Australia's property industry has retained its world-leading position on environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance for the tenth straight year.
The Oceania region has topped the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) global rankings - the international benchmark for ESG performance of real estate and infrastructure investments.
Global participation in the 2020 Assessment grew by 22 per cent to cover 1,229 portfolios worth around AUD $6.6 trillion AUM and covering more than 96,000 assets across 64 countries.
The average score for the Oceania region was 77, ahead of the Asia region on 72, followed by Europe at 69.5 and the Americas at 69. The 2020 scores were slightly lower than those reported for 2019, based on changes in this year's reporting structure and scoring weights.
"Australia's property industry continues to lead the world on ESG initiatives," said Ken Morrison, Chief Executive of the Property Council of Australia.
"Our companies are making the investment in sustainability and supporting the transition to a low-carbon, more sustainable and resilient future, often well ahead of the baseline set down in government policy.
"We operate in a global market where ESG performance is deeply scrutinised and highly valued by investors.
"Australian property companies are among the best in the world in this respect, and through innovation and investment they are leading the transformation of our built environment to a sustainable and net zero emissions future," Mr Morrison said.
This year's GRESB results were based on some fundamental changes to assessment methodology which makes comparisons with previous individual company scores
challenging and also led to an overall small decline in average scores.
"It is important for investors, media and the market to recognise the significance of these methodological changes and their impact on individual results," Mr Morrison said.
"The Property Council looks forward to working with GRESB and our members to ensure the benchmark further evolves to reward demonstrated leadership in real performance, measuring the industry's contribution to mitigating climate change impacts and the many other significant ESG challenges we face."
GRESB'S global leaders for Australia are:
2020 GRESB Real Estate Standing Investments Sector Leaders
Overall Global Sector Leaders (Achieved highest score for its sector and region)
Office-Private - Lendlease International Towers Sydney Trust, Lendlease
Global Sector Leaders (Achieved highest score for the combination of nature of ownership and sector)
Office-Listed - Dexus Office Trust, Dexus
Industrial-Listed - Frasers Logistics & Industrial Trust, Frasers Logistics & Industrial Asset Management Pt. Ltd.
Diversified - Office/Industrial-Private - Frasers Property Australia Pty Ltd - Investment Properties, Frasers Property Australia Pty Ltd
Office-Private - Lendlease International Towers Sydney Trust, Lendlease
Overall Regional Sector Leaders
Australian Prime Property Fund Industrial, Lendlease
Australian Prime Property Fund Retail, Lendlease
Dexus Wholesale Property Fund, Dexus
Goodman Australia Partnership (GAP), Goodman Group
Lendlease International Towers Sydney Trust, Lendlease
Lendlease Real Estate Partners New Zealand, Lendlease
Regional Sector Leaders
Australian Prime Property Fund Industrial, Lendlease
Australian Prime Property Fund Retail, Lendlease
Dexus Wholesale Property Fund, Dexus
Goodman Australia Partnership (GAP), Goodman Group
Lendlease International Towers Sydney Trust, Lendlease
Lendlease Real Estate Partners New Zealand, Lendlease
2020 GRESB Real Estate Development Sector Leaders
Overall Global Sector Leaders (Achieved highest score for its sector and region)
Office-Private - Australian Prime Property Fund Commercial, Lendlease
Retail-Private - Australian Prime Property Fund Retail, Lendlease
Diversified - Office/Residential-Private - Cbus Property, Cbus Property
Industrial-Private - Charter Hall Prime Industrial Fund (CPIF), Charter Hall
Residential-Private - Frasers Property Australia Pty Ltd - Investment Properties, Frasers Property Australia Pty Ltd
Diversified - Office/Industrial-Private - Goodman Australia Industrial Partnership (GAIP), Goodman Group
Healthcare-PrivateHealthcare Wholesale Property Fund, Dexus
Diversified - Office/Retail-Private - ISPT Core Fund, ISPT Pty Ltd
Residential-Private - Lendlease Retirement Living Trust, Lendlease
Global Sector Leaders (Achieved highest score for the combination of nature of ownership and sector)
Retail-Listed - Scentre Group, Scentre Group
Australian Prime Property Fund Commercial, Lendlease
Australian Prime Property Fund Retail, Lendlease
Cbus Property, Cbus Property
Charter Hall Prime Industrial Fund (CPIF), Charter Hal
Frasers Property Australia Pty Ltd - Investment Properties, Frasers Property Australia Pty Ltd
Goodman Australia Industrial Partnership (GAIP), Goodman Group
Healthcare Wholesale Property Fund, Dexus
ISPT Core Fund, ISPT Pty Ltd
Lendlease Retirement Living Trust, Lendlease
Overall Regional Sector Leaders
Australian Prime Property Fund Commercial, Lendlease
Australian Prime Property Fund Retail, Lendlease
Frasers Property Australia Pty Ltd - Investment Properties, Frasers Property Australia Pty Ltd
Lendlease Retirement Living Trust, Lendlease
Regional Sector Leaders
Australian Prime Property Fund Commercial, Lendlease
Frasers Property Australia Pty Ltd - Investment Properties, Frasers Property Australia Pty Ltd
Lendlease Retirement Living Trust, Lendlease
