Grosvenor's North American Property Business Announces Strong GRESB Scores as it Continues Advancing Efforts to Reduce Carbon Footprint

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Oct 20, 2023, 08:52 ET

Development division maintains strong 4 Green Star rating, its score of 91 placing it 12 points above its benchmark average
Investment division increases score by 12 points since initial submission in 2021
Placed 2^nd in peer group for Development score within Americas, Non-listed, Core, Closed end

VANCOUVER, BC, Oct. 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Grosvenor, an international property owner and developer with a 70+ year track record in North America, announced continued increases in scores from a leading independent sustainability group, underscoring the company's successful ongoing efforts to reduce carbon emissions. The company's North American property business reported higher annual scores from the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB), which tracks ESG progress across more than 2,000 companies.

The firm's Development division again achieved a 4 Green Star rating by scoring 91, marking a 17-point jump since 2021 and exceeding benchmark averages for all ESG scores. Grosvenor placed second within its peer group for its Development score within Americas, Non-listed, Core, Closed end ranking, scoring 12-points above the benchmark average. The business' Standing Investments division rose to a 3 Green Star rating, scoring 77, a 12-point increase since scoring 65 in its first submission in 2021 and two points above the GRESB average. Scores achieved in both Development and Standing Investment divisions exceed the average GRESB score of 72 for 3^rd year participants in the Americas.

This year's higher scores reflect improvements in the Stakeholder Engagement, Risk Assessment, and Health, Safety and Wellbeing sections of the GRESB ratings criteria. Improvements also were achieved in the Performance section, with energy consumption, GHG emissions, and water use all scoring higher than the prior year. Top marks were achieved in the Leadership, Reporting, Policies, Stakeholder Engagement, ESG Requirements, Materials, Waste, Water Consumption, Targets and Data Monitoring & Review.

"We are focused on improving the performance of our properties to simultaneously reduce our operating costs and carbon footprint," said Steve O'Connell, CEO of Grosvenor's North American urban property business, "By understanding the payback period of our improvements while increasing the use of renewable energy, and helping our suppliers and tenants improve sustainability, we are making great progress toward achieving our goals."

Tanja Milosevic, Grosvenor's Associate Vice President of ESG in North America, added: "Improving again to 3- and 4-stars in our third GRESB reporting year is a strong reflection of the hard work we are doing to reduce our carbon footprint. Good governance, alongside social and environmental responsibility, has always been part of our DNA; having our two main business lines outperform their benchmark averages is great validation for us."

The company's carbon reductions-first approach is a key element in reducing its overall environmental impact. Grosvenor has publicly reported its consumption and reduction values for 15 years.

Included among the numerous efforts underway at Grosvenor to enhance sustainability are:

Deploying renewable, clean energy solutions to its buildings, including solar, wind and other energy saving technologies
Utilizing ultra-energy-efficient lighting, windows, and HVAC systems

Some examples within Grosvenor's North American Development and Investment portfolios include:

Brentwood Block in Burnaby, BC, is an 8-acre, pedestrian-focused masterplan that will bring 3,500 carbon-free homes to Metro Vancouver next to rapid transit. The project will exceed the City of Burnaby's sustainability requirements through efficient envelope design, low-carbon systems and renewable energy.
Currently in design, 3300 Whitehaven is a nine-story residential building with a focus on reducing embodied carbon. The project's innovative post-and-beam mass timber structure has the potential to achieve a substantial reduction in the project's overall embodied carbon footprint, eliminating up to 1,500 metric tons of carbon equivalent before biogenic carbon (CO₂sequestered by trees as they grow) is factored in.
In San Jose, CA, Grosvenor completed a drought-resistant landscaping project at Toshiba's three-building office and R&D campus and is advancing a substantial solar panel array installation estimated to result in a 91 percent usage offset at two buildings and a 55 percent usage offset at the third.
Ace in Berkeley, CA, features 163 residences powered by electric energy. Offering EV charging stations, electric ranges in all kitchens and enhanced public spaces, the project is on track to achieve GreenPoint Rated Gold certification, California's independent rating system based on healthy, energy-and resource-efficient residences.

For more information, please contact:

Great Ink Communications
+1 212-741-2977
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About Grosvenor

Grosvenor has operated a diversified real estate business in North America since 1952. As of December 31, 2022, the Company had assets under management of USD$4.1bn, including 74 high-quality properties, and is executing on a USD$4.7bn development pipeline across its active markets. Consistent with the firm's farsighted approach to ownership and development, Grosvenor values long-term partnerships; across their nine active capital partners, the average relationship is 20 years.

Grosvenor signed the World Green Building Council's Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment in 2019 and has publicly reported its annual consumption and reduction values for 15 years.

Part of an international property company with a track record of over 340 years, we develop, manage, and invest to improve property and places across many of the world's leading cities, promoting sustainability within the built environment and enhancing the wellbeing of our customers and communities.  

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