverse weather events and intense typhoons happening in many countries have drawn the attention of sustainability and green building professionals to the need for identification of climate-related vulnerabilities in their cities. Apparently, it is high time for us to strengthen the cities’ resilience through design, construction and operation of green buildings as well as investment in climate-resilient infrastructure.
There are five global mega trends shaping the way that we are currently living, how we respond to them now determines how we are going to live into the future. These mega trends are affecting all aspects of our lives, from the food we eat to the technology running our cities, each carrying with them their own risks and opportunities.
Due to the increased severity and frequency of climate disasters, real estate investors are showing urgent concern for the risks that climate change is posing to their assets, turning their attention to resilience planning for their real estate portfolios as a top priority. Rapid strides are being made within the resilience landscape, with increasing adoption of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) standards for financial disclosure in corporate climate reporting, along with the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) Resilience Module, recently updated in 2019 to align with TCFD’s recommendations.
Tackling Challenges in ESG Reporting; Satisfying LP Craving for Real-Time Impact
Chances are you’ve been hearing a lot lately about Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) reporting requirements. This webinar goes beyond the “why” and explores how ESG can have a material risk on investment performance.
A practical approach to assessing and managing physical climate change risks in global portfolios
Every day it’s impossible to avoid learning about another catastrophic climate event in mainstream media. Extreme weather can destroy properties and valuables, threaten lives and cripple businesses. The Financial Stability Board has deemed climate change a risk to the global financial system and launched the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) to guide companies on how to disclose climate-related risks, opportunities and financial impacts.
As the effects of climate change on economic activity become more significant, there is increasing demand from investors, trustees and other fiduciaries for consistent, comparable, actionable information in company reports. Investors increasingly expect Boards and Executives to actively assess and respond to climate risks.
Tackling TCFD: Early Lessons in Climate Risk Disclosure
Recognizing the need to better understand and disclose risks associated with climate change, several industry initiatives have started to incorporate climate risk and resilience questions into reporting frameworks. In particular, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) seeks to stimulate market dialogue and increased transparency on climate-related risks by providing information to investors, lenders, insurers, and other stakeholders.
Putting Your Best Foot Forward with Investors: Reporting CRE ESG Data in Four Steps
We’ve entered a new era of sustainability reporting, one characterized by the need for high quality, context-based, decision useful information. Having clear and concise data helps improve decision making, accelerates the accomplishment of goals and enables transparency across organizations and stakeholders, including investors.
Governments around the world are putting policies in place to curb carbon emissions. Hong Kong is no different. It continues to make strides to protect its world-class status through its sustainable development.
Increasing the Potential for Data Insights in Commercial Real Estate
Many successful decisions are made on insights provided by good data, but the challenge in any industry is defining what “good data” is exactly. GRESB, an investor-driven organization committed to assessing the Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) performance of real assets globally has taken the initial step to define “high-quality data” with the release of their 2019 Data Quality Standard Assessment. Still in the preliminary phase, this assessment was created with the help of GRESB Governance Bodies and an Industry Technical Working Group. The Technical Working Group consists of industry experts with relevant subject matter expertise, interest in the assessment and time dedicated to fully participate.
Using the Environmental Management System Framework to Approach Data Management
As useful as data can be, it can be equally cumbersome to collect and process. To properly manage data and ensure its highest level of quality, a process should be developed. The ISO 14001 framework for Environmental Management Systems follows a Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle and can also serve as a guide to data management, as outlined below.
In the case of ESG data, we expect companies to accurately report how sustainable they are. Quality really does matter, especially when it’s behind major business decisions.
ESG Data Quality: The Foundation of an Impactful ESG Program
Successful ESG programs in commercial real estate often share one key characteristic with the assets they represent: a strong foundation. Just as a building requires proper framing and construction at its base to maintain stability, ESG programs rely critically upon high-quality ESG data if they are to function as desired. Only with information that is effectively collected, aggregated, and analyzed can you appropriately set baselines, establish metrics and key performance indicators, and track progress toward organizational goals.
From Data Woes to Data Bliss: 7 Steps to Improve the Quality of Your ESG Data
Data may be kryptonite to many, but it’s essential for all. Good data—data that is accurate, comparable and easy to understand—allows sustainability managers to evaluate performance and provides incisive insights to help asset managers make informed investment decisions.
Simple factors to consider when collecting ESG performance data
The success of our decision-making in life can be impacted by the quality of data which is used to inform this decision. High-quality data gives us the confidence to make decisions efficiently and effectively. This could be something as simple as deciding what time you need to wake up in order to make your 9 am meeting. We use data as the basis for making this decision. For example, how long it takes for me to walk to the train station, and how likely it is that my train will be delayed or canceled?
CaGBC launches ‘Disclosure Challenge’ to champion building data transparency
Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) launched the CaGBC Disclosure Challenge initiative to support and champion the importance of data transparency in the Canadian real estate market and encourage broader uptake of benchmarking programs across the country
