RC7: GRESB Materiality Assessment

Intent

Infrastructure is a diverse asset class, where the relevance (materiality) of ESG issues can vary between assets due to a range of factors. The intent of this indicator is to determine the materiality of a range of ESG issues covered by the GRESB Assessment.

Requirements

It is mandatory to complete the GRESB Materiality Assessment as this forms an essential part of the materiality-based scoring applied in this Assessment.

• Habitat and biodiversity - What is the entity's proximity to ecological habitat?
  • Containing, overlapping, adjacent
  • Close (<100m)
  • Distant (>100m)
• Contaminated land - Does the entity have contamination on site?
  
  • Yes
  • No
• Resilience and adaptation to climate change - Is the entity located in an area close to the sea, prone to earthquakes, droughts, floods, wildland fires or other?
  • Yes 
    • Is this place located in a coastal areas?
      • Yes
      • No
  • No
• Water inflows/withdrawals - What is the scale of the entity's water use/withdrawal and water stress in the location?
  • High consumption (>1 Megalitre/US$) in locations with high water stress
  • High consumption (>1 Megalitre/US$) in locations with low water stress
  • Low consumption (<1 Megalitre/US$) in locations with high water stress
  • Low consumption (<1 Megalitre/US$) in locations with low water stress
  • No consumption
• Water outflows/discharges - Is there a risk of pollution from discharges to waterways (including groundwater)?
  • Yes and waterways are in locations with high water stress
  • Yes but waterways are not in locations with high water stress
  • No
• Light pollution - Does the entity use significant external lighting at night?
  • Yes and the location is densely populated
  • Yes but the location is not densely populated
  • No
• Noise pollution - Does the entity emit noise externally?
  • Yes and the location is densely populated
  • Yes but the location is not densely populated
  • No
• Number of customers - What is the number of customers?
  • >100
  • 10-100
  • <10
• Number of users - What is the number of users that physically interact with the asset?
  • >1000
  • 100-1000
  • 10-100
  • <10

Materiality Results 

Environmental

Social

Governance

Prefill: This indicator is similar to the one included in the 2019 Assessment and some sections have been prefilled from the 2019 Assessment. Review the response and/or evidence carefully.

Specific materiality weightings are assigned to the entity based on fifteen Materiality factors comprising the Number of Employees and Contractors (from RC2), Primary Sector and Primary Location (from RC3), the Scope of Service (from EC2) and the answers to the nine questions in this indicator. Answer each of the nine questions. Where the answer is somewhat uncertain, it is recommended to err on the conservative side and select the response with the higher relevance.

Based on the fifteen Materiality factors, scoring weightings are assigned to ESG issuesset at one of four possible materiality levels, and these directly translate to a scoring weighting in the Assessment, as follows:

Materiality	Weighting
No relevance	0
Low relevance	0
Medium relevance	1
High relevance	2

These entity specific weightings are used in several subsequent indicators for scoring (this is noted within each relevant indicator).

The outcome of completing this indicator is an entity specific materiality weighting for each of the ESG issues. These weightings are displayed at the bottom of the indicator in the portal. For more details refer to the section on Materiality Based Scoring in this Reference Guide or download the Materiality Tool.

Terminology

Factor	Question	Answers	Guidance
Primary Sector (RC3)	What is the entity's Primary Sector?	See Sector Matrix
Primary Location (RC3)	Is the entity's Primary Location in developed countries, developing countries or mixed?	Developed	Developed countries are Japan, Canada, United States, Australia, New Zealand, Israel and Europe. See RC3 for more details.
		Developing	Developing countries are any that are not developed.
		Mixed	Mixed means that the entity is located in locations that are a mix of developed and developing countries.
Biodiversity and habitat	What is the entity's proximity to ecological habitat?	Containing,overlapping,adjacent	Ecological habitat means terrestrial or aquatic areas distinguished by geographic, abiotic and biotic features, whether entirely natural or semi-naturale.g. as per the classifications in Annex I of the EU Habitat Directive. The distance should be measured as the closest point of any part of the asset to any part of an ecological habitat. Adjacent means directly bordering or where habitat is within the asset facility boundary.
		Close (<100m)
		Asset provision and operation
Contaminated Land	Does the entity have contamination on site?	Yes	Contaminated land contains substances that are causing or could cause (a) significant harm to people, property or protected species; or (b) significant pollution of surface waters (for example lakes and rivers) or groundwater. Land contamination can result from a variety of intended, accidental, or naturally occurring activities and events such as manufacturing, mineral extraction, abandonment of mines, national defense activities, waste disposal, accidental spills, illegal dumping, leaking underground storage tanks, hurricanes, floods, pesticide use, and fertilizer application.
		No
Resilience and climate change adaptation	Is the entity located in an area close to the sea, prone to earthquakes, droughts, floods, cyclones, wildlandfires or other natural disasters?	Yes and is in a coastal area	In a coastal area' means that the asset has at least 50 % of its surface area within a distance of 10 km from the line of mean high tide between land and water.
		Yes but is not in a coastal area
		No
Water inflows/withdrawals	What is the scale of the entity's water use/withdrawal and scarcity of water in the location?	High consumption (Greater that 1 Megalitre per US$) in location with high water stress	High consumption means greater than 1 Megalitre per US$ in Gross Asset Value. High water stress means High or Extremely High Baseline Water Stress as classified by the World Resources Institute's (WRI) Water Risk Atlas tool, Aqueduct. Low consumption means less than 1 Megalitre per US$ in Gross Asset Value. Low water stress means not High or Extremely High Baseline Water Stress
		High consumption (Greater that 1 Megalitre per US$) in locations with low water stress
		Low consumption (Lower than 1 Megalitre per US$) in locations with high water stress
		Low consumption (Lower than 1 Megalitre per US$ in locations with low water stress
		No consumption
Water outflows/discharges	Is there a risk of pollution from discharges to waterways (including groundwater)?	Yes and waterways are in locations with high water stress	Risk of pollution means there are measurable pollutants in the discharge that if their levels were elevated could cause negative impact. High water stress means High or Extremely High Baseline Water Stress as classified by the World Resources Institute's (WRI) Water Risk Atlas tool, Aqueduct.
		Yes but waterways are not in locations with high water stress
		No
Light pollution	Does the entity use significant external lighting at night?	Yes and the location is densely populated	Densely populated means greater than 2000 people per square kilometer.
		Yes but the location is not densely populated
		No
Noise pollution	Does the entity emit noise externally?	Yes and the location is densely populated	Densely populated means greater than 2000 people per square kilometer.
		Yes but the location is not densely populated
		No
Number of customers	What is the number of customers?	>100	Customers are people or organisations that purchase the service(s) provided by the asset. This can include business (B2B) and retail customers.
		10-100
		<10
Number of users	What is the number of users that physically interact with the asset?	>1000	Users are people that interact physically with the asset when they use its services.Interaction means using one or more of their physical senses e.g. a mass transit passenger service. There is typically a safety risk associated with the users physical interaction.
		100-1000
		10-100
		<10
Number of employees (RC)	What is the number of FTE employees?	>100	(FTE) Full Time Equivalent of the entity's employees. FTE is calculated by adding all hours paid to employees (full-time, part-time, or any other) and dividing them by the number of hours that a full-time employee should work in that given period.
		20-100
		<20
Number of contractors (RC)	What is the number of FTE contractors?	>100	(FTE) Full Time Equivalent of the entity's contractors FTE is calculated by adding all hours paid to contractors(full-time, part-time, or any other) and dividing them by the number of hours that a full-time contractor should work in that given period.
		10-100
		<20
Number of workers (RC) calculated	What is the number of FTE workers (employees and contractors)?	100 20-100 <20	(FTE) Full Time Equivalent of the entity's employees and contractors FTE is calculated by adding all hours paid to workers (full-time, part-time, or any other) and dividing them by the number of hours that a full-time workers should work in that given period.
Number of employees and scope of service (RC5)	What is the entity's number of employees and scope of service?	Number of employees >100 - Asset provision	(FTE) Full Time Equivalent of the entity's employees combined with its scope of service (see RC5).
		Number of employees >100 - Asset provision and maintenance
		Number of employees >100 - Asset provision and operation
		Number of employees >100 - Asset provision, maintenance and operation
		Number of employees 20-100 -Asset provision
		Number of employees 20-100 - Asset provision and maintenance
		Number of employees 20-100 - Asset provision and operation
		Number of employees 20-100 - Asset provision, maintenance and operation
		Number of employees <20 - Asset provision
		Number of employees <20 - Asset provision and operation
		Number of employees <20 - Asset provision, maintenance and operation

Environmental issues: The impact on living and non-living natural systems, including land, air, water and ecosystems. This includes, but is not limited to, biodiversity, transport and product and service-related impacts, as well as environmental compliance and expenditures. Full reference to listed environmental issues can be found in Appendix 2.

Governance issues: Governance structure and composition of the organization. This includes how the highest governance body is established and structured in support of the organization’s purpose, and how this purpose relates to economic, environmental and social dimensions. Full reference to listed governance issues can be found in the Appendix 2.

High relevance: An issue is of high relevance if it is of high importance for (a) reflecting an entity's environmental, social or governance impacts; or (b) substantively influencing the assessments and decisions of stakeholders.

Low relevance: An issue is of low relevance if it is of low importance for (a) reflecting an entity's environmental, social or governance impacts; or (b) substantively influencing the assessments and decision of stakeholders

Material: An issue is material if it may reasonably be considered important for reflecting an entity's relevant environmental, social or governance impacts; or substantively influencing the assessments and decisions of stakeholders.

Materiality assessment: The process for determining which ESG issues are material to an entity.

Medium relevance: An issue is of medium relevance if it is of medium importance for (a) reflecting an entity's environmental, social or governance impacts; or (b) substantively influencing the assessments and decisions of stakeholders.

No relevance: An issue is of no relevance if it is of no importance for (a) reflecting an entity's environmental, social or governance impacts; or (b) substantively influencing the assessments and decisions of stakeholders.

Primary sector: The main infrastructure sector of the entity as provided in RC3 ("Sector & geography").

Social issues: Concerns the impacts the organization has on the social systems within which it operates. Full reference to listed social issues can be found in Appendix 2.

References

Columbia University/NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center’s (SEDAC) Gridded Population of the World (GPW), v4

Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (2013)

Eurostat Glossary - Coastal area 2018

UK Environmental Protection Act

United Nations Standard Country or Area Codes for Statistical Use (M49)

World Resources Institute - Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas

Alignment with External Frameworks

DJSI CSA 2019 - 3.2 Materiality

GRI Standards 2016 - 101-1.3: The Materiality Principle

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