This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
LENDLEASE’s office and retirement living funds have achieved the highest sustainable ratings in the 2022 Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) rankings.
Established in 2009, GRESB is used by more than 170 institutional investors and is the largest and leading assessment of the sustainability performance of real estate assets. In 2022, more than 1,820 listed and unlisted portfolios participated, representing US$6.9 trillion in gross asset value under management across 74 countries.
Lendlease Australia number one
Lendlease One International Towers Sydney Trust at Barangaroo has claimed the number one spot globally for office funds, with Australian Prime Property Fund Commercial taking second place.
Lendlease Retirement Living has also ranked first for retirement funds in Australia, and third globally.
In Australia, Lendlease’s national office portfolio remains an industry leader in sustainability, certified carbon neutral five years ahead of its net zero target by 2025 for Scopes 1 and 2. This year, all Lendlease Australia funds placed in the top 10 for their asset category, and five funds achieved a 5 Star GRESB rating.
“We’re continually improving our sustainability outcomes across our assets, with GRESB providing a global independent benchmark for us to gauge our performance,” Lendlease Australia CEO Dale Connor said.
Lendlease group CEO Tony Lombardo said Lendlease funds have once again scooped the pool in GRESB’s 2022 assessment of the global real estate sector.
Globally, Lendlease continues to demonstrate leadership in sustainability, reflected in 21 accolades across 17 funds in 2022. Overall, a Lendlease office fund has been recognised as the world’s most sustainable office real estate fund, claiming first place for eight of the last nine years.
Frasers Property the first SGX real estate company
Frasers Property and its funds were also stronger performer, with the Frasers Property Industrial recognised Regional Sector Leader in Oceania for its industrial portfolio in Australia (Score: 87 > Peer average: 73).
Notable achievements recorded in this year’s assessment include Frasers Centrepoint Trust (FCT), Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust (FLCT), Frasers Property Australia, and Frasers Property Industrial (Australia) retaining 5 Star ratings for their respective portfolio of existing assets in the standing investments category. Frasers Property Holdings (Thailand) and Frasers Property Vietnam also posted remarkable improvements – with both recording a jump of over 10 points in its scores compared to its 2021’s results in the developments projects category.
Frasers Property group chief corporate officer Chia Khong Shoong said there is a growing need for transparency in disclosure and reporting consistency, thus having all business entities participate together helps provide greater accountability to stakeholders.
Ruben Langbroek, head of Asia Pacific, GRESB, said added that “This year marks a decade of Frasers Property’s participation and strong performance in the GRESB benchmark. We would like to congratulate Frasers Property for being among the top-performing real estate organisations that are driving towards a net-zero future, displaying strong dedication to ESG and commitment to building a more sustainable and inclusive environment for the planet, people and communities.”
Frasers Property is the first SGX-listed real estate company to fully commit towards tackling all three scopes of carbon emissions across our value chain, and is making strong progress towards its 2050 net-zero carbon goal.
Reini Otter, CEO of Frasers Property Industrial said the team has worked diligently over the past year to incorporate innovative designs, technologies and systems to enhance sustainability across the business. A large focus for this has been enhanced sustainability data capabilities and coverage, with partnership and collaboration with our customers instrumental in this process.
“These efforts are reflected in our strong GRESB results and helping us meet our target of maintaining our 5 Star GRESB rating for our Australian portfolio, and moving us closer towards our ambitious sustainability targets. The industrial property sector as a whole is placing growing emphasis on sustainability, and we will continue to work with customers and the wider industry to move the sector forward, ultimately creating better outcomes for the planet, people and businesses.” Otter said.
As of 30 September 2022, Frasers Property has secured over S$9 billion of green and sustainability loans and bonds across the group since its first green loan in September 2018.
Charter Hall amongst global top 20
The Charter Hall Prime Office Fund (CPOF) was ranked as a Global Sector Leader. This year, 24 Charter Hall funds participated in the GRESB Assessment with 17 of these achieving scores within the top 20% of the GRESB universe. Its unlisted retail funds were also credited as Regional Sector Leaders for Oceania.
Charter Hall CEO David Harrison said the group have accelerated their commitment to net zero carbon for Scope 1 and 2 emissions from 2030 to 2025.
“We believe our approach to sustainability will continue to attract and retain the best tenant and investor customers, while making a valuable contribution to improving our communities and the planet.
“Combined, our efforts support a lower cost of operation as well as long-term risk adjusted returns for investors across our portfolios,” he said.
Charter Hall Office CEO Carmel Hourigan added, “At Charter Hall, we take pride in understanding what our customers need and value to deliver best-in-class, sustainable and future-ready assets.”
“Our Office portfolio offers leading green credentials, including designing carbon-ready developments with all electric plant and equipment, demonstrating our commitment to provide stabilised, sustainable assets and low carbon outcomes,” she said.
Charter Hall Retail CEO Ben Ellis said the group have partnered with customers to install more than 22.5MW of onsite solar and 6.5MW of operating battery capacity in the portfolio, which has lowered operating cost and supporting its goal to achieve net zero by 2025.
Global leader for seven years running
Meanwhile Castellum,one of the largest listed property companies in the Nordic region, has been named the world’s most sustainable office developer for the seventh consecutive year.
Castellum is a world leader in sustainability in the Office/Industry category with 92 out of a possible 100 points.
“It is also gratifying to have maintained our top marks (99 out of 100) in sustainable project management, where we ranked second among Swedish property companies and third worldwide. This is proof that our strategy works and that we are on the right path – but it also shows that many aren’t doing enough. The possibility of reducing emissions through measures such as better choice of materials and smarter construction remains tremendous,” says Filip Elland, chief sustainability officer at Castellum AB.
“Interest in investing sustainably has increased markedly over the last several years, and going forward sustainable investments will be of even greater importance in reaching our shared sustainable development goals and achieving a climate-neutral world,” Elland concluded.
