The NSW Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) has announced a formal partnership with GRESB, the leading global standard for portfolio-level sustainability assessment in real estate.

GRESB assesses environmental, social, and governance (ESG) attributes and performance of property funds around the world. In 2014, GRESB covered 637 funds representing AUD2.7 trillion in property value. The GRESB benchmark addresses issues including corporate sustainability strategy, policies and objectives, environmental performance monitoring, and the use of high-quality voluntary rating tools such as NABERS.

NABERS is the most widely used building rating tool in Australia, with over 2,000 accredited ratings every year, including ratings for offices, hotels, shopping centres and data centres. The program has also been licensed in New Zealand. The 2014 GRESB Survey results confirmed that Australia and New Zealand lead the world in overall sustainability performance.

For information on GRESB, and how to participate in the 2015 Survey, please go to www.gresb.com.

For further information on NABERS, please contact Frank Roberson at francis.roberson@environment.nsw.gov.au.