ABN Amro to apply sustainability standards to real estate financing

Dutch bank ABN Amro has become the first bank in the world to include sustainability data from GRESB in its real estate financing programme.

GRESB, the global real estate benchmark based in Amsterdam, said the move reflected an increasing awareness among lenders of the importance of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in assessing suitable candidates for investment.

'The sustainability profile of commercial real estate partners is increasingly important for banks,' said Rutger Schuur, head of real estate and public-sector clients at ABN Amro. ´This is related to the increasing regulation for buildings, the expectations of tenants in this area and the risks associated with climate change.

'ABN's cooperation with GRESB will enable it to integrate sustainability further within its real estate financing procedure. This move is closely linked to our ambition as a bank to play a more active role in making the property sector more sustainable.'

Green bond
ABN Amro has been strengthening its green credentials in recent months. In June it became the first commercial bank in the Netherlands to issue a green real estate bond, the proceeds of which will be used to finance energy-efficient homes, sustainable commercial property and installing solar panels on houses.

The bank is also planning to implement the GRESB debt standard from next year, a benchmark for property financers that will analyse the sustainability credentials of businesses, banks and mortgage funds.

GRESB started out as a non-profit making organisation with the aim of improving transparency in the real estate sector by measuring the sustainability performance of portfolios worldwide. Last year it assessed more than 630 portfolios with a total of more than $2 tln in assets.

US alliance
Last year it merged with the US-based Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) to provide a more comprehensive service of information and evaluation throughout the real estate sector.

The two organisations said that joining forces would allow them to offer ´unique asset-to-portfolio assessment of sustainability in the real estate industry´.

But critics such as Olivier Elamine of Alstria Office REIT said the development had created a monopoly on green standards and turned GRESB into ´just another commercial rating agency´.

In March GRESB joined forces with UK-based BRE, which is responsible for the BREEAM green building certificate scheme. Under the partnership BRE, whose system is used in more than 60 countries, will serve on the GRESB benchmark committee providing strategic, commercial and technical input.