GRESB launched a new Infrastructure Public Disclosure dataset to measure the ESG transparency of listed infrastructure companies. GRESB Infrastructure Analyst David Tassadogh’s article on the results of the pilot study was published in GLIO Journal.
This pilot study on the level of public ESG disclosure of 71 listed infrastructure firms within the GLIO Global Coverage led to preliminary results suggesting that the infrastructure asset class performs better overall in comparison with real estate. Disclosure on seven ESG aspects across 22 indicators was analyzed and awarded points which resulted in a Public Disclosure Level from A-E.
Key points from the research:
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- The infrastructure asset class (using GLIO Global Coverage as the representation) has a high level of public ESG disclosure.
- More than 60% of firms achieved an A or B as their disclosure level
- The strongest scores came from European constituents
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- North American constituents scored lowest with 48% of total points
- Asia Pacific region averaged 60% of total points available
- Airport sector displayed the highest average ESG disclosure level
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Preliminary results suggest that overall, infrastructure companies do a better job on ESG disclosure than their listed real estate counterparts. Comparing the main regions, European infrastructure companies lead the way with companies in Asia Pacific close behind. Americas’ ESG disclosure level was the weakest of the three regions; a result consistent with GRESB’s Real Estate Public Disclosure evaluation.Although these are preliminary results based on a limited sample size, GRESB intends on expanding the analysis in the coming year to capture the entire GLIO Global Coverage.