A number of portfolios and assets managed by the international business of Federated Hermes have achieved success in in this year’s GRESB Real Estate Assessment results.
In the overall ratings, Milton Keynes shopping centre, centre:mk – which is managed by Federated Hermes on behalf of the BT Pension Scheme (BTPS) and AustralianSuper– achieved first in its peer group on GRESB’s UK Retail Shopping Centre list, retaining its five-star ESG benchmark rating, which recognises entities placed in the top 20% of the benchmark. In addition, the BTPS Fund retained its four-star rating and came second in its peer group.
Within the development ratings, BTPS achieved a five-star score and was ranked first among its peers for development, while Federated Hermes’ HPUT fund was awarded four stars, came second out of its peer group. Wellington Place – which makes up part of the BTPS score as a joint-venture fund – achieved a four-star rating, came first in its peer group of nine for development and gained a green star. All three schemes achieved Green Stars in this category.
The awards further strengthen Federated Hermes’ sustainability credentials following its success earlier in the year when The Cargo Building in Liverpool became the world’s first residential asset to secure the new BREEAM In-Use (BIU) Residential certification.
Chris Taylor, CEO of Real Estate at the international business of Federated Hermes, said: “This latest round of awards is testament to Federated Hermes’ commitment to its Responsible Property Investment agenda. Making a positive contribution to society as well as delivering strong returns is at the heart of everything we do as a business as we look to build upon our continued success, driving improvements across our portfolio and advancing the industry-wide push for ESG transparency.”
Sharon Brown, Director – Real Estate Risk & RPM Implementation at the international business of Federated Hermes, said: “We are delighted to gain recognition for our work across our portfolio. The results demonstrate our commitment to ESG and reflect our position as an industry-leader. Within the development category the positive results clearly reflect our real estate team’s consistent approach to responsible property development, as well as its emphasis on asset-level active decarbonisation and data integrity which has been a consistent focus of ours since we first set carbon-reduction targets in 2006.”
The GRESB Real Estate Assessment is the investor-driven global ESG benchmark and reporting framework for listed property companies, private property funds, developers and direct real estate investors. The assessment is shaped by what investors and the industry consider to be material issues in the sustainability performance of real estate investments and scoring covers seven areas: management, policy and disclosure, risks and opportunities, monitoring and EMS, performance indicators, building certifications, and stakeholder engagement.