Driving value through the stable evolution of the Standards: GRESB Foundation Principles explained | The Pulse by GRESB

In this episode of The Pulse by GRESB, host Sarah Welton, Director of the GRESB Foundation, is joined by Katie Jowett, Head of Sustainability at LaSalle Global Solutions and Esther An, Chief Sustainability Officer at City Developments Limited to discuss the Foundation’s newly published principles for governing standards development. Together they explore how the principles strengthen collaboration between investors and managers, improve transparency and predictability in scoring, reduce reporting burdens through alignment with global frameworks, and create pathways for innovation. Tune in to learn how these principles are designed to raise the bar for performance while providing stability and clarity for the real assets industry. You can find more information about the Principles for Governing the Standards Development Process here.

Can’t listen? Read the full transcript below. Please note that edits have been made for readability.

Sarah: Welcome to The Pulse by GRESB. I’m your host, Sarah Welton, Director of the GRESB Foundation. Today I’m joined by two members of the Foundation Board: Esther An, Chief Sustainability Officer of City Developments Limited, and Katie Jowett, Head of Sustainability at LaSalle Global Solutions and Chair of the GRESB Foundation Board.

We’re excited to share the Foundation’s newly published Principles for Governing Standards Development. These principles mark an important step in strengthening how the Standards evolve—improving governance, ensuring transparency, and supporting collaboration between investors and managers to drive change in real estate and infrastructure.

Welcome, Katie and Esther. Thank you both for joining me today. You’ve each worked with the GRESB Standards for more than 15 years—reporting, analyzing results, and serving on committees and the Board. I’d like to start by asking how you see these principles guiding improvements in the Standards development process. Katie, let’s begin with you. As an investor, you understand the importance of constructive engagement. How do the principles support that dialogue?

Katie: Thanks, Sarah. When we designed the principles, our goal was to strengthen collaboration between investors and participants, which is at the heart of GRESB’s mission. Having been involved with GRESB since 2010, I know firsthand that constructive engagement is critical to driving meaningful change.

These principles enhance that dialogue by providing clear governance for change and making the process more transparent and predictable for everyone—whether investor or participant. Importantly, we’ll now be classifying changes based on their scoring impact, estimating both the magnitude and pace of change. Participants will also receive forward-looking information about potential changes and how they may affect relative scoring. That foresight is essential for planning and implementation.

This approach also addresses a pain point from 2024, when some participants—especially in the US or those with diversified portfolios—were caught off guard by scoring impacts. Finally, the Foundation is committed to reducing sensitivity to small data differences in scoring methods, which should create more stability overall.

Sarah: That’s excellent. I agree—we need to evolve the Standards without surprising or overwhelming participants. Predictability helps both managers and investors plan smarter and drive change more effectively.

Esther, one of your long-standing priorities is reducing reporting burden. Can you share how the principles address this challenge while maximizing the value of assessment outputs?

Esther: Thank you, Sarah. I believe the principles are an important initiative to provide clarity and guidance on reporting. In today’s fast-changing world—shaped by climate, political, social, and economic challenges—tracking and reporting performance is critical for business sustainability.

It’s true that what gets measured gets managed. But reporting should not be just an operational checklist. It should be a strategic tool that enhances resilience, supports sustainable growth, and delivers value to stakeholders.

Over time, the market has come to see GRESB as the de facto standard for sustainable management and performance, especially in real estate, serving as a bridge between managers and investors. We’ve been encouraged to see GRESB updating the Assessment each year in response to market trends and expectations. It’s vital that results continue to provide investors and managers with robust, useful information for decision-making.

Equally important, we must reduce participation costs and resource requirements. With nearly two decades of reporting experience, I welcome the Foundation’s commitment to aligning with major sustainability and green building frameworks worldwide. Global harmonization of reporting standards improves interoperability, reduces duplication, and eases reporting burden—creating value for both corporates and investors.

Sarah: Absolutely. Alignment with global frameworks is key. We want reporting to be meaningful, not onerous, and to provide real insights that drive progress.

Katie, to close, how do you see the principles supporting the Foundation’s goal of raising the bar for real asset performance?

Katie: In a few ways. First, they preserve GRESB’s role as a market transformation tool, while recognizing the need to adapt to an increasingly diverse and dynamic global market.

Second, they tackle concerns about benchmark-based scoring, which created uncertainty last year. The Foundation will now explore shifting toward fixed or absolute thresholds where appropriate. For example, using ASHRAE standards to set energy efficiency thresholds. This helps recognize high-performing assets that may not achieve large year-on-year improvements but are already leaders in performance.

Finally, the principles establish a pathway for innovation. The Foundation will develop mechanisms to recognize exceptional performance and innovation, helping to differentiate participants and guide how the Standards evolve. My hope is that this balanced approach raises the bar while still providing stability and predictability for both investors and participants.

Sarah: Great points. Market transformation is exactly why the Foundation exists. We’ve already heard positive feedback about referencing ASHRAE standards, particularly from high-performing assets, and I’m also very excited about creating pathways for innovation. We know there’s excellent work happening across the industry, and this gives participants a chance to showcase it.

Thank you, Katie and Esther, for sharing your insights today. I hope our listeners have enjoyed the discussion and will share their questions or comments after reviewing the principles. That’s all the time we have for this episode. I sincerely appreciate the dedication of all our Foundation members—your support is essential to the success of both the Foundation and the Standards.

I’ve been your host, Sarah Welton. See you next time on The Pulse by GRESB.