RC7: GRESB Materiality Assessment

Maximum Score

Not scored

Prefill

Eligible

Validation

Evidence is not required

2026 Updates

None

Fill out the GRESB Materiality Assessment by selecting the answers applicable to your entity below:

Assessment Instructions

Intent: What is the purpose of this indicator?

Infrastructure is a diverse asset class, where the relevance (materiality) of sustainability issues can vary between assets due to a range of factors. The intent of this indicator is to determine the materiality of a range of sustainability issues covered by the GRESB Assessment. Once this indicator is completed, the entity will see an overview of the sustainability issues covered within the GRESB Assessment and their materiality outcomes.

Input: How do I complete this indicator?

It is mandatory to complete the GRESB Materiality Assessment as it affects the materiality-based scoring applied in this Assessment.

Materiality questions: Complete the list of questions. The response to these, along with responses to other indicators in the Entity Characteristics and Reporting Characteristics will determine the entity-specific materiality weighting for all sustainability issues covered within the GRESB Asset Assessment, which will be displayed at the bottom of this indicator in the portal.

Specific materiality weightings are assigned to the entity based on fifteen materiality factors:

Number of employees (from RC2);
Number of contractors (from RC2);
Primary sector (from RC3);
Primary location (from RC3;
Scope of Service (from RC5);
Biodiversity and Habitat (this indicator, RC7);
Contaminated land (this indicator, RC7);
Resilience (this indicator, RC7);
Water inflows / withdrawals (this indicator, RC7);
Water outflows / discharges (this indicator, RC7);
Light pollution (this indicator, RC7);
Noise pollution (this indicator, RC7);
Number of customers (this indicator, RC7);
Number of users (this indicator, RC7);
Assurance/verification of GHG data (this indicator, RC7).

Scoring weightings are assigned to sustainability issues at one of four possible materiality levels, which directly translate to a scoring weighting in the Assessment:

No relevance (weighting: 0)
Low relevance (weighting: 0)
Medium relevance (weighting: 1)
High relevance (weighting: 2)

These entity-specific weightings are used in several indicators for scoring. Scoring details are provided within the guidance of each relevant indicator.

For more details refer to the section on ‘Materiality Based Scoring’ in the Reference Guide or download the Materiality Tool.

Additional materiality criteria for verification and assurance of GHG data: Eligibility of an asset to third-party review of performance data requirement is determined by the size of the entity (this indicator, RC7). If a corporate entity, that reporting asset is part of, falls within the set size bracket, then third-party assurance/verification requirements will apply to this asset in the GHG Emissions indicator (GH1).

Terminology

Factor

Question

Answers

Guidance

Primary Sector (RC3)

See Materiality and Scoring Tool

See GRESB Materiality & Scoring Tool

See the guidance for RC3 (Sector & Geography) on how the primary sector is determined.

Development Region (according to RC3 Primary location)

Is the entity's Primary Location (RC3) in developed countries, developing countries or mixed?

Developed Developing Mixed

Developed countries are Japan, Canada, United States, Australia, New Zealand, Israel and Europe. See RC3 for more details. Developing countries are any that are not developed. Mixed means that the entity is located in locations that are a mix of developed and developing countries.

Biodiversity and habitat

What is the entity's proximity to ecological habitat?

Containing, overlapping, adjacent Close (<100m) Distant (>100m)

Ecological habitat means terrestrial or aquatic areas distinguished by geographic, abiotic and biotic features, whether entirely natural or semi-naturale.g. as per the classifications in Annex I of the EU Habitat Directive. The distance should be measured as the closest point of any part of the asset to any part of an ecological habitat. Adjacent means directly bordering or where habitat is within the asset facility boundary. To see whether the asset is located adjacent to ecological habitat, participants can use the Natura 2000 tool.

Contaminated Land

Does the entity have contamination on site?

Yes No

Contaminated land contains substances that are causing or could cause (a) significant harm to people, property or protected species; or (b) significant pollution of surface waters (for example lakes and rivers) or groundwater. Land contamination can result from a variety of intended, accidental, or naturally occurring activities and events such as manufacturing, mineral extraction, abandonment of mines, national defense activities, waste disposal, accidental spills, illegal dumping, leaking underground storage tanks, hurricanes, floods, pesticide use, and fertilizer application.

Physical risk (climate driven and otherwise)

Is the entity located in an area exposed to climate-related phenomena or natural catastrophes?

Yes, the entity is exposed

Yes, but only the surrounding area is exposed

The location (any part of the current asset area) has been and/or could be affected by physical risks. The surrounding area (10km radius) has been and/or could be affected by physical risks. No part of the asset or surrounding areas has been or could be affected by physical risks.

For further information on the list of climate risk tools, refer to The 2024 Climate Risk Landscape.

Water inflows / withdrawals

What is the scale of the entity's water use/withdrawal and scarcity of water in the location?

High (Greater than 1000 Megaliters) water withdrawals in location with high water stress High (Greater than 1000 Megaliters ) water withdrawals in locations with low water stress Low (Lower than 1000 Megaliters ) water withdrawals in locations with high water stress Low (Lower than 1000 Megaliters) water withdrawals in locations with low water stress No consumption

High withdrawals means greater than 1000 MegalitersHigh water stress means High or Extremely High Baseline Water Stress as classified by the World Resources Institute's (WRI) Water Risk Atlas tool, Aqueduct.

Medium/Low consumption means less than 1000 Megaliters Low water stress means not High or Extremely High Baseline Water Stress as classified by the World Resources Institute's (WRI) Water Risk Atlas tool, Aqueduct.

Water outflows / discharges

Is there a risk of pollution from discharges to waterways (including groundwater)?

Yes and waterways are in locations with high water stress Yes but waterways are not in locations with high water stress No

Risk of pollution means there are measurable pollutants in the discharge that if their levels were elevated could cause negative impact.

High water stress means High or Extremely High Baseline Water Stress as classified by the World Resources Institute's (WRI) Water Risk Atlas tool, Aqueduct.

Light pollution

Does the entity use significant external lighting at night?

Yes and the location is densely populated Yes but the location is not densely populated No

Densely populated means greater than 2000 people per square kilometer.

Noise pollution

Does the entity emit noise externally?

Yes and the location is densely populated Yes but the location is not densely populated No

Densely populated means greater than 2000 people per square kilometer.

Number of customers

What is the number of customers?

>100 10-100 <10

Customers are people or organizations that purchase the service(s) provided by the asset. This can include business (B2B) and retail customers.

Number of users

What is the number of users that physically interact with the asset?

>1000 100-1000 10-100 <10

Users are people that interact physically with the asset when they use its services.Interaction means using one or more of their physical senses e.g. a mass transit passenger service. There is typically a safety risk associated with the users physical interaction.

Number of employees (RC2)

What is the number of FTE employees?

>100 20-100 <20 0

Employees are the workers working for and employed directly by the asset.

(FTE) Full Time Equivalent of the entity's employees. FTE is calculated by adding all hours paid to employees (full-time, part-time, or any other) and dividing them by the number of hours that a full-time employee should work in that given period.

Number of contractors (RC2)

What is the number of FTE contractors?

>100 20-100 <20 0

(Contractors are people working for another business (or are self-employed) and are contracted by the asset.

(FTE) Full Time Equivalent of the entity's contractors FTE is calculated by adding all hours paid to contractors(full-time, part-time, or any other) and dividing them by the number of hours that a full-time contractor should work in that given period.

Number of workers (RC2) calculated

What is the number of FTE workers (employees and contractors)?

>100 20-100 <20

(FTE) Full Time Equivalent of the entity's employees and contractors FTE is calculated by adding all hours paid to workers (full-time, part-time, or any other) and dividing them by the number of hours that a full-time workers should work in that given period.

Number of employees and scope of service (RC5)

What is the entity's number of employees and scope of service?

Number of employees >100 - Asset provision Number of employees >100 - Asset provision and maintenance Number of employees >100 - Asset provision and operation Number of employees >100 - Asset provision, maintenance and operation Number of employees 20-100 -Asset provision Number of employees 20-100 - Asset provision and maintenance Number of employees 20-100 - Asset provision and operation Number of employees 20-100 - Asset provision, maintenance and operation Number of employees <20 - Asset provision Number of employees <20 - Asset provision and operation Number of employees <20 - Asset provision, maintenance and operation

(FTE) Full Time Equivalent of the entity's employees combined with its scope of service (see RC5).

Verification and Assurance of GHG data

Did the entity, or the corporate this entity is part of, meet 2 out of the following 3 criteria in the reporting year (as reported in EC4)?

Balance sheet total of more than EUR 25m; Net turnover of more than EUR 50m; More than 250 employees during the financial year.

Balance sheet total: This refers to the total assets of a company as reported in its financial statements at the end of the fiscal year. It represents the aggregate value of everything the company owns. Net turnover: The amounts derived from the sale of products and the provision of services after deducting sales rebates and value added tax and other taxes directly linked to turnover. Employee count: The number of employees is determined by calculating the average number of full-time employees during the financial year. This includes all individuals who have a direct employment contract with the company.

Environmental issues

The impact on living and non-living natural systems, including land, air, water and ecosystems. This includes, but is not limited to, biodiversity, transport and product and service-related impacts, as well as environmental compliance and expenditures.

Governance issues

Governance structure and composition of the organization. This includes how the highest governance body is established and structured in support of the organization’s purpose, and how this purpose relates to economic, environmental and social dimensions.

High relevance

An issue is of high relevance if it is of high importance for (a) reflecting an entity's environmental, social or governance impacts; or (b) substantively influencing the assessments and decisions of stakeholders.

Low relevance

An issue is of low relevance if it is of low importance for (a) reflecting an entity's environmental, social or governance impacts; or (b) substantively influencing the assessments and decision of stakeholders

Material

An issue is material if it may reasonably be considered important for reflecting an entity's relevant environmental, social or governance impacts; or substantively influencing the assessments and decisions of stakeholders.

Materiality assessment

The process for determining which sustainability issues are material to an entity.

Medium relevance

An issue is of medium relevance if it is of medium importance for (a) reflecting an entity's environmental, social or governance impacts; or (b) substantively influencing the assessments and decisions of stakeholders.

No relevance

An issue is of no relevance if it is of no importance for (a) reflecting an entity's environmental, social or governance impacts; or (b) substantively influencing the assessments and decisions of stakeholders.

Primary sector

The main infrastructure sector of the entity as provided in RC3 ("Sector & geography").

Social issues

Concerns the impacts the organization has on the social systems within which it operates.

Validation: What evidence is required?

No evidence required.

Scoring

This indicator is not scored.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if the answers to the GRESB Materiality Assessment indicator (RC7) apply to part of my asset, but not all facilities?

In this scenario, assets should reconsider the reporting structure of their facilities so that RC7 responses more accurately reflect the asset’s operations and characteristics. Otherwise, participants must select answers that apply to most of their facilities reported in indicator RC3. RC7 responses should apply to all/as many facilities as possible, as this indicator informs materiality-based scoring that is applied across the Asset Assessment.