P01: Policies on Environmental Issues – Above Green

Intent

This indicator describes the existence and scope of policies that address environmental issues. Policies on environmental issues assist entities with incorporating ESG criteria into their business practices.

Requirements

Select yes or no. If yes, select all applicable sub-options.

Does the entity have a policy/policies on environmental issues?

Yes
- Select all environmental issues included (multiple answers possible)
  - Biodiversity and habitat
  - Climate/climate change adaptation
  - Energy consumption
  - Greenhouse gas emissions
  - Indoor environmental quality
  - Material sourcing
  - Pollution prevention
  - Renewable energy
  - Resilience to catastrophe/disaster
  - Sustainable procurement
  - Waste management
  - Water consumption
  - Other: ____________
- Upload file or URL where in the evidence the relevant information can be found____
No

Validation

Evidence: Document upload or hyperlink. The evidence must sufficiently support all the items selected for this question. If a hyperlink is provided, ensure that it is not outdated and the relevant page can be accessed within two steps.

The provided evidence must cover the following elements:

Demonstrate that there is a formal policy document in place and not simply a list of general goals and/or commitments.
Specifically address each environmental issue selected (e.g., a policy on issues such as energy consumption or waste management).

Other: State the other environmental issue. Ensure that the other answer provided is not a duplicate of a selected option above (e.g., recycling when ‘waste management’ is selected). It is possible to report multiple other answers.

See Appendix 2a for additional information about GRESB Validation.

Scoring

1.5 points, G

Scoring is based on the number of selected options. It is not necessary to select all options to achieve the maximum score.

Evidence: The evidence is manually validated and points are contingent on the validation decision.

Other: The 'Other' answer is manually validated and points are contingent on the validation decision.

See the Scoring Document for additional information on scoring.

Terminology

Biodiversity and habitat: Issues related to wildlife, endangered species, ecosystem services, habitat management, and relevant topics. Biodiversity refers to the variety of all plant and animal species. Habitat refers to the natural environment in which these plant and animal species live and function.

Climate change adaptation: Preparation for long-term change in climatic conditions or climate related events. Example of climate change adaptation measures can include, but are not limited to: building flood defenses, xeriscaping and using tree species resistant to storms and fires, adapting building codes to extreme weather events.

Energy consumption: the use of energy by the entity.

Feedback sessions: Meetings with individual stakeholders to gather feedback about ESG-specific issues.

Greenhouse gas emissions: GHGs refers to the seven gases listed in the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard: carbon dioxide (CO₂); methane (CH₄); nitrous oxide (N₂O); hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs); perfluorocarbons (PFCs); nitrogen trifluoride (NF₃) and sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆). They are expressed in CO₂ equivalents (CO₂e).

Indoor environmental quality: Refers to the conditions inside the building. It includes air quality, access to daylight and views, pleasant acoustic conditions and occupant control over lighting and thermal comfort.

Material sourcing: Responsible sourcing of materials considers the environmental, social and economic impacts of the procurement and production of products and materials.

Policy: Defines a commitment, direction or intention as formally adopted by the entity.

Pollution prevention: Any practice that reduces, eliminates, or prevents pollution at its source, also known as "source reduction”.

Resilience to catastrophe/disaster: Preparedness of the built environment towards existing and future threats of natural disaster (e.g., the ability to absorb disturbances such as increased precipitation or flooding while maintaining its structure). This can be achieved by management policies, informational technologies, educating tenant, community, suppliers and physical measures at the asset level.

Sustainable procurement: Encourage, facilitate or require the reduction of consumption of goods within the building or premises and/or the sourcing of sustainable or ethical goods. Clauses can relate to reduction of paper consumption, supply of biodegradable materials, use of recycled paper, building materials, etc.

Waste management: Issues associated with hazardous and non-hazardous waste generation, reuse, recycling, composting, recovery, incineration, landfill and on-site storage.

Water consumption: The use of water resources by the entity.

References

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 1994 Global Reporting Initiative

EPRA Best Practices Recommendations on Sustainability Reporting, 3rd version, September 2017: 7.9, Narrative on performance

GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards (2016): GRI, 301, 302, 303, 304, 305, 306, 307; GRI, 416