This year’s GRESB Results highlight significant progress in energy savings, emissions reduction, water conservation, and the enhancement of human well-being. Critically, as we continue to address global sustainability challenges, we must continue to raise the bar for future performance, pushing the real assets industry transition to a more sustainable, resilient, and low-carbon future.
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Overview of sections
Regional participation
The GRESB Real Estate Benchmark globally covers USD 7 trillion in GAV, that’s across 15 sectors in 80 markets with average scores of 75.84 (Standing Investments) and 85.76 (Development).
- Net zero targets are on the rise, with a 15% increase in participants setting net zero goals, now reaching 65%; of these, 29% of real estate participants have incorporated embodied carbon into their net zero plans.
- Climate risk adoption remains high with 94% of participants incorporating resilience into their climate strategy.
- The benchmark saw significant growth in Asia, with a 15% increase in regional participation.
The GRESB Model
GRESB Scores provide a clear picture of the relative performance and risk of real estate assets by evaluating management practices (y-axis) and implementation performance (x-axis).
In recent years, this quadrant has become more densely populated, signaling positive strides in sustainability practices. However, as we continue to evolve the GRESB Standard, we aim to see scores spread further across the performance spectrum. This differentiation will indicate that we are raising the bar, encouraging even top performing participants to implement impactful changes and setting higher benchmarks for the industry to achieve greater impact in both management and implementation.
A unique way to highlight how GRESB is integrated into real asset investment and decision-making considerations is to develop a Manager case study. The distinct challenges of a given asset portfolio or project can be impactfully conveyed – via the GRESB website – to further engage with investors and elevate sustainability progress.
Navigating changes in the 2024 GRESB Real Estate Standard
In 2024, the GRESB Real Estate Standard underwent significant updates that influence how participants and investors should interpret the Assessment results.
Key changes:
- New data and granular benchmarking: The shift to country-level benchmarking, instead of regional, allows for a more precise comparison of sustainability performance within specific markets.
- Concentrated changes: While the majority of the 2024 Standard remained stable, adjustments to key indicators such as energy efficiency, building certifications, and social impact metrics provide deeper insights into sustainability outcomes.
Learn more about these changes here.
Why these changes matter:
- The updates are designed to drive more meaningful differentiation between participants, pushing the industry towards even higher standards of sustainability.
- A shift towards outcome-based scoring ensures that reported data is more reliable and consistent across all markets and asset types.
Regional scores breakdown
Independent studies have shown that companies and funds with higher GRESB scores tend to outperform their peers as investments, with both GRESB participation and performance being strong indicators of fund returns. While many participants are able to improve their scores year on year, this should not be expected by default. As GRESB’s requirements become more rigorous, score improvements will require meaningful advancements in practice and performance.
Average scores per aspect
In GRESB’s early years, the primary focus was on improving data coverage, helping participants collect and disclose a greater share of their ESG data consistently. Today, the focus has evolved to enhancing sustainability performance, with an emphasis on increasing energy efficiency and reducing total emissions. The goal is to recognize achievements that lead to significant and lasting improvements in the real estate sector.
Understanding the GRESB Rating
The GRESB Rating is based on your GRESB Score and how it ranks within the quintiles of all participants in the annual GRESB Assessment. The model is recalibrated each year to ensure accurate comparisons. Entities in the top 20% receive a GRESB 5 Star rating, representing the highest achievement, while those in the bottom quintile receive a GRESB 1 Star rating.
Because the GRESB Rating is calculated relative to the global performance of all reporting entities, it offers a clear benchmark of your standing on a global scale. A GRESB 5 Star rating signifies leadership in the industry, achieved by only 20% of participants annually. Entities awarded this rating can proudly use the GRESB Rating Logo in their communications to highlight their sustainability leadership.
Asset consumption metrics
The like-for-like consumption metrics provide a clear view of performance improvements across consistently reported assets over consecutive years.
Data coverage refers to the proportion of a portfolio’s total assets for which consumption data is available and reported. High data coverage means that a greater percentage of an entity’s portfolio is being measured and tracked, providing a more comprehensive and reliable basis for performance benchmarking and sustainability assessments.
Net zero progress
Net zero targets are on the rise, with a 15% increase in participants setting net zero goals, now reaching 65%; of these, 29% of real estate participants have incorporated embodied carbon into their net zero plans. Notably, while 65% of real estate participants have a net zero target, only 28.6% of these entities have included embodied carbon in their target.
Human Capital
Across regions and sectors, progress in gender diversity is generally slow. While in all regions, sectors like healthcare and office/retail show higher female representation among employees (46-50%), leadership still lags, highlighting ongoing barriers to inclusion at decision-making levels.
Average GHG and energy intensities
The 2024 GRESB Real Estate Assessment asked participants to provide detailed asset-level reporting on Energy and GHG performance. The retail sector recorded the highest average energy intensities globally, reaching 211.5 kWh/m², followed by the office sector, at 171.1 kWh/m². Retail also ranked as the most energy-intensive sector across all regions, including the Americas (242.3 kWh/m²), Asia (218.4 kWh/m²), Europe (159.9 kWh/m²), and Oceania (226.2 kWh/m²).
The office sector also recorded the highest average GHG intensities globally at 93.5 kg/m² and in the Americas at 145.7 kg/ m². Meanwhile, the retail sector exhibits the highest average GHG intensity in Asia (90.5 kg/m²), Europe (32.2 kg/m²), and Oceania (116.4 kg/m²).
CRREM across regions and key markets
Derived from GRESB’s Transition Risk Report, the two graphs below showcase the aggregated floor area and GHG intensity of all operational assets reported to GRESB against their respective CRREM pathways at both the regional and market level. In cases where energy consumption data was unavailable, GRESB’s Estimation Model and GHG calculation methodology were used to fill the gaps.
TCFD results
GRESB assesses alignment with TCFD recommended disclosures based on the reported presence of leadership structures, risks, and other climate-related processes related to the four core elements outlined by TCFD. The maximum alignment, reflected in the full TCFD alignment percentage, represents the highest level of alignment achievable through GRESB Assessments. Although this evaluation determines if an entity has effectively reported on all 11 TCFD recommended disclosures, achieving a maximum score does not imply that there isn’t room for improvement in enhancing the quality and scope of these disclosures.
TCFD results show steady progress across all four pillars: Governance, Strategy, Risk Management, and Metrics & Targets. In 2024, top scores were seen in “Management’s Role” (97.7%) and “Risk Management Process” (93%), reflecting strong institutional oversight. While disclosures on “Board Oversight” remain relatively low at 42.5%, reporting on climate-related risks, metrics, and GHG emissions continues to improve year-on-year. These results indicate growing maturity in climate risk governance and reporting across real estate participants.