GWL Realty Advisors Earns a GRESB 5-Star Rating for Fourth Consecutive Year

GWL Realty Advisors (GWLRA) has been recognized as a leader in sustainability by the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB), earning a Green Star ranking for the sixth consecutive year and its fourth consecutive GRESB ‘5 Star’ (top quintile) rating.

The GRESB Real Estate Assessment has placed GWLRA among the top 9 percent of participants in the global ‘Diversified/Non-Listed/Core’ category (of 201 submissions).

“We believe that in order to be highly successful, we must demonstrate we are leading in both the financial and non-financial aspects of our business.” said Ralf Dost, President, GWL Realty Advisors. “GRESB provides a platform for us to assess our performance on environmental, social and governance (ESG) related activities and communicate this effectively to our clients.”

The Canadian Real Estate Investment Fund No. 1 (CREIF), also managed by GWLRA, made its third GRESB submission in 2020. The CREIF Fund landed among the top 11 percent of participants in the ‘Diversified/Non-listed/Core’ category.

“CREIF’s strong performance on GRESB sends a clear message to our investors.” said Steven Marino, Senior Vice President, Portfolio Management. “CREIF is committed to integrating sustainability into both its investment and operating practices to help generate superior, long-term, risk-adjusted returns.”

GRESB also honored CREIF with the distinction of being named Regional Development Sector Leader in the “North America, Diversified, Office/Residential, Non-Listed” category, recognizing one of GWLRA’s core competencies in sustainable property development.

GRESB is the global environmental, social and governance (ESG) benchmark for real assets. Working in collaboration with the industry, GRESB defines the standard for sustainability performance in real assets, providing independent, standardized and validated ESG data. More than 100 institutional investors use GRESB data and benchmarks to monitor their investments, engage with their managers, and make decisions that lead to a more sustainable portfolios and real asset industry in general. The 2020 real estate benchmark covers more than 1,200 property companies, real estate investment trusts (REITs), funds, and developers. Combined, GRESB real estate portfolio represent US $4.8 trillion in real asset value.