RA1: Risk Assessments Performed on Standing Investments Portfolio – Above Green

Intent

This indicator identifies if the entity has performed environmental and/or social risk assessments on its standing investments over the last three years. ESG risk assessments of standing investments demonstrate an ongoing commitment to ESG management, a focus on mitigating risks that may negatively impact returns and a forward-looking approach to the development of the portfolio.

Requirements

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

Has the entity performed asset-level environmental and/or social risk assessments of its standing investments during the last three years?

Yes
- Select all issues included (multiple answers possible)
  - Biodiversity and habitat
    - Percentage of portfolio covered: ____________%
  - Building safety and materials
    - Percentage of portfolio covered: ____________%
  - Climate/climate change adaptation
    - Percentage of portfolio covered: ____________%
  - Contaminated land
    - Percentage of portfolio covered: ____________%
  - Energy efficiency
    - Percentage of portfolio covered: ____________%
  - Energy supply
    - Percentage of portfolio covered: ____________%
  - Flooding
    - Percentage of portfolio covered: ____________%
  - GHG emissions
    - Percentage of portfolio covered: ____________%
  - Health and well-being
    - Percentage of portfolio covered: ____________%
  - Indoor environmental quality
    - Percentage of portfolio covered: ____________%
  - Natural hazards
    - Percentage of portfolio covered: ____________%
  - Regulatory
    - Percentage of portfolio covered: ____________%
  - Resilience
    - Percentage of portfolio covered: ____________%
  - Socio-economic
    - Percentage of portfolio covered: ____________%
  - Transportation
    - Percentage of portfolio covered: ____________%
  - Waste management
    - Percentage of portfolio covered: ____________%
  - Water efficiency
    - Percentage of portfolio covered: ____________%
  - Water supply
    - Percentage of portfolio covered: ____________%
  - Other: ____________
    - Percentage of portfolio covered: ____________%
- The risk assessment is aligned with a third-party standard
  - Yes
    - ISO 31000
    - Other: ____________
  - No
    - Describe how the outcomes of the ESG risk assessments are used in order to mitigate the selected risks (maximum 250 words)
      
      ________________________
No

Open text box:The content of this open text box is not used for scoring, but will be included in the Benchmark Report. Participants should use this open text box to communicate on

Risk exposure - Describe the methodology used to identify the main risks to which the entity is exposed, as identified above.
Level of implementation - Identify the parties included in the assessment, e.g., employees, business partners, suppliers, contractors and subcontractors and other third parties, etc
Risk mitigation - Describe the actions taken to mitigate the identified risks. The description can refer to actions taken to:

Mitigate the cause of the identified risks (e.g., policies for CO2 reduction to reduce pollution, and thus minimizing exposure to carbon taxes);
Mitigate the effects of the identified risks (e.g., policies for protection of the central plant against flooding risk).

Follow-up procedure - Describe the procedure employed if the identified risks occur.

Percentage of portfolio covered: Fraction of the portfolio calculated by floor area for which risk assessments were performed during the last three years. The numerator is the floor area of the assets for which the applicable technical building assessment was performed. The denominator is the total floor area of the portfolio as reported in R1.1.

Validation

Other: State the other risk factor assessed. It is possible to report multiple other answers.

Other standard: State the other alignment standard.

See Appendix 2a for additional information about GRESB Validation.

Scoring

3 points, E

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

Percentage number: The coverage percentage reported is used as a multiplier to determine the assigned score.

Open text box: The open text box is not scored and is for reporting purposes only.

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.

Building safety and materials: Assessment to identify potential hazards resulting, for example, from vulnerabilities caused by the construction materials used, major structural flaws or the presence of asbestos.

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.

Contaminated land: Land pollution which may require action to reduce risk to people or the environment. As an example, contamination can be assessed through a Phase I or II Environmental Site Assessment.

Energy efficiency: Refers to products or systems using less energy to provide the same consumer benefit.

Energy supply: Availability of conventional power (generated by the combustion of fuels: coal, natural gas, oil) or renewable energy (e.g. sun, wind, water, organic plant and waste material).

Flooding: Refers to a rising and overflowing of a body of water especially onto normally dry land often caused by heavy rain, flash flooding, or sea level rise.

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).

Health and well-being: “Health is a complete state of physical, mental and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”(WHO). Health & well-being is impacted by genetics and individual behavior as well as environmental conditions. Particularly relevant to GRESB stakeholders are the social determinants of health, which are the “conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life.” These are the conditions that enable or discourage healthy living. This could include issues such as physical activity, healthy eating, equitable workplaces, maternity and paternity leave, access to healthcare, reduction in toxic exposures, etc.

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.

Natural hazards: Naturally occurring hazards, including but not limited to flooding, drought, hail storms, earthquakes and fire (including wildfire).

Regulatory risks: Examples include, but are not limited to: mandatory energy/carbon disclosure schemes, changes in taxes e.g. carbon tax, extreme volatility in energy prices due to regulation, zoning.

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.

Risk assessment: Careful examination of the factors that could potentially adversely impact the value or longevity of a real estate asset. The results of the assessment assist in identifying measures that have to be implemented in order to prevent and mitigate the risks.

Socio-economic risks: Impact on social well-being, livelihoods and prosperity of local communities and individuals. Examples include: economic/political instability, social housing, vulnerability to pandemics and epidemics, crime and vandalism, and the displacement of people.

Transportation risks: Risks associated with transportation around the location of a building in relation to pedestrian, bicycle and mass-transit networks, in context of the existing infrastructure and amenities in the surrounding area.

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

Water efficiency: Refers to the conservative use of water resources through water-saving technologies to reduce consumption.

Water supply: Provision of surface water, groundwater, rainwater collected directly or stored by the entity, waste water from another organization, municipal water supplies or other water utilities, usually via a system of pumps and pipes.

References

ISO 31000:2009

World Economic Forum, Global Risks Report, 2017

Environment Agency, Groundwater protection: Principles and practice, 2013

SASB-Real Estate Owners, Developers & Investment Trusts (March 2016): IF0402-05; IF0402-09; IF0402-14

EPRA Best Practices Recommendations on Sustainability Reporting, 3rd version, September 2017: 5.8, H&S-Comp asset health and safety compliance

RobecoSAM Corporate Sustainability Assessment 2017: 3.2.2 Risk Correlation

World Health Organization

Recommendations of the Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosures June 2017: Strategy A&B; Risk Management A&B