Our industry is engaged in an important dialogue to improve the efficiency and resilience of real assets through transparency and industry collaboration. This guest article contributes to that conversation and does not necessarily reflect GRESB’s views or position, nor does it represent an endorsement. The GRESB Insights blog is designed to share diverse industry perspectives and foster informed discussion on key topics for real assets investments.
In the evolving landscape of real estate investment and management, tenant engagement has emerged as a pivotal factor in delivering sustainable performance. For companies participating in the GRESB Real Estate Assessment, the way they engage with tenants and occupiers is not merely a nice-to-have but a formal indicator, reflecting both environmental and social governance dimensions. The essence of tenant engagement lies in acknowledging that residential occupants play a vital role in resource consumption, operational behavior, and the overall sustainability profile of a building.
Tenant engagement in the GRESB framework for residential buildings
Within the GRESB framework, tenant (or occupier) engagement sits under the “Tenants/Occupiers” dimension, which asks: does the entity have a tenant engagement program in place that includes sustainability issues?
In practical terms, strong tenant engagement supports improved energy and water efficiency, waste reduction, increased tenant satisfaction and retention, enhanced brand value of the property owner/operator, and better risk management.
In residential buildings, engagement programs also feed into the social dimension: resident comfort, wellbeing, and community life are increasingly material in ESG.
Based on GRESB documentation the essential elements include:
Engagement Methods – examples include:
- Building/asset communications (newsletters, digital portals, signage)
- Sharing consumption data on energy, water, waste with tenants
Key components of a robust tenant engagement program
At Torvik Gruen, we are addressing the issue of greater social inclusion among tenants. To this end, we have developed what we call the Green House Rules. The Green House Rules govern the coexistence of tenants, in contrast to a lease agreement concluded between landlord and tenant.
The quality of coexistence among tenants in residential units is difficult for outsiders to assess. One indicator can be the cleanliness and tidiness in and around a residential complex. However, sometimes this is only achieved by the initiative of a few people. It is difficult to say whether tenant engagement has been achieved. To get a bigger picture and to understand the social dimensions we have to ask questions.
Developing a community is a long-term goal
The first question is: who lives in an apartment building? Where do they come from, what language(s) do they speak? This information is not static. What age groups live in this building?
The next question is whether there are green spaces or playgrounds, for example. Before the tenants are taken on board, the status quo of the building and tenants needs to be determined.
Before we create green house rules, we gather all available information about them. We also talk to facility management and residents. Understanding the social background and the cultural heritage of the tenants brings us a step closer to the development of the right kind of green housing rules.
This is just a selection of the social aspects for the tenant engagement program:
- Addressing the need to help neighbors with varying degrees of mobility
- Addressing the possibility of offering temporary childcare
- Addressing the possibility of offering food that is not necessary but it is close to expiration date to avoid food waste
- Addressing the possibility of offering furniture or electronic devices and equipment to neighbors before disposal
- Addressing that there are noise-reduced hours (e.g., between 10pm and 7am)
- Addressing the possibility of using common outdoor space for activities in the community (as long as it involves the majority of the neighbors)
Together with this come also water- and electricity-saving behavioral offers to cover the full range of environmental and social ESG areas (excluding governance).
Residential buildings: Particularities & the role of the “green housing rules”
In residential real estate, tenant engagement programs must respect the specific nature of the relationship: typically, many smaller leases, a large number of individual residents, and perhaps less formal sustainability expectations than in commercial leases. Here, the notion of a “green house rule” (“grüne Hausordnung” / ESG-Hausordnung) offers a strong practical tool.
Incorporating such a house rule into your residential portfolio engagement means:
- Drafting a simple, accessible set of rules and best practices for tenants (in multiple languages if appropriate), covering everyday behavior (switching off lights, elevator vs stairs, recycling)
- Communicating the rule at move-in, via welcome packs, building newsletters, or digital portals.
- Creating visual prompts (signage in common areas) and tenant events (e.g., community EV-charging information evenings, waste-reduction competitions)
- Sharing aggregated building-level performance with residents: “Last year we reduced communal electricity by X%”, or “Thank you for reducing waste by Y kg”
- Recognizing resident contributions (e.g., a “Green Tenant of the Month” or communal event)
The most important difference compared to usual house rules is that green housing rules are designed as pictogram combining nine different topics.
By adopting a structured house-rule and embedding it in the property management culture, residential landlords can not only improve tenant satisfaction (social dimension) but also strengthen environmental outcomes–both of which serve GRESB scoring and investor perception.
Metrics, coverage and reporting–what GRESB looks for
When reporting to GRESB, key indicators to focus on include:
- TC1: Tenant engagement program–yes/no; and what methods applied; percentage of portfolio covered.
- Sustainability guides/Green house rules: Especially for residential, respondents should produce clear, accessible documents (like the “Grüne Hausordnung,” translated as needed) covering everyday sustainability behavior.
- Make it socially relevant (especially in residential): In multi-family housing, the engagement program can build community, support resident wellbeing (digital platforms, communal gardens, shared mobility), and strengthen the “S” in ESG, thereby enhancing the asset’s long-term resilience and tenant satisfaction.
Conclusion
In summary, tenant engagement is a strategic lever, bridging occupant behavior and building performance, and reinforcing the symbiosis between landlord/investor objectives and tenant experience. For residential properties, a structured, consistent, transparent tenant engagement program can drive measurable environmental benefits, enhance tenant satisfaction and retention, strengthen brand and investor perception, and ultimately reduce risk and increase value. Whether through a green rule in a housing block, or a tenant-satisfaction survey, the objective remains the same: to embed occupants as active participants in the sustainability journey. Real estate stakeholders that succeed here demonstrate leadership not only in how they build and manage buildings, but how they partner with the people who occupy them.
By placing tenant engagement at the heart of sustainability strategy, property companies can not only meet GRESB requirements but go beyond compliance to deliver resilient, efficient, and occupant-centered buildings.
This article was written by Zulfukar Tosun, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Torvik Gruen.