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How GRESB is Shaping ESG Performance Across Global Real Assets

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From Signal to Strategy: Reflections from GRESB Regional Insights 2025

At a recent GRESB Regional Insights event, one theme cut through the noise - ESG is moving out of the disclosure era and into the delivery era. The discussions across infrastructure, real estate and investment management all pointed in the same direction: sustainability is becoming a practical, operational and financial discipline.

1. From disclosure to performance, and the levers that matter

Across the real asset sector which spans infrastructure, real estate and investment management, there is growing clarity on the underlying levers that drive performance:

  • Data quality that enables credible risk assessment and capex planning

  • Tenant-centric decarbonisation, which unlocks most of the operational emissions reductions

  • Adaptation measures that reduce volatility from physical climate risk

  • On-site energy and efficiency upgrades, which now have faster paybacks thanks to energy-market volatility

These levers are measurable, financeable and proving their value in real assets. You can see this in the shift in how GRESB is planning to evolve its scoring, towards demonstrating real-world impact and progress.

2. Prioritisation is becoming more disciplined

A point that came through repeatedly was that not every ESG action delivers the same return. Investors are getting sharper at sequencing interventions:

  • High-certainty ROI first (efficiency, basic resilience, digital metering)

  • Market-sensitive measures next (on-site generation, electrification)

  • Long-horizon strategic bets only where regulation, carbon pricing or tenant demand make the business case credible

This prioritisation lens is becoming the difference between “trying to be sustainable” and “running a sustainable investment strategy”. The strongest performers are those treating ESG as a capital-allocation challenge, not a reporting exercise.

3. Climate and transition risk are now core to value preservation

Another clear message: climate risk is no longer treated as an abstract externality. It is increasingly being priced into Net Asset Values (NAVs), insurance, lending terms and exit valuations.

What was interesting is how investors described this shift. Climate risk is now seen as value preservation. And once risk is priced, the upside becomes clearer: well-timed resilience capex, tenant engagement strategies and targeted upgrades can create a performance premium rather than a compliance burden.

4. A shared direction, even if global paths diverge

Regional attitudes vary. The US continues to wrestle with political noise, Asia remains pragmatic, and Europe pushes ahead with alignment. But despite the differences, the long-term direction is converging:

  • Investors want reliable data

  • Operators want predictable capex cycles

  • Regulators want transparency

  • Tenants want stable, efficient, resilient buildings

The result is a broader, more mature market where sustainability is increasingly treated as part of mainstream asset management.

Where this is heading

We're moving towards a phase where sustainability strategies are judged by their ability to deliver measurable outcomes and financial resilience. The gap between ambition and execution is closing, helped by better tools, clearer decision pathways and more predictable ROI on key interventions.

For organisations navigating this landscape, the question is shifting from “How do we report this?” to “Where does this create value?” That mindset change is what will define the leaders of the next decade.

For organisations ready to move from disclosure to delivery, our GRESB Advisory Services Factsheet outlines the pathways to measurable performance and improved scoring.