A UN environmental organisation launched a report on Wednesday that proposes a framework for Corporate Real Estate Sustainability Management (CRESM).
A UN environmental organisation launched a report on Wednesday that proposes a framework for Corporate Real Estate Sustainability Management (CRESM).
The United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) said the framework is a useful tool for real estate asset managers to mitigate risks and create opportunities across the investment process at the corporate, portfolio and single building level.
The framework is also designed to ensure that sustainability information will become a valuable resource for management boards and decision-makers.It enables investors to both protect the value of real estate funds and comply with their fiduciary duties, UNEP FI said.
The report, Sustainability Metrics: Translation and Impact on Property Investment and Management, was launched at the London headquarters of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
It draws on the findings of a sector survey conducted by the Centre for Real Estate at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), and highlights that the property investment community has already developed a relatively sound understanding of what sustainability means in relation to single buildings and investment vehicles.
However, it also suggests that the data and information crucial for sustainability performance assessment and management are not yet systematically captured and processed, even though it may already be available 'somewhere' within an organisation.
'From a RICS perspective, the UNEP FI metrics report could not have come at a better time. The January 2014 RICS Red Book edition now specifically lists sustainability as a factor that valuers need to take into account when performing valuations and risks assessments for their clients as these sustainability factors can influence investment decision-making,' said Louise Brooke-Smith, president-elect of RICS.
'With the new Red Book and the Sustainability Metrics report we now have a holistic approach with guidance to valuers and associated capacity building programmes on the valuation side and guidance on the real estate investment and financing side. Both are aimed at raising awareness about the importance of data collection and sustainability metrics not only amongst valuers and responsible investors, but also amongst the wider investment community.'
The PDF version of the report is available to download from http://bit.ly/SgIok6
.