November - SFDR for infrastructure, CRREM update, Foundation events, and more

What's new in November

SFDR Reporting Solution for Infrastructure

We are excited to announce that the SFDR Reporting Solution for infrastructure is now available in the GRESB Portal.

Designed to help managers with Article 8 or Article 9 funds meet the most arduous part of the new regulation – reporting on product- and entity-level ESG practices – the new SFDR Assessment provides a report which highlights a fund’s:

• Overall product characteristics and environmental and social impacts, as defined by SFDR
• Aggregated performance based on asset-level reporting for each of the Principal Adverse Impact Indicators

GRESB is offering the SFDR Reporting Solution for infrastructure at a discounted price in 2022 to provide fund managers with the exclusive opportunity to prepare for SFDR early by identifying data gaps and assessing portfolios’ current Principle Adverse Impacts before reporting becomes mandatory in 2023.

Ready to get ahead of SFDR? Product details and purchase information can be found on our website.

Questions? Contact us here.

CRREM Insights update for Real Estate Benchmark Report

In response to industry feedback since the launch of the 2022 Benchmark Reports, GRESB has updated the CRREM Insights section to provide more clarity on the information presented and more context to the underlying methodology.

More specifically, the updates made include:

• Removal of all language referring to “stranding” or being “at risk:” CRREM uses the term “stranded assets” (and related terms “stranding”, “stranding year”) to describe those assets above their corresponding decarbonization pathways. The GRESB Benchmark Reports released in October took a more conservative approach and described such assets as being “at risk of stranding.” However, recognizing that these terms have very specific meanings in the investment context that can be conflated with the way CRREM uses these terms, such language has been revised.
• Changes throughout the analysis text to emphasize that the portfolio performance is a static performance point based on the reported current year intensity values and thus does not include potential decreases in GHG intensity performance due to grid decarbonization. It was not abundantly clear that decarbonization was not included in the portfolio performance and that the portfolio “projection” was simply the current year’s reported intensity. The proposed changes to the text and figure make this clear.
• Strengthened the language of the disclaimer. The additional language is meant to impose upon the audience the careful use of any insights derived from this section.

Please note that the underlying data, analysis, or results have not changed. However, it is expected that this section will be updated with the new CRREM pathways in Q1 2023. 2023

GRESB Timeline

We just released our 2023 GRESB timeline, featuring the key dates and milestones you should be aware of as part of the GRESB Assessment cycle. View the 2023 timeline here.

Foundation Update

Still time to register for the GRESB Foundation Update & 2023 Standards Changes events

Join us online for an update on the GRESB Foundation, with a special focus on the changes to the 2023 Infrastructure and Real Estate GRESB Standards. The program will include a few presentations and feature a Q&A session where attendees will be encouraged to actively participate and submit questions either at registration and/or during the event.

To facilitate participation across time zones, you can join us either on:

• November 29 at 9:00 CET / 12:00 GST /19:00 AEDT | Register here.
• November 30 at 11:00 EST / 17:00 CET / 20:00 GST | Register here.

If you are unable to attend at these times, your registration confirmation email will contain a link that you can use to watch the events at your convenience.

GRESB Foundation looking back and forward

The GRESB Foundation is currently conducting its first yearly self-evaluation process with the aim of reviewing the general functioning of the Foundation, how the Standards setting process went, and identify improvements that should be made to the conduct of GRESB Foundation activities going forward. Given this is the GRESB Foundation’s inaugural year, the results will be important in helping to further establish the Foundation.

The GRESB Foundation has also started to plan for 2023, following the new Standards-setting process that includes avenues for engaging GRESB stakeholders and the outcomes of the 2022 self-evaluation process. We look forward to sharing more information on the 2023 plan as well as on the engagement opportunities throughout the year.

Foundation Profiles

Our monthly series of Foundation Board Member Profiles aims to give GRESB members and partners insights into the priorities and work of the Foundation and to get to know each Board Member. The profiles provide insights into each member’s motivation for joining the Board, the future of ESG, and how his or her organization approaches responsible investing. Read this month’s Board member profiles below: 

• Kathleen Jowett, Fund Manager, LaSalle Global Partner Solutions
• William MacAulay, General Manager, Unlisted Assets, HESTA

2022 GRESB Events

Join us for our upcoming GRESB Regional Insights and GRESB Inside ESG events in November and December to learn more about this year's GRESB results and other important ESG insights at the regional, market, and sector levels. Register below for our upcoming events: 

• GRESB Inside ESG: Developing and Advancing a Leading ESG Program, with Conservice | November 29 | In person
• GRESB Inside ESG:100 to 0: On the path to net zero & carbon neutral portfolios, with Conservice | November 30 | Online
• GRESB Regional Insights: New Zealand (real estate), with NZGBC | December 7 | In person

Learn more and register for any of our upcoming results events here.

GRESB Insights

Through GRESB Insights, we seek to highlight case studies on ESG integration in real assets, data-driven analyses into how the industry is responding to sustainability challenges, and educational articles exploring topics covered in the GRESB Assessments.

The theme this month was “Operationalizing Performance Data.” Below is the latest GRESB Insight:

• Beyond the Sustainability Report: How Operationalizing Sustainability Data Can Generate Long-Term Value Creation | WatchWire 

See all of our GRESB Insights here. Next month’s topic is Reflections on 2022.

Upcoming Industry Events

Green Building Council Brasil – Conferência Internacional 2022 | November 21 - December 5 | Online

Join Victor Fonseca , Real Estate Associate at GRESB, online at the GBC International Conference where he will be sharing important ESG insights and GRESB results for Brazil. This conference is held in Portuguese.

PERE Women in Real Estate Forum | November 30 - December 1 | London, UK 

Christina Djambazca, Real Estate Associate at GRESB, will be speaking at the PERE Women in Real Estate Forum in London, Europe’s longest-running event focused on diversity in private markets.

PRI in Person and Online | November 30 - December 2 | Barcelona & Online

PRI in Person & Online is the world’s leading responsible investment conference, offering a platform for PRI signatories and other investment professionals to learn, network, and collaborate.

ULI Hong Kong: Makers in Sustainability | December 1 | Hong Kong

Meet the heroes who are leading Hong Kong to restore, regenerate, and upcycle for a sustainable future. Join ULI to hear their inspiring founder stories and find out how you can help improve Hong Kong’s environmental resilience.

ANREV Korea Conference 2022 | December 1-2 | Seoul 

The conference will feature experienced industry participants tackling timely issues in today’s fast changing market environment, and provide expert insights into how investors can best navigate an environment of higher interest rates, inflation, and possible recession.

See our events calendar for a full overview of upcoming events.

Careers

GRESB is growing and looking for new people! Please feel free to share with your network.

Our most recently added open positions: 

• Project Leader - Private Equity | Amsterdam
• Infrastructure Associate, ESG | Amsterdam
• Junior/Intermediatre Data Scientist/Engineer | Amsterdam
• Sustainability (ESG) Associate, Real Estate | Amsterdam
• Infrastructure Associate ESG | Amsterdam 
• Sales Manager Asia - Infrastructure (Sustainability) | Singapore
• Sales Director Americas - Infrastructure (Sustainability) | New York
• Account Manager, Member Relations | Amsterdam
• Member (Customer) Success Manager | Amsterdam
• Senior Data Scientist/Engineer | Amsterdam
• Senior Software Engineer | Amsterdam
• Marketing, Communications & Events Internship (Sustainability) | Amsterdam

What we are reading

2022 Sustainable Investing Report | Infrastructure Investor

Stocktake of Approaches that Leverage Private Sector Investment in Sustainable Infrastructure | Global Infrastructure Facility

GRESB joins Net Zero Financial Service Providers Alliance (NZFSPA) to support the transition to net zero | NZFSPA

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