Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) matters have rapidly risen as strategic priorities across the real estate and infrastructure sectors. Driven by investor demands, occupant expectations, stakeholder pressures and hardening regulations, embedding ESG principles into strategies and operations is no longer optional, it’s imperative for future-proofing assets and firms. Both sectors face heightened scrutiny given their profound impacts on communities, ecosystems and the planet.
ESG Challenges in Real Estate and Infrastructure
The real estate industry stands at a critical juncture in addressing sustainability challenges. Buildings account for approximately 40% of global carbon emissions, making decarbonisation a pressing priority for the sector. This substantial environmental footprint has intensified focus on the industry’s role in combating climate change and advancing sustainable development.
Whilst the real estate and infrastructure industries are making strides to enhance their ESG performance, significant challenges remain that must be addressed. Implementing authentic, impactful and lasting ESG integration is an immense undertaking fraught with difficulties. The ESG aspects drawing intense focus across real estate and infrastructure include several critical areas.
Adopting a rigorous framework like GRESB is essential for real estate developers to validate their sustainability efforts, particularly in a market where greenwashing is around the corner for organisations that fail to substantiate their environmental claims with verified data.
Environmental Stewardship
Environmental issues are at the forefront, with a focus on reducing carbon footprints and energy consumption of buildings, developing green buildings and improving energy efficiency, utilising renewable energy sources, and managing waste and water usage sustainably. The transition to net-zero carbon buildings has become the gold standard for the sector, particularly in light of international climate commitments. Real estate developers and asset managers must prioritise energy efficiency, renewable energy integration, and sustainable materials in construction and renovation projects.
Climate resilience and adaptation have emerged as equally critical priorities. With climate risks such as floods, heatwaves, and rising sea levels growing in frequency and intensity, real estate must prioritise resilience through climate risk assessments and resilient building designs.
Social Responsibility
Social considerations encompass addressing affordable housing shortages and promoting inclusive communities, fair labour practices and workplace diversity, human rights and safety for construction workers and tenants, and community engagement and impact. The social aspect of real estate extends beyond environmental concerns to foster inclusive, equitable, and diverse spaces that enhance community well-being.
Governance and Ethics
Governance imperatives include robust board oversight and accountability, ethical executive compensation practices, transparency around political involvement, preventing corruption and bribery, and ensuring cybersecurity and data privacy.
Navigating this ESG landscape will require real estate organisations to fundamentally transform many aspects of their operations, decision-making frameworks, and corporate cultures. Whilst challenges abound, companies that get ahead of these issues can drive innovation, secure investor and tenant loyalty, and future-proof their business models. The real estate industry is being reshaped by the powerful forces of sustainability and social responsibility.
The Rise of GRESB
The real estate sector is under increasing scrutiny to improve its environmental, social, and governance performance. Investors, tenants, regulators, and industry initiatives like GRESB (Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark) are demanding greater sustainability, social responsibility, and ethical practices from real estate companies. ESG is rapidly becoming a top priority across the industry.
GRESB is the leading global ESG benchmark for real estate and infrastructure investments. Established in 2009, it has become mission-driven and investor-led, providing the global standard for measuring ESG performance in real estate and infrastructure sectors. In 2024, GRESB reached a record milestone, covering over 2,200 real estate portfolios and over 800 infrastructure funds and assets, representing approximately USD 9 trillion in gross asset value. This growth demonstrates the industry’s deep commitment to sustainable market transformation.
The organisation evaluates the ESG performance of real estate portfolios and assets worldwide through its annual assessment and benchmark data. GRESB’s core mission is to offer actionable insights and benchmarks that help financial markets make informed decisions by collecting, validating, scoring, and independently benchmarking ESG data.
Coverage and Scope
Covering a wide range of real estate asset types and infrastructure sectors, GRESB assessments provide comprehensive ESG insights across the industry.
On the real estate side, GRESB covers a variety of sectors and property types including technology/science, hotel, healthcare, retail, industrial, office, residential, and mixed-use developments.
For infrastructure, GRESB benchmarks participants across asset classes such as data infrastructure, energy and water resources, environmental services and waste management, network utilities, power generation, renewable power, social infrastructure, and transport.
The GRESB assessment demands precise data on energy consumption and waste management, which is why many leading firms are now leveraging digital technology for ESG reporting to meet carbon regulations and sustainability goals more efficiently.
Understanding the GRESB Assessment Framework
The GRESB assessment framework employs a rigorous, comprehensive methodology designed to evaluate both strategic initiatives and actual sustainability achievements, offering a balanced view of an organisation’s ESG performance.
Assessment Components
The GRESB Real Estate Assessment comprises three primary components, each serving a distinct purpose in evaluating sustainability performance:
- The Management Component (weighted at 30% of the total score) measures an entity’s strategy, policies, and leadership. This component evaluates how ESG principles are integrated into organisational governance, including leadership commitment, policy frameworks, risk management approaches, and stakeholder engagement strategies. The component comprises 25 indicators across six aspects, examining the entity’s strategic approach to sustainability at the organisational level.
- The Performance Component (weighted at 70% of the total score) measures portfolio performance on Standing Investments, comprising information collected at the asset portfolio level. This component focuses on real-world outcomes and operational metrics, including energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption, waste management, and building certifications. The emphasis on performance reflects GRESB’s focus on tangible sustainability achievements rather than merely aspirational goals.
- The Development Component (weighted at 70% of the total score) measures an entity’s efforts to address ESG issues during the design, construction, and renovation phases of buildings. This component is suitable for entities with active development projects and major refurbishment activities, evaluating how sustainability considerations are embedded throughout the building lifecycle.
While GRESB focuses on real assets, real estate firms looking to broader their corporate responsibility profile might also consider other ratings, such as understanding EcoVadis: who should get and how to improve performance to demonstrate a holistic commitment to ESG.
Assessment Process and Timeline
The GRESB assessment follows a structured annual cycle designed to ensure comprehensive data collection, rigorous validation, and meaningful benchmarking:
- January to March: Standards and reference guides are pre-released. This period allows participants to review requirements and begin data gathering, ensuring all sites are aligned with fund and subgroup allocations.
- 1 April: The GRESB Portal officially opens for assessment submissions. Participants begin inputting their collected data into the survey platform, with careful preparation to ensure accurate representation and proper documentation.
- 1 July: The assessment portal closes at 23:59 PDT, marking the submission deadline. This deadline is crucial, as late submissions may not be accepted.
- August to September: GRESB conducts thorough validation processes to ensure data accuracy and consistency. This may involve follow-up questions or requests for additional documentation. An Assessment Correction Period (1-15 September) allows participants to respond to flagged issues and amend submissions before results are finalised.
- 1 September: Preliminary results are launched for participants only.
- 1 October: Final GRESB assessment results are released to both participants and investors through the GRESB Portal, with public results events held through December.
Scoring Methodology
The GRESB scoring model employs an automated system using a specialised technology platform designed by a third party specialising in data analysis software development. Scoring is completed without manual intervention after data input, ensuring objectivity and consistency.
The sum of scores for each indicator adds up to a maximum of 100 points, with the overall GRESB Score serving as an absolute measure of ESG performance expressed as a percentage. GRESB takes into account the unique characteristics of different property types, not only in benchmarking absolute scores but also in the scoring of selected indicators.
Indicators are generally categorised into two types: multiple choice indicators and table-based indicators. For multiple choice indicators, scores are calculated based on the number of relevant checkboxes selected, with evidence validation determining a multiplier for the indicator score. Table-based indicators are scored differently, with the number of data points provided and coverage percentage forming the foundation for score calculation.
Just as with other sustainability assessments, success in GRESB relies heavily on robust documentation; applying EcoVadis success tips and tricks for evidence-based scoring can offer valuable parallels for structuring your data to maximise your GRESB score.
Data Validation Process
GRESB has established a robust, multi-layered data validation process to underpin the accuracy and reliability of its output. This approach, developed in consultation with PwC, ensures high-quality, investment-grade data that investors can use to benchmark current and future investments.
The validation framework encompasses two complementary components:
- Qualitative Evidence File Validation: This manual process involves reviewing all submitted evidence documents using a combination of human reviewers and automated tools. External validators review all answers for given indicators, becoming “experts” on their assigned sets to ensure consistent decisions across submissions.
- Quantitative Data Checks: This process focuses on individual data points uploaded to the portal, applying additional controls to quantitative data not subject to manual validation. GRESB conducts automated integrity checks built into the portal that flag in real time when logical gates are breached, alongside statistical modelling analyses using advanced tools to flag outliers.
In 2024, GRESB reached out to 259 reporting funds representing over 3,000 assets, with 85 funds making corrections during the Assessment Correction Period. This systematic approach to data quality ensures that all participating entities are compared based on a fair, quality-controlled dataset.
Peer Benchmarking
Peer comparisons that take into account country, regional, sectoral, and investment type variations provide a powerful lens through which to benchmark performance. Each participant is assigned to a peer group based on the entity’s legal structure (listed or private), property type, and geographical location of assets.
In 2024, GRESB underwent significant updates, shifting to country-level benchmarking instead of regional approaches, allowing for more precise comparison of sustainability performance within specific markets. This granular approach enables participants to better understand their competitive position and identify opportunities for improvement.
GRESB Ratings and Recognition
GRESB provides participants with several forms of recognition based on their performance:
- The GRESB Rating is based on the GRESB Score and its quintile position relative to all participants in the assessment, with annual calibration of the model. If an entity is placed in the top quintile, it receives a GRESB 5 Star rating, the highest recognition for being an industry leader. Each year, 20% of entities receive this distinction. Conversely, bottom quintile performers receive a GRESB 1 Star rating, with intermediate ratings assigned accordingly.
- The GRESB Green Star designation recognises Real Estate entities with a score higher than 50% of the points allocated to each relevant component. Entities with more than 15 points in Management and 35 points in Performance OR 15 points in Management and 35 points in Development receive the Green Star designation. Unlike the GRESB Rating, which is relative, the GRESB Green Star is a rating on absolute performance.
Performance Trends and Industry Progress
The 2024 and 2025 GRESB results highlight significant progress across the industry whilst identifying areas requiring continued focus.
Real Estate Benchmark Achievements
The 2025 GRESB Real Estate Benchmark captured measurable progress across markets, with scores increasing across the board. Standing Investments average score rose to 79 points (+3.1 versus 2024), whilst Development average score increased to 87.9 points (+2.1 versus 2024). Notably, new participants entered the 2025 benchmark at an all-time high, with first-year scores averaging 68 points, up 6 points from 2024. This improvement highlights a maturing real estate market where new entrants arrive better prepared with established management practices, stronger data foundations, and closer alignment with GRESB Standards.
The 2024 benchmark covered USD 7 trillion in gross asset value across 15 sectors in 80 markets. Net-zero targets are on the rise, with a 15% increase in participants setting net-zero goals, now reaching 65% of participants; of these, 29% of real estate participants have incorporated embodied carbon into their net-zero plans.
Climate risk adoption remains high, with 94% of participants incorporating resilience into their climate strategy. The retail sector recorded the highest average energy intensities globally, reaching 211.5 kWh/m², followed by the office sector at 171.1 kWh/m².
Infrastructure Benchmark Progress
The infrastructure sector demonstrated equally impressive commitment to ESG practices. In 2024, 90% of Infrastructure Asset Assessment participants reported 100% data coverage for both Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, emphasising transparency in emissions reporting. Infrastructure participants with net-zero targets increased from 60% to 65%.
Regional Leadership
The Asia-Pacific region has shown remarkable growth in GRESB participation. The benchmark saw a 15% increase in Asian regional participation in 2024, continuing a trend of rapid ESG maturity. Participation in the GRESB Real Estate Benchmark increased by 21% in Asia alone in 2022, signalling a growing embrace of ESG practices and reporting. Australia continues to lead the way, having ranked number one in GRESB results for the eleventh consecutive year, with Oceania maintaining the highest regional average score.
The Business Case for GRESB Participation
There are compelling reasons why companies should participate in GRESB’s real estate and infrastructure assessments, ranging from financial benefits to strategic positioning.
Attracting Investment Capital
The investment community is increasingly prioritising ESG performance in decision-making processes. Over 170 institutional and financial investors, representing more than USD 51 trillion in assets under management, now use GRESB data to inform their investment strategies. A 2024 PwC report revealed that over 80% of global real estate investors now consider ESG a key investment criterion. Top GRESB performers can more easily access capital from ESG-focused investors, with studies showing that ESG-compliant properties can command up to 10% higher asset value and achieve significantly lower vacancy rates.
Three-quarters of GRESB investor members actively engage with their managers to request participation in the assessments, with one-third now requiring mandatory participation. This investor pressure reflects the mainstream integration of ESG considerations into fiduciary duties and performance evaluation.
Implementing the necessary retrofits and data collection systems for GRESB certification requires careful financial foresight; therefore, property managers must analyse how much companies should budget for ESG initiatives to ensure their long-term sustainability programmes remain viable.
Benchmarking Against Global Peers
GRESB allows participants to benchmark their performance against global peers through standardised, validated data and comprehensive analytical tools. Participants receive a GRESB Scorecard containing their score, rating, and summarised performance analysis compared to competitors. The detailed GRESB Benchmark Report provides an in-depth analysis of ESG performance broken down by criteria, with comparative values for competitors. This intelligence enables organisations to identify areas where they outperform or underperform peers, informing strategic decisions on improving ESG performance.
Meeting Stakeholder Demands
Investors, tenants, and regulators increasingly require ESG transparency and robust reporting. GRESB participation demonstrates commitment to ESG practices, which is increasingly important as stakeholders prioritise sustainability. The majority of surveyed investors believe GRESB will be the platform of choice for managers to report on climate-related financial disclosures and transition risk data.
GRESB assessments align with internationally recognised sustainability reporting standards, including the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the Paris Climate Agreement, and the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). This alignment enables participants to meet multiple reporting requirements efficiently.
Identifying Improvement Opportunities
GRESB assessments highlight strengths and areas to enhance ESG integration through detailed, indicator-level analysis. Participants receive comparative business intelligence on where they stand against peers, alongside a roadmap with actions they can take to improve their sustainability performance. Analysis of GRESB performance data shows that the average participant score increases by 10 points in both the Performance and Development components and by 3 points in the Management component in the second year of participation, demonstrating the value of ongoing engagement with the framework.
Regulatory Preparedness
Joining GRESB helps companies prepare for expanding ESG disclosure requirements across global jurisdictions. With the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), TCFD alignment becoming mandatory in many Asia-Pacific jurisdictions, and various regional regulations tightening, GRESB participation positions organisations ahead of compliance curves.
Financial Performance Benefits
GRESB participation can lead to significant competitive advantages and improved financial outcomes. Organisations that perform well in GRESB assessments often see lower operational costs, enhanced property values, and improved tenant satisfaction. Companies with strong ESG performance frequently benefit from reduced borrowing costs, as green financing and sustainability-linked loans become more prevalent in real estate markets. Studies indicate that sustainable buildings enjoy up to 23% higher occupancy rates and command an 8% rent premium compared to conventional properties.
AsiaESG: Your GRESB Partner in the APAC Region
AsiaESG plays a crucial role in advancing ESG standards within the realm of real assets. As the APAC partner of GRESB, the AsiaESG team consists of seasoned professionals possessing extensive knowledge of GRESB requirements and a deep understanding of sustainability best practices.
Established in 2006, AsiaESG has helped clients communicate effectively and achieve their sustainability goals across the APAC region. The organisation’s ESG services cover ESG reporting, scenario analysis consultation, ESG marketing, localisation, and board/senior management training in Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
AsiaESG is committed to facilitating GRESB assessments, providing expertise, and supporting real asset entities in optimising ESG practices. As the exclusive training partner in Asia (excluding Japan) and a Premier Partner of GRESB, AsiaESG offers comprehensive training programmes including Participant Training and Investor & Analyst Training.
Through this partnership, AsiaESG leverages unparalleled experience in sustainability within the real estate sector to help funds and companies in the region become more resilient and identify value-creating opportunities. The GRESB Scorecard made available to all participants serves as a critical input for companies in assessing their strategy and improving their competitive positioning.
Conclusion: The Imperative of GRESB Engagement
As sustainability evolves from a compliance obligation to a strategic opportunity, GRESB participation has become essential for real estate and infrastructure organisations seeking to thrive in an increasingly ESG-conscious market. The framework provides transparent, standardised mechanisms to measure and benchmark ESG performance, enabling organisations to demonstrate commitment to sustainability whilst identifying pathways for continuous improvement.
With investors representing trillions in assets under management now requiring GRESB data, participation is rapidly transitioning from voluntary best practice to market expectation. The 2024 and 2025 results demonstrate that transformative change is possible, with participants achieving meaningful progress on net-zero targets, climate resilience, and operational efficiency.
For organisations operating in the Asia-Pacific region, AsiaESG provides the localised expertise and comprehensive support necessary to navigate GRESB assessments successfully and optimise ESG performance. By engaging with GRESB through experienced partners like AsiaESG, real estate and infrastructure entities can position themselves for long-term success, attract premium capital, meet evolving stakeholder expectations, and contribute meaningfully to building a sustainable future.
Talk to AsiaESG today to explore how GRESB services can propel your organisation towards a more sustainable, resilient, and competitive future in the rapidly evolving landscape of real asset investment and management.
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