Australian real estate market the greenest in the world

The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) has announced that the Australian and New Zealand real estate market is the greenest in the world.

The GBCA release referred to the latest Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) report which analysed data from 637 listed property companies and private equity real estate funds from around the world.

The GRESB report covered 56,000 buildings with an aggregate value of USD $2.1 trillion and it concluded that as in previous region, Australia/New Zealand is the leading region.

Two Australian companies, ISPT and Lend Lease, were also named ‘global sector leaders’ from a field that included participants from Africa, North and South America, Europe, Oceania and Asia.

From the GBCA:

“Australia and New Zealand also performed strongest in terms of regional green leaders, with 70 per cent of the total participants in the highest quadrant, compared with 35 per cent in Europe, and 32 per cent in North America and Asia.

“Established in 2009, GRESB assesses the sustainability performance of the real estate sector. Five years on, reporting has become standard practice for most of the world’s property companies and fund managers.

“Green building is the world’s fastest growing industry – and Australia is leading the charge,” says the Green Building Council of Australia’s (GBCA’s) Chief Executive, Romilly Madew.

“The report underscores our regional leadership in sustainability, and serves as a reminder of why Australia is one of the best real estate markets in which to invest.

“We congratulate Lend Lease and ISPT for their outstanding leadership. Both these companies are committed to investing in sustainable business models that will ensure the long-term success of their organisations.”