The Financial Rewards of Sustainability: A Global Performance Study of Real Estate Investment Trusts

Abstract

This study shows for the first time, that investing comprehensively in sustainability as measured by the GRESB rating) pays off for REITs by enhancing operational performance and lowering risk exposure and volatility. Analyzing a sample of REITs from North America, Asia and Europe for the 2011-14 time period, it also appears that there is a great deal of untapped potential, particularly in the REIT community, to improve the sustainability performance of corporate real-estate portfolios. For real estate assets to maintain their competitive positioning, it is critical that their owners invest in measures that improve their sustainability.