Climate pledges by real estate administrators remain unfulfilled, according to a recent study.
In a recent benchmarking exercise, ShareAction, a non-governmental organization, has revealed that many leading real estate investment managers are falling short on transparency, climate change commitments, and net-zero emissions efforts.
The report, based on research into 16 real estate investment managers of non-listed investments, measures 12 standards that investment managers were expected to achieve. These include making a public commitment to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
Key findings include a lack of transparency in managers' climate actions, with many not providing sufficient public disclosure on their efforts. Nine of the 16 managers disclosed what ShareAction considers comprehensive commitments covering landlord and tenant emissions, but only five explicitly include construction emissions, a critical part of the sector's environmental impact.
Top-performing managers such as Savills Investment Management, Patrizia, Heimstaden, and Prologis, who were awarded ‘B’ grades, have set science-based targets, are making detailed plans to meet them, and provide transparent emissions disclosure. However, much of the sector is critiqued for inadequate climate action, contributing to the real estate investment sector being "further off track" from achieving net-zero emissions.
The report also highlights a lack of engagement on the issue from some participants, with only six managers verifying and supplementing their data in the survey. Furthermore, discussion of the social impacts of decarbonisation was almost entirely absent from the public disclosures of these investment managers, putting a just transition at risk.
Aidan Shilson-Thomas, senior research manager at ShareAction, commented that continued inaction by some investment managers is pulling the real estate sector further off track from net zero, with devastating consequences for people and planet. He emphasized the need for managers to step up and take responsibility for their impacts, ensuring workers, tenants, and communities are at the center of plans to tackle climate change.
The report also notes that Nrep is the top-ranked investment manager in ShareAction's benchmark, having achieved every key standard. Only one investment manager, Nrep, has demonstrated a clear commitment to stop installing fossil fuel infrastructure in buildings. Few investment managers have disclosed portfolio-wide targets on energy efficiency that cover landlord and tenant energy use.
Some of the largest firms, such as Blackstone, Starwood Capital Group, and Greystar, failed to achieve any of the key standards and ranked last in the benchmark. Six investment managers have not set interim carbon reduction targets, including four firms that have made a net-zero commitment.
In summary, ShareAction’s 2025 benchmarking underscores a significant gap between the scale of real estate investment and the sector’s climate leadership, calling for urgent improvements in transparency, comprehensive climate commitments, and concrete plans toward net-zero emissions among real estate investment managers.
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