Achieving the goal of environmental sustainability in urban development is a pressing issue, both today and in the future. At GMO we recognise the importance of working towards sustainable goals and we believe that the fund’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) framework is an important and binding factor in creating long-term value for not only our investors but also for society.
While GMO does not have, as its objective, a sustainable investment, we do promote environmental and social characteristics making ESG factors an integral part of the investment and development process, with the potential to increase the value of our investment portfolio, reduce exposure to risk, and play an important part in ‘future-proofing’ assets.
To follow the GMO’s ESG Framework and meet its ESG goals we intend to target the following environmental and social characteristics:
By 2040 Greenman OPEN’s portfolio will have a carbon neutral footprint.
To achieve this, we will:
In 2021 Greenman will commit up to €22.2m to ESG related activities annually and in 2022 GMO will commit to deploy a minimum of €6.3m up to a maximum of €22.2m on ESG related activities.
To demonstrate the positive financial impact ESG and non-rental income initiatives will have on the GMO’s performance we have set ourselves the target, that by 2025, 5% of the fund’s annual revenue will be generated from non-rental income initiatives.
These initiatives will include, but not be limited to, the environmental and social activities listed below.
OPEN will make investments into upgrading infrastructure and technical equipment of the retail centres to reduce the building’s energy consumption.
OPEN will construct or retrofit systems and develop processes to optimise materials used in our Centres and remove or reuse waste.
OPEN will implement technologies to make our Centres and processes smarter, allowing us to better understand the needs and requirements of our tenants and consumers.
OPEN will implement technologies to monitor, map, evaluate and distribute data and develop artificial intelligence to support the Smart Building Investment.
OPEN will develop, support and create sustainable farming activities to promote the manufacture and sale of local, traceable and sustainable foodstuffs.
OPEN will develop, support and monitor novel and future grocery and non-grocery retail distribution solutions, promoting shorter supply chains and local production.
OPEN will provide financial, operational or personnel support to charitable organisations engaging in community education around food related issues.
How Greenman, GMO’s Alternative Investment Fund Manager, considers PAI on sustainability factors on a practical level in the investment decision-making.
Follow us on LinkedIn, Vimeo or join our mailing list to stay up to date with industry news.