Reflections on My First Year Supporting Sustainability Reporting

After a year of working as a consultant at EVORA, I have supported several clients through a full annual cycle of sustainability reporting. For the clients engaged with EVORA this varies between internal communications with investors and stakeholders, and external reporting to regulators, governing bodies and the public.

EVORA can support all these different reporting requirements, with sector-leading consultancy and designated internal data specialists to put in place effective systems and processes for data management and disclosure. This is made possible with EVORA’s sustainability data management platform SIERA which makes collecting, storing, analysing and submitting entity and property-specific data points efficient and straightforward.

Internal reporting to investors and stakeholders can be part of a client’s own financial reporting and often takes the form of a designated section covering the sustainability performance and initiatives undertaken during the quarter or year. This fills an important role as it engages varied stakeholders with the sustainability performance of the entity, allows best practices to be recognised, and improves the sustainability credentials of the entity.

EVORA’s clients report externally to voluntary and compulsory schemes based on factors including geography, size and investment style. In 2023 EVORA supported approximately 20% of the European and 9% of the global real estate fund submissions to the GRESB asset survey. Of these submissions 22.5% scored the maximum 5-star GRESB rating, showing EVORA’s engagement with industry-leading real estate funds.

Real estate investors and investment managers may also choose to disclose their performance in a public sustainability report. This typically covers case studies and highlights across the portfolio and can be used to show examples of excellence in certain fields, such as net zero carbon targets and the progress against them, recent certification achievements or fit-out and refurbishments with a sustainability focus in the portfolio.

External reporting increases the transparency of the portfolio, resulting in strengthening confidence over time.

To boost your sustainability reporting through increased transparency, industry-standard practices and sector-leading insights, speak to a member of the EVORA team today.