UK listed firms outperform on sustainability reporting

European listed property companies are outperforming their non-listed peers on sustainability reporting, with UK firms leading the way. The star performers in the latest Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) Survey published on Wednesday comprise a relatively large number of small UK firms including student housing specialist The Unite Group and storage firm Big Yellow. Land Securities also features prominently in the category diversified.

On the non-listed front, Lend Lease Investment Management is the winner in the retail segment while Climate Change Capital is a green star in the office sector with its Climate Change Property Fund Private Fund. Valad is the top performer in the industrial sector with its European High Income Private Fund.

The results are based on sustainability data gathered from almost 450 property companies and funds around the world, providing aggregate information for 36,000 properties, representing $1.3 tln (€1 tln) in global assets under management.

The number of listed European property companies that took part in the 2012 survey increased by 25% to 40 while the number of private funds rose by a similar percentage to 211. Some 58% of the European listed property companies now provide a stand-alone or integrated sustainability report compared to 45% for private funds.

European respondents also perform well in assessing sustainability risks and opportunities with 65% implementing some form of Environment Management System (EMS) and 80% having an energy efficiency programme in place.

‘The data collected by GRESB provides a base for informed discussions between institutional owners of real estate and their property companies and investment managers regarding the sustainability of existing investments,’ said Nils Kok, GRESB’s executive director.