Katie Dorn
June 22, 2023
How Can NGBS Green Bolster Your ESG Efforts?
ESG AND GREEN BUILDING CERTIFICATION
More and more, companies are expected to measure and disclose information related to their ESG—Environmental, Social, and Governance—impacts. ESG metrics can improve a company’s ability to access capital from funders committed to sustainable investing.
Green building certifications are essential to achieving ESG goals in the real estate industry. They ensure that buildings are built or renovated to rigorous standards. By pursuing green building certifications, developers and investors can have confidence that their buildings are performing exceptionally and meeting many of the environmental and social aspects of their corporate goals.
NGBS Green certifications are an excellent way for companies to validate their commitment to constructing and operating sustainable and healthy buildings across their portfolio. NGBS Green certifications can help developers meet the “E” in their ESG goals and showcase to investors that their developments are designed and built to a rigorous, high performing green building standard. Bookmark our one-stop-shop for ESG-related resources.
GRESB OVERVIEW
Reporting frameworks are being used more frequently by developers to benchmark their ESG data and compare their performance to their peers. One of the most common frameworks used by real estate companies is GRESB (formerly known as “Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmarking”).
GRESB is a framework that measures the ESG performance of a company’s real estate portfolio and produces a score and rating for the company. Real estate developers and property managers will self-report their building performance and operations information to GRESB, where it is validated and benchmarked against their peers.
NGBS-GRESB NEXUS
NGBS Green Certifications offer credible validation of ESG efforts and can contribute toward a higher GRESB score and ranking. By certifying buildings to the NGBS, developers and building owners can fulfill many indicators in the development section of the 2023 GRESB Real Estate Reference Guide. Earning any of the NGBS Green Certifications can help developers earn a higher GRESB score, including certifications for New Construction, Existing Buildings, Single-Family Certified and Land Developments.
Developers and building owners can also utilize the NGBS Green+ Certifications to maximize their GRESB Scoring potential. The +NET ZERO ENERGY and +RESILIENCE certifications can be used to fulfill GRESB indicators under the “E” category of ESG. To fulfill some of the “S” based GRESB indicators, developers can use the +WELLNESS and +UNIVERSAL DESIGN certifications. More information about NGBS Green+ is available at HomeInnovation.com/NGBSGreenPlus.
NGBS-ESG RESOURCES
NGBS-GRESB Crosswalk: The NGBS-GRESB Crosswalk outlines how NGBS Green Certifications can fulfill indicators from the “Development” section of the 2023 GRESB Reference Guide. The Crosswalk shows how GRESB indicators align with the different NGBS Green Certifications (New Construction, Existing Building, Single-family Certified, Land Development, and NGBS Green+ Certifications).
The NGBS-GRESB crosswalk is solely for informational purposes. Proper evidence must be uploaded to the GRESB portal to receive points. View the crosswalk here.
NGBS-GRESB Checklist: NGBS-GRESB checklists are now embedded into the 2020 NGBS Green Scoring Tools. These new tabs identify the GRESB indicators that are fulfilled by a project’s unique green features and performance. The checklists are auto-populated from inputs on the Design and Verification tabs. The NGBS-GRESB checklists are in the newest versions of all 2020 NGBS Green Scoring tools, available at HomeInnovation.com/GreenScoring.
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