GRESB, the global real estate benchmark based in Amsterdam, has merged with the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI), a non-profit organization providing independent certification of buildings and professional credentialing processes.

GRESB, the global real estate benchmark based in Amsterdam, has merged with the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI), a non-profit organization providing independent certification of buildings and professional credentialing processes.

The two organisations said that the combination 'offers unique asset-to-portfolio assessment of sustainability in the real estate industry' on a global basis.

While US-based GBCI has historically focused on measuring the sustainability performance of commercial, residential, and public buildings, GRESB has worked to establish itself as the industry standard for transparency at the real estate investment enterprise and portfolio level. Currently the global benchmark covers the sustainability performance of more than 800 REITs, private equity funds, joint ventures, and directly held pension fund portfolios around the world.

'Joining forces with GBCI enables us to deliver on the demands of both the property industry as well as the financial markets,' said Nils Kok, CEO of GRESB. 'Together, we will be able to execute our roadmap towards investment grade data at a higher speed. This move is a logical next step in providing comprehensive sustainability information to the real estate sector, from individual assets to the portfolio level.'

SYNERGIES
Patrick Kanters, MD Real Estate & Infrastructure at APG Asset Management and non-executive director on the board of GRESB: 'Institutional investors continue to seek for ways to better assess the value of sustainability in real estate. The combined sustainability expertise, networks and resources will further GRESB’s unique offering, while the continued, active involvement of institutional investors on GRESB’s Board ensures that future demands of the market and stakeholders will be met.'

Rick Fedrizzi, CEO of GBCI: 'Since 2000, GBCI has evaluated and certified more than 10 billion square feet (929 million m2) of green building space around the globe, and that number is increasing. We are excited about the possibilities from combining our network, knowledge and skills with GRESB, enabling both organizations to deliver better service and support, research, education and training.'

CRITICISM
Not everybody has reacted enthuisastically, however. Commenting on the merger, Olivier Elamine, CEO of Hamburg-based Alstria REIT, said his company stopped reporting to GRESB since this year due to concerns about the governance of GRESB and the philosophy it espouses. 'GRESB seems to believe it can determine who is wrong and who is right in the field of sustainability. The sale of GRESB to the GBCI only comfirms my view that it clearly is no longer concerned primarily with improving transparency in the sector, but is now just another rating agency. When companies start to be bought and sold, it is not about sustainability anymore. It is about business.'