Thoughts

4 min read

Understanding the GRESB 2018 Fee Structure for Real Estate Assessment

Thoughts

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    EVORA

Since its inception in 2009, GRESB has been ‘free’ at the point of use for entities submitted by non-member fund managers or property companies. From 2018, non-members in selected markets[1] will be required to pay a fee of EUR3,500 or USD4,100 per entity (i.e. per submission). Fees for members have also shifted upwards by around 20% depending on the number of entities participating.

[1] The fee will apply globally with the exception of companies and fund managers incorporated or headquartered in Latin America, Africa and parts of Asia where ESG reporting and GRESB coverage are less established

Visit our GRESB support service page.


Why are fees being introduced and upped?

GRESB sets out three main reasons for the introduction of a fee:

  1. Market coverage and recognition: GRESB has clearly captured the ESG benchmarking market for the Corporate Real Estate market and now holds a position that they believe is strong enough to command (higher) fees across all reporting entities. The change will undoubtedly cause some to grumble and as such, investors, now more than ever, need to enforce the expectation / requirement of open disclosure by the vehicles in which they invest.
  2. Member benefits and increased analytics: Following receipt of GRESB results, applying a feedback loop to review performance ratings achieved across the seven GRESB Aspects and two Dimensions is a vital step for planning future sustainability programmes.  Under the new fee system, the Benchmark Report will be provided to all participants (the price of this in 2017 was €2,750, which goes someway towards the overall €3,500 fee for a single entity submission). At EVORA, we develop sustainability roadmaps for all our clients (using Benchmark Reports) to help them plan effective programmes that deliver value to their funds and enhance GRESB ratings.
  3. A smooth reporting process to lessen the burden of reporting: This will be welcomed by many I am sure! Our clients already benefit from SIERA’s seamless asset level reporting and we have recently incorporated further features to make year-round reporting, and scoring, even easier and more transparent.

[clickToTweet tweet=”We develop sust. roadmaps for clients to help plan programmes that deliver value to funds and enhance GRESB ratings.” quote=”We develop sustainability roadmaps for all our clients (using Benchmark Reports) to help them plan effective programmes that deliver value to their funds and enhance GRESB ratings.”]


The fees

From 2018, entries for non-members will be EUR 3,500 or USD 4,100 per entity, payable once annually. The participation fee does not apply to Developer Assessment participants or for first-year participants who report under the Grace Period.

The range of members fees are increased from EUR 3,250 – EUR 15,900 up to EUR 4,000 – EUR 20,500 (roughly a 20% increase). Full details are shown in the table below.

[clickToTweet tweet=”It will be cost effective to become a member if you’re a fund manager/property company submitting more than 1 entity” quote=”Put simply, it will be more cost effective to become a member if you are a fund manager or property company submitting more than one entity”]

Put simply, it will be more cost effective to become a member if you are a fund manager or property company submitting more than one entity. There will, however, be instances where the membership fee cannot be split across multiple entities and it may therefore introduce a new cost for certain fund managers.

Additionally, GRESB has also introduced a charge of EUR 100 or USD 115 if you require an invoice for payments not made via a credit card.


What Next?

In truth, not much has changed in regards to the GRESB submission process. The increased cost of completing the survey will, however, raise more questions on the value of GRESB. This is where EVORA helps our clients to establish meaningful, practical and, importantly, value driven programmes that improve funds and asset ESG performance.

Contact us to find out how we are helping clients to meet investor, tenant, and other stakeholders demands for more sustainable, greener and healthier buildings.


GRESB Premier PartnerAs a GRESB Real Estate Premier Partner, we are perfectly positioned to provide GRESB support. View our official Premier Partner profile.

We can work with you to complete the submission and understand your scoring, as well as develop a sustainability plan that will improve your future GRESB performance and align with your organisation’s key environmental objectives.