August newsletter | Preliminary GRESB results are just around the corner; insights into transition risk & TCFD alignment

As August comes to an end, we are gearing up for a busy September and October marked by the release of this year’s Benchmark Reports and our flagship GRESB Global Results Event and Regional Insights events. 

As a reminder, on September 1 GRESB Participants will be able to access their preliminary GRESB results in the GRESB Portal. This marks the beginning of the Review Period, open from September 1 through September 15, which is designed for participants who believe that there has been incorrect or incomplete data input or an error in validation or scoring.  

You can submit a review period request in the GRESB Portal starting September 1. For any questions, please contact us. 

Did you know that by participating in the GRESB Assessment GRESB Participants can access additional insights into their investments without any extra effort or reporting? GRESB’s value-added reports rely on the data submitted during the assessment process to produce additional insights into transition risk and TCFD alignment​.

TCFD Alignment Report 

The GRESB TCFD Alignment Report helps you stay ahead of emerging regulatory and climate disclosure requirements. With the report, you can identify TCFD alignment gaps and opportunities at a category level, as well as in-depth at the level of the 11 recommended disclosures. Learn more about the TCFD Alignment Report here.

Transition Risk Report

The GRESB Transition Risk Report uses the real estate assessment submission data to generate asset- and fund-level insights into a portfolio’s exposure to climate-related transition risk over time, at both a country and global level. Learn more about the Transition Risk Report here.

Real assets have been significantly exposed to global issues over the last year. Fires, floods, heat waves, and post-COVID economic shocks have all taken a toll. These, combined with energy security concerns and pockets of political grandstanding, present investors and managers with a complex set of sustainability issues and opportunities.

What does this all mean for you and your sustainability-related efforts? Join us as we dive into the important topics of the day: 

• Our annual update on the state of real asset sustainability and ESG 
• The evolution of GRESB and a response to a complex ESG landscape 
• Top development priorities of the GRESB Foundation and the GRESB Standards 
• This year’s benchmark results, at a global and regional level 
• Achievements and leaders across the GRESB community 

To help facilitate participation across time zones, this year’s GRESB Global Results Event will feature four online sessions — two for each asset class.

View the sessions and register here. 

Interested in diving deeper into our regional numbers and trends? Check out our full list of upcoming in-market Regional Insights events, hosted in collaboration with our Partners. 

Real Estate Standards Committee (RESC) Update  

The Foundation Board (FB) recently voted to add two new members to the Real Estate Standards Committee (RESC): Ben Thomas (The GPT Group) and Darryl Neate (REALPAC). The RESC represents a diversity of organizations, sectors, and geographies and new members are joining just in time to offer their perspective on the updates proposed to the 2024 Real Estate Standards. We are grateful for their commitment to advance the GRESB Standards and on behalf of the GRESB Foundation Board Chair, Patrick Kanters, the RESC Chair, Sasha Njagulj, and the and the entire Foundation Board, we are excited to welcome them to the RESC!  

The FB’s selection decision was very difficult as we received numerous applications from highly qualified applicants. We will continue to accept applications on a rolling basis, so we encourage interested candidates to continue to apply for the Standards Committees by completing this nomination form. We truly appreciate the enthusiasm to support the growth of the GRESB Standards and we will work to engage with all of you as GRESB continues to evolve.  

Foundation Workplan  

The Real Estate and Infrastructure Standards Committees have continued their review of the proposed changes to the 2024 Standards, which will be presented to the Foundation Board for final approval at the end of September and are scheduled for release in late October. As part of their commitment to transparency to our stakeholders, the GRESB Foundation will publish a public-facing workplan on near- and longer-term plans for the Standards. More details will be shared after the plans have been reviewed by the RESC and ISC, and approved by the Foundation Board next month. 

Through GRESB Insights, we seek to highlight case studies on ESG integration in real assets, data-driven analyses into how the industry is responding to sustainability challenges, and educational articles exploring topics covered in the GRESB Assessments. 

The theme this month was “Sustainable Infrastructure”. Below are the latest GRESB Insights on this and other rolling topics: 

• Building a roadmap for sustainable infrastructure: Low-carbon future or pipe dream? | EVORA 
• Unlocking sustainability in infrastructure: Innovations that paint a greener future | Schneider Electric 
• What Defines Data Quality in Sustainable Business Practices | WatchWire 

See all of our GRESB Insights here. Next month’s topic is Carbon Neutrality/Net Zero. 

Submit an article here. 

GRESB case studies explore the many ways our community uses GRESB, looking at how our investor members and managers engage with our data and integrate GRESB into their investment processes and decision-making.

View our latest case studies and features below, including the inaugural Asset Impact case study: 

• Castellana Properties | GRESB first-year participant interview 
• How BBVA uses Asset Impact data to drive climate goals | Asset Impact case study 

View all GRESB case studies here.

Greenbuild 2023:ESG Foundations & Innovations| September 26| Washington, DC, USA

Join GRESBand USGBC for this day-long workshop to discuss the future of green building and ESG and take part in a dive into foundational issues needed to create best-in-class green building and ESG initiatives. The workshop is part of the Greenbuild International Conference & Expo program.

Chris Pyke, GRESB CIO, Sarah Welton, GRESB Director of Foundation & Stakeholder Engagement, and Dan Winters, GRESB Senior Director, will represent GRESB and will be joined by renowned industry experts and international thought leaders: Peter Templeton (USGBC), Michael Brooks (REALPAC), Gunnar Branson (AFIRE), Davina Rooney (GBCA), Elena Alschuler (LaSalle), Kit Milnes (KingSett Capital), Martha Campbell (RMI), Ben Myers (Boston Properties), Jessica Díaz-Avelar (PIIMA), Jeffrey Saunders (Nordic Foresight), Matthew Trowbridge (IWBI), Karen Mora (FUNO), Katie Rothenberg (AvalonBay), Kelly Meissner (Ventas), Jason McIntyre (Affinius Capital), and Jeff Benavides (USGBC). Learn more and pre-register here.

 Road to 2024: Unpacking GRESB Results to Level Up Your ESG Program | September 7 | Online 

Join ESG leaders from Stok, Woodbourne Capital Management, and GRESB’s Dan Winters, to uncover strategies for leveraging the GRESB framework. Learn how to align your ESG strategy with investor expectations, outperform peers, and excel in your 2024 GRESB submission.  

Sustainanble Investment Forum – North America 2023 | September 19 | New York, USA 

Hosted by Climate Action, this event brings together global leaders in finance, government, and business to learn how to decarbonize markets, foster green economies, and achieve net-zero goals. GRESB’s Dan Winters will be speaking at the event.  

PERE Seoul Forum 2023 | September 19 | Seoul, Korea

Join the 9th edition of this event and learn about local investors’ capital allocation plans, and the future of domestic and outbound capital flows. Hosted by PERE, this event is your gateway to Korean real estate investment. 

PEI Responsible Investment Forum: San Francisco 2023 | September 19-20 | San Francisco, USA

The forum brings together institutional investors, fund managers, consultants, and associations to discuss effective ESG strategies that balance sustainability with enhanced returns on investments. Chris Pyke, GRESB’s Chief Innovation Officer, will moderate a panel on real assets and ESG integration.

PERE Tokyo Forum 2023 | September 21 | Tokyo, Japan

Hosted by PERE, join this event to get exclusive insight on Japanese investor needs, and on the future direction of outbound and inbound capital flows.

CREtech New York 2023 | September 21 | New York, USA

Immerse yourself in the world’s largest real estate technology event. Discover the future of decarbonization and engage with leaders in the Race to Net Zero. Hosted by CREtech, joined by Sarah Welton, GRESB attendee.

SuperReturn Global Infrastructure 2023 | September 26-28| London, UK  

Hosted by Informa Connect, join 350+ global infrastructure leaders to gain insights intoon renewables, energy transition, ESG, CORE+ infrastructure, and more. David Thomas, GRESB’s Business Development Director for Infrastructure, will be speaking.  

PEI Investor Relations, Marketing & Comms Forum | September 27-28 | London, UK   

Learn from industry peers about strengthening investor relationships, effective communication, and marketing tactics in a competitive market. Hosted by PEI and, featuring GRESB speaker David Thomas, this forum offers insights, networking, and solutions for private market firms.

See our events calendar for a full overview of upcoming events.   

GRESB is growing and looking for new people! Please feel free to share with your network. 

Our most recently added open positions: 

• (Senior) Manager, Member Relations – Oceania | Sydney, Australia 
• Infrastructure Associate, ESG and Sustainability | Amsterdam, Netherlands 
• Financial Controller (Amsterdam) – French speaking | Amsterdam, Netherlands 
• Client Engagement Analyst Europe (Asset Impact) | Amsterdam, Berlin or Paris 
• Back-End Developer (Asset Impact) | Paris or Berlin 
• Content Marketing Internship (Sustainability) | Amsterdam, Netherlands 
• Climate Data Analyst – Intern (Asset Impact) | Paris or Berlin 

The Evolving Role of Chief Sustainability Officers | Harvard Business Review 

Over Half of M&A Dealmakers Have Cancelled Deals on ESG Due Diligence Findings: KPMG Survey | ESG Today