Vasakronan recognised as one of the world’s most sustainable property companies
The 2018 GRESB results reveal that Vasakronan is one of the most sustainable property companies in the world and the company has also been recognised as the European leader in its sector.
On 7 September, the results of this year’s Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) were presented. The index is used by investors to assess the risks associated with various property investments, and interest in sustainability has increased with every year.
Today, 903 of the world’s property companies report their sustainability efforts using the GRESB framework. Vasakronan is ranked ninth in the world, when looking at all property companies. However, among companies with a primary focus on office space, Vasakronan holds first place in Europe and, accordingly, is also ranked number one in Sweden.
“Interest in sustainability has increased pronouncedly among banks as well as in the capital market. Five years have passed since Vasakronan issued the world’s first green corporate bond. Since then, demand for green investments has accelerated dramatically and Vasakronan now has a wider range and more advantageous sources of funding than previously. It has become apparent that everyone profits from working with sustainability,” says Fredrik Wirdenius, CEO of Vasakronan.
Vasakronan is one of the largest Swedish borrowers in the capital markets. Of its total loan portfolio of SEK 62 billion, 28% comprises various forms of green funding. One prerequisite for green funding is that the properties are environmentally certified and have a low energy consumption. Vasakronan’s current status is that 85% of its portfolio is environmentally certified and the remaining 15% mainly comprises planned or ongoing redevelopments. The high percentage of environmentally certified properties together with systemic energy saving efforts are two of the areas where Vasakronan scored highly in the GRESB survey.
“The number of Swedish companies participating in GRESB is increasing and a higher proportion of Swedish companies are receiving top rankings compared with the rest of the world. Together, we are making property investment in Sweden even more attractive,” says Fredrik Wirdenius.
About GRESB
GRESB is the global environmental, social and governance (ESG) benchmark for real assets. Working in collaboration with the industry, GRESB defines the standard for sustainability performance in real assets, providing standardized and validated ESG data to more than 75 institutional investors, representing over USD 18 trillion in institutional capital. In 2018 a record 903 property companies and funds participated in the GRESB Real Estate Assessment, the Infrastructure Assessment covered 75 funds and 280 assets, and 25 portfolios completed the Debt Assessment.
Click here to read more about GRESB and this year’s results.
For further information, please contact:
Fredrik Wirdenius
CEO
Tel: +46 (0)70 553 80 62
E-mail: fredrik.wirdenius@vasakronan.se
Anna Denell
Head of Sustainability
Tel: +46 (0)70 968 15 81
E-mail: anna.denell@vasakronan.se
Vasakronan är Sveriges största fastighetsbolag med ett fastighetsbestånd värderat till cirka 134 miljarder kronor. Inriktningen är centralt belägna kontors- och butiksfastigheter i tillväxtregionerna Stockholm, Uppsala, Göteborg och Öresund. Inom cityhandel är Vasakronan störst i samtliga regioner. Fastighetsbeståndet omfattar 180 fastigheter med en total area på cirka 2 400 miljoner kvadratmeter. Företaget ägs till lika delar av Första, Andra, Tredje och Fjärde AP-fonden. Läs mer på www.vasakronan.se
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