As GRESB reflects on 15 years of industry progress on the environmental, social and governance (ESG) front, the journey in the Asia Pacific region offers valuable insights as well. When the first global real estate sustainability benchmark was launched in 2009, it aimed to provide “an objective and uniform set of sustainability data, serving as a starting point for managers, investors and policymakers to optimally monitor and improve the ESG performance of the real estate sector.”

Back then, only 25 listed property companies and private funds from Asia Pacific participated in the inaugural GRESB Assessment. Fast forward to 2024, and this number has grown to 533. In its first year, most participants in the region were from Australia, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore. Today, the benchmark includes participants from across the wider region, including mainland China, India, Malaysia, South Korea and Taiwan. This expansion illustrates the real estate sector’s growing commitmen