On your mark, get set, GRESB! The season has started for the next round of sustainability rating for real estate funds

Oliver Bach • Apr 06, 2021

Are you ready for take-off? The new GRESB season has just started!

 

For six years now, EnviroSustain has been part of the GRESB movement, which is becoming increasingly important – including here in Germany. GRESB (Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark) compares similar funds with each other in their respective home markets on the basis of a comprehensive questionnaire and evaluates them with regard to their holistic approach to sustainability.

With perseverance, patience and a great deal of knowledge transfer, more customers are seeing the added value of this assessment. EnviroSustain has also changed during this time and our expertise in GRESB consulting and support has grown considerably year after year. Today we are a strong partner to our customers and achieve excellent results. This makes us optimistic that ESG performance will continue to grow at fund and asset level. In particular, the assessment of climate risks and the achievement of the Paris climate targets are our focus.


Since 1 March 2021, the annual Reference Guide for property valuation – the GRESB Real Estate Assessment – has been available as a pre-release at www.gresb.com. In contrast to the year 2020, were where many changes, this year’s requirements have not changed significantly. [Read more about the new Reference Guide for 2021 here.]


From 1 April 2021, the GRESB Portal has been open and invites all participants to complete the questionnaire and it will soon be clear who is well prepared and who still has some catching up to do. In order to make sure that the answers are comprehensible and that the supporting documents provided are accepted, there is the possibility of a Response Check. This preliminary examination is highly recommended and will be offered between 1 April 20201 and 1 June 2021. It is already included in the registration fee.

Now it’s time to roll up your sleeves and “get to the boulettes”, as they say here in Berlin. From fund management through to asset management, property management, and finally facilities management – all are integrated into the process at various levels. Policies are created, extended, maintained, and sometimes discarded. Consumption data is also collected, analysed and verified, and contracts are trimmed for sustainability. Furthermore, networks are formed, knowledge transfer made possible and much more. The final submission is eagerly awaiting.


The GRESB Portal will finally close on 1 July 2021. After this, GRESB will be working at full speed to compare the numerous funds worldwide.

The evaluation is divided into the dimensions Management and Performance for existing buildings or Development for project developments and compared with the corresponding peer group and the GRESB Average. Only those who achieve more than 50% of the points in each dimension will become a GREEN STAR. Up to 5 stars can be achieved in total in the GRESB quintile system. But be careful! Those who think they can rest on their laurels are mistaken – this is a dynamic system! If the competition gets better, then your own fund must also get better in order to stay ahead.


Policies alone are no longer sufficient to be able to perform successfully. Reducing the ecological footprint requires a consistent sustainability strategy that follows the annual GRESB cycle and the idea of continuous improvement. Collecting reliable data is the core task here, in order to define a building without gaps. Ultimately, this is the key to tackling change and making your success measurable. Only those who know the cause can lastingly eliminate the symptoms.


The preliminary results will be published on 1 September 2021 and the finals ones on 1 October 2021. They will reveal who did their homework. ESG Committees then meet and discuss the results, action plans are drawn up, and by the end of the year the gaps shown in the assessment must be filled.


Please contact us for a successful start of the GRESB season. We would be happy to support you!

Rewilding Oder Delta: A sustainable hub for local rewilding

by Sam Wheeler • 19 Apr, 2024
Cover Image credits: Sophie Monsarrat | Rewilding Europe

Managing physical climate risks

by Anna Höfer • 25 Mar, 2024
While many companies are already taking comprehensive measures to minimise the effects of climate change as far as possible, it is also true that climate change is inevitable in the near and distant future. This has already become noticeable in large parts of Germany with an increase in extreme weather events such as the flood disaster in the Ahr valley in 2021, numerous hot summers in recent years, or the constant rain and flooding at the beginning of this year. Companies should therefore address the risks that could arise from climate change and the associated increase in extreme weather events, for example at their different sites, as early as possible.

GBCI Circle 2024: Meet us in Athens

by Samantha Wheeler • 26 Feb, 2024
Registration is now open for the GBCI Circle event for 2024. You can register here. EnviroSustain is proud to once again be a sponsor of this event which will be held in Athens, Greece. The event will run from the 17-19 April and the three days will be packed with a welcome reception, sustainable building tours, experiences, and learning sessions. After such a great experience last year in Barcelona , we can’t wait to travel with the team again. As we avoid air travel as part of our ESG Policy, the ES team will be travelling to Athens by land and sea over the course of two days! This involves the night train from Munich to Roma (or alternatively to Bologna), train to Bari, then the ferry overnight from Bari to Patras and to finish the bus to Athens. We look forward to sharing our journey with you on social media. GBCI Circle is designed to provide networking opportunities and education sessions for Europe's LEED consultants, property owners and managers, building experts and consultants and all of those interested in sustainability within real estate. The 2024 program focuses on the future of Healthy Human Habitat Venues include The Piraeus Tower (pursuing LEED Platinum and WELL certification), The Lighthouse (LEED Platinum), The Ellinikon (pursuing LEED, WELL and SITES), The National Gallery of Art (2 x LEED Silver certifications).

GRESB Changes 2024

by Samantha Wheeler • 15 Feb, 2024
With the start of a new year comes the beginning of a new GRESB reporting period. EnviroSustain has been supporting clients with GRESB submissions for almost a decade now and we are pleased to see participation growing. The GRESB portal will open on 1st April but now is the time to begin prepping your team and collecting data. As ESG reporting gains more momentum in the mainstream, changes are needed to keep up with current developments. The Real Estate and Infrastructure Standards Committee works to gather feedback and make recommendations on changes to the GRESB Foundation Board.

New year opportunities: ESG Trends 2024

by Anna Höfer • 28 Jan, 2024
The annual Global Risk Report published by the World Economic Forum (WEF) presents a comprehensive analysis of current global challenges. In its report published in January of this year, the WEF warns of a "foreseen duo of dangerous crises", referring to the duality of climate and conflict-related challenges. Respondents from academia, business, government, the international community and civil society see climate change-related risks in particular as a key global challenge in the long term. According to the survey, the four most highly rated risks over the next 10 years are: extreme weather events, critical changes to earth systems, loss of biodiversity and the collapse of ecosystems. In addition, current crises and conflicts such as inflation, the war in Ukraine and the conflict between Israel and Palestine make many respondents pessimistic about the coming years. If implemented consistently, ESG guidelines can help to reduce the negative impact of companies on the environment and thus mitigate climate change-related risks by creating a sustainable business environment. In 2024, numerous new EU regulations will come into force to make ESG reporting more transparent and standardised. The aim is to oblige companies to be more transparent and accountable with regard to their environmental impact.

Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD)

by Samantha Wheeler • 22 Jan, 2024
We are all increasingly aware of the pressing need for environmental sustainability and as biodiversity disclosures gain momentum , the Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) serves as a blueprint for integrating nature-related disclosures into decision making and existing mandatory reporting requirements. TNFD, like the Task Force for Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD), operates as a voluntary disclosure framework. However, we hope that some governments and regulatory bodies will begin to incorporate TNFD recommendations into mandatory reporting frameworks. For organisations, voluntary adoption of TNFD is a proactive step towards staying ahead of potential regulatory changes and investor demands. By embracing TNFD early, companies can gain a competitive advantage and demonstrate their commitment to environmental responsibility.

The Rise of Biodiversity Regulations

by Samantha Wheeler • 17 Jan, 2024
With all the good biodiversity gives us and our environment, you would hope that it is sufficiently protected and supported by legislation. Not only in Europe, but also worldwide. As part of the European Green deal approved in 2020, the Nature Restoration Law is the first of its kind to cover the entire continent in Europe. Sadly, 80% of Europe’s natural habitats are in poor condition, but the proposed Nature Restoration Law will help to turn the tide when it comes to the protection and rejuvenation of European biodiversity by two 2030 and 2050 milestones.

The Importance of Biodiversity

by Samantha Wheeler • 15 Jan, 2024
‘Biodiversity’ is known as ‘the variability among living organisms from all sources including, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; including diversity within species, between species, and of ecosystems’. According to this report by the World Economic Forum, Biodiversity equals around $44 trillion in economic value (more than 50% of global GDP), making biodiversity one of Earth’s most valuable assets. Despite the massive amount of value biodiversity provides us, our global loss of biodiversity over the past 50 years has been significant, and 80% of that global biodiversity loss is caused by the built environment, agriculture, and energy/extractives. Sadly, a byproduct of advancing our own environments is that we’re destroying the Earth’s natural ones at the same time. This is because of many factors, and IPBES notes five main drivers: Habitat loss Over-exploitation of natural resources Spread of invasive species Climate change Pollution

The importance of reducing our impact on the warming world

by Samantha Wheeler • 05 Sept, 2023
Amongst all the policies and jargon out there, it’s easy to forget why it all matters and what the overarching goal is, so let’s take a moment to think about it. The pressure on Earth’s resources is becoming unbearable. Every year, Earth Overshoot Day (the annual date that marks the point when humanity uses more biological resources than the Earth can regenerate within a given year) creeps earlier and earlier. Extreme heat events are becoming more common with forest fires on the rise; species are dying due to habitat loss and food scarcity; our seas are rising and warming leading to devastating floods and enforced migration. All of this and we’re still projected to exceed 1.5 degrees of global warming, despite the 2015 Paris Agreement and subsequent UN promises. In short, we need action, and we need it yesterday.

EnviroSustain x Rewilding Europe collaboration: the first visit to the Oder Delta landscape

by Dr. Birgit Memminger-Rieve • 25 Jul, 2023
In February 2023, EnviroSustain announced a long-term partnership with Rewilding Europe. This collaboration will see a portion of the EnviroSustain turnover supporting rewilding initiatives for the next ten years, as well as pro bono advice on rewilding-related buildings in the network- such as new offices and rewilding centres. In June, Dr. Birgit Memminger-Rieve, MD at EnviroSustain, and Ingemar Hunold, Partner at EnviroSustain, met with the Rewilding Oder Delta team to provide support and advice for their newly established centre.
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