Sustainability bodies BRE and GRESB join forces

BRE, the UK-based organisation responsible for the BREEAM green building certification scheme, is teaming up with GRESB, the global sustainability benchmark for real estate portfolios, to promote transparency and sustainability performance in the real estate industry.

Under the partnership, BRE will serve on the GRESB Benchmark Committee, providing strategic, commercial and technical input regarding the GRESB assessment process and related products and services.

BRE’s BREEAM certification system is used in more than 60 countries, with several country-specific BREEAM schemes operated across Europe.

‘BREEAM is a globally recognised sustainability standard for buildings which provides proven economic, environmental and social benefits to property owners and occupiers,’ said Gavin Dunn, director of BREEAM. ‘It currently provides a valuable route to achieving credits under the GRESB benchmark and our hope is to extend its reach under the partnership so more clients can realise the benefits on new and existing properties.’

GRESB assesses the environmental, social, and governance attributes and performance of property funds around the world. In 2014, GRESB covered 637 funds representing $2.1 tln in property value. Close to 25% of GRESB participants have one or more BREEAM-certified assets in their portfolio.

‘Commercial real estate investors are increasingly demanding information on their assets and portfolios to better understand immediate sustainability risks such as flooding and exposure to energy efficiency regulation, but also to allocate capital to sustainability-related investment opportunities, such as the repositioning of inefficient assets that might otherwise become obsolete,’ said Nils Kok, CEO and co-founder of GRESB. ‘Our partnership with BRE helps both organisations to further deliver on the joint mission to advance sustainability in the built environment to enhance and protect shareholder value.’