BC1.2: Operational Building Certifications

Intent

This Indicator intends to assess the entity’s use of green building certifications for building operation and maintenance. Green building certificates provide a measure of asset quality that may provide benefits for occupants, society and the environment. Building certifications also serve as an additional layer of transparency and accountability to inform investors and occupiers on the sustainability performance of an asset.

Requirements

Standing investments that hold a valid operational green building certificate

The indicator below is automatically populated by GRESB based on information provided through the reporting entity’s GRESB Asset Portal. Participants can access the Asset Portal via the Assessment Portal menu, section ASSETS.

Scheme Name/Sub-scheme Name

A list of provisionally validated certification schemes is provided in Appendix of the Reference Guide.

In 2020, participants are required to report their building certifications at the asset-level through the completion of the GRESB Asset Spreadsheet. Note that all fields in BC1.2 will be automatically populated once the GRESB Asset Spreadsheet is completed and uploaded to the Asset Portal.

It is recommended to:

• Prepare and upload the GRESB Asset Spreadsheet onto the Assessment;
• Review all fields in BC1.2 to ensure it is accurate and complete.

If a Gross Asset Value is reported at the asset level for all assets in the GRESB Asset Spreadsheet, the “% of GAV certified” per scheme is automatically calculated by GRESB.

Alternatively, participants can calculate this field manually. To do so, this number should be calculated as the % of GAV of all assets within the property type certified to the respective scheme, adjusted by the % of floor area certified.

For example, certified Asset A makes up 20% of the property type GAV. However, only 80% of its floor area is certified. The “% of GAV certified (within property type)” of Asset A will be 20% * 80% = 16%.

This indicator is solely focused on the certificates obtained for operating buildings. Building certifications at the time of design / construction are reported separately in BC1.1.

Only include green building certificates that were awarded before or during the reporting year. Many operational green building certificates are valid for a limited period only – the certificate should officially be in effect during the reporting year. Certifications that are submitted for review, but not yet certified are not valid. In addition, pre-assessments or other unofficial forms of precertification are not valid.

Note: Some certification schemes are applicable for both the building design/construction and the building operational phases, but should only be reported once for the applicable phase, in the corresponding indicator.

Validation

This indicator is subject to automatic validation.

See Appendix 2a for additional information about GRESB Validation.

Scoring

8.5 points, E

Scoring information will be updated on April 1.

See the Scoring Document for additional information on scoring.

Terminology

Green building certificate: Recognition that a project has received a green building rating. A certificate indicates the name and location of the project, version of the rating system, date of certification, and level of recognition.

Level of certification: The level achieved with successful completion of the rating scheme.

Number of certified assets: The number of assets that were awarded a green building certificate before or during the reporting year (excluding pre-assessments or other unofficial forms of pre-certification).

Operational green building certificate: Green building certificate for operational buildings, obtained based on actual operational data for a specific period and the way the building is operated. Typically, these green building certificates certify that individual assets are operated in ways that are consistent with independently developed ESG-related criteria.

Scheme name: The name of the certification scheme.

Standing Investments: Real estate properties where construction work has been completed and which are owned for the purpose of leasing and producing rental income. The level of occupancy is not relevant for this definition. Also known as operating buildings.

Sub-scheme name: A Green Building Certificate’s sub-category to a Scheme name used to certify a particular property type and/or to specify the type of building certificate (whether a Green Building Certificate is an Operational Green Building Certificate or a New Construction Green Building Certificate).

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