AFIAA Global improves GRESB rating
The AFIAA Global investment group completed its second Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) in 2024 and improved its rating over the previous year. Gabriel Dürler, sustainability specialist at the AFIAA Investment Foundation, talks about the reasons for this improvement and the group’s goals for the future.
How is AFIAA Global currently rated in terms of sustainability?
In the 2024 GRESB rating, we succeeded in raising the score of the AFIAA Global investment group from 77 to 81 points. This puts AFIAA Global in the upper midrange of the GRESB peer group, resulting in a 3-star rating.
How did AFIAA achieve the improved GRESB rating?
The GRESB model distinguishes between the areas of management and performance. Thanks to our good data coverage and given that almost all buildings in the AFIAA Global portfolio have a sustainability label, our performance was already rated as excellent when we first participated in GRESB in 2023. More recently, we have introduced a number of improvements at the management level, for instance by setting up an ESG task force that regularly discusses sustainability issues and communicates them throughout the organisation. Other efforts were aimed at improving our record of processes. Among other measures, we now collect detailed information on ESG training for employees.
Reporting is the key to comparing the sustainability of investment vehicles. What is the AFIAA Investment Foundation’s reporting policy?
Reporting is indeed a very important aspect. ESG information won’t be given serious consideration unless it is substantiated and provides a basis for comparison. We follow the recommendations of industry associations and calculate the key indicators based on the REIDA method, which is commonly used in Switzerland. That way, we meet the advanced reporting standards of ASIP, KGAST and AMAS.
Gabriel Dürler
What work has recently been undertaken at the building level?
We have installed large photovoltaic systems on our two buildings in Lisbon. During the renovation of the Kaisergalerie property in Hamburg, we upgraded the thermal building envelope, significantly improved energy efficiency and reduced CO2 emissions. We also successfully obtained new sustainability certification for various buildings in the AFIAA Global portfolio and improved the rating on existing labels. This goes to show that a lot is happening not only at the management level, but also at the building level.
What are the next goals for AFIAA Global and how do you plan to achieve them?
Our goal is to further improve our scores and ratings. The necessary measures are already underway. We are also planning to conduct a tenant satisfaction survey and publish a separate sustainability report for the first time in 2025.
Are you interested in international real estate investments?
We offer Swiss pension funds both direct and indirect international real estate investments. For direct investments, choose the AFIAA Global investment group; for indirect investments, choose the AFIAA Diversified indirect investment group.
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