Validation: Qualitative

Manual evidence validation and Reporting Boundaries Review

Manual Evidence Validation

Validation Scope

What is manually validated?

GRESB and subject matter experts from Sustainability Assurance Services (SAS) manually verify the following content:

1. Evidence uploaded to the indicators that require it. In most cases, GRESB and its third-party validation provider validate this evidence against GRESB’s requirements. Refer to the' Criteria' section below for a summary of indicators subject to manual validation and their specific requirements.

2. All scored ‘Other’ answers. Most indicators allow participants to report an additional option if it is not already included in the indicator’s assessment choices. These ‘Other’ answers are also subject to manual validation. ‘Other’ answers should not be duplicates or subsets of existing options. Multiple ‘Other’ answers can be reported, but only one will count toward the final score, as long as it meets the acceptance criteria.

3. Information related to third parties, such as assurance, audit, and certification standards.

Validation Criteria

Evidence Format

Document: Participants may upload multiple documents of any file type. GRESB encourages participants to follow the following documentation best practices to ensure that validators can identify relevant information as efficiently and clearly as possible:

• Use an evidence cover page (see GRESB’s template here) or open text box to specify where evidence for each selection can be found.

• Participants may upload evidence as a document or active hyperlink.

• When using multiple documents, consolidate them into one file (but avoid using zip files).

• Make sure section headings and page numbers are clear.

Hyperlink: The evidence must be accessible within two clicks. Note that to support selections about public availability, participants must upload a hyperlink.

Reporting Year Applicability

Regardless of whether the indicator is manually validated, all* assessment answers must refer to the reporting year identified in indicator EC4: Reporting year.

*Several indicators, however, have different reporting year requirements and may refer to the past three calendar years or fiscal years, including the current one, depending on the entity's reporting period selection: RM3.1-3.6: Climate-related Risk Management; SE3: Employee satisfaction monitoring.

A response to an indicator must be true at the close of the reporting year; however, the response does not need to have been true for the entire reporting year. For example, if a policy was put in place one month prior to the end of the reporting year, this is acceptable, it need not have been in place for the entire reporting year.

For manually validated indicators, it is mandatory to clearly specify the year to which the evidence corresponds within the evidence or open text box.

Reporting Entity Applicability

Answers must directly apply to the entity identified in EC1, i.e., the investable entity for which participants submit an Assessment response, regardless of whether the indicator is manually validated.

When a participating entity belongs to a larger investment management organization or group of companies (the 'organization'), it must clearly explain the relationship between the entity and the organization. This ensures that group-level answers or evidence are appropriately linked to the reporting entity. This clarification can be provided within the evidence itself or in an open text box.

• Note for indicators in the ‘Climate-related Risk Management’ section of the Risk Management Aspect (i.e., transition and physical risk identification and impact assessment): GRESB requires evidence to be specific to the reporting entity identified in EC1. References to the overarching organization cannot be used as substitutes for entity-level risk assessment outcomes.

Language

As of 2025, GRESB accepts evidence in any language. However, the systems must be able to read the text contained in the file. Information or text contained in pictures will only be accepted if accompanied by a translation.

Note that information provided in open text boxes that appear in the Benchmark Report will be displayed exactly as submitted, in the original language.

Summary of Indicator-Specific Requirements

Indicator	Indicator Title	Requirement Summary
LE2	Sustainability Objectives	Applicable sustainability objectives must relate to specific issues within the selected options. Objectives must have been formally adopted and/or implemented.
LE4	Personnel Sustainability Performance Targets	Sustainability targets must be explicitly tied to the selected personnel groups. Applicability must cover all members within the associated group. If targets apply to a single individual within a group, report under "Other". Financial consequences must be linked to sustainability targets and specified.
RP1	Sustainability Reporting	Documentation must disclose sustainability performance and/or actions; a list of objectives is not appropriate. References the selected reporting level, alignment, and third-party review type. Meets disclosure-type-specific requirements, such as: Integrated reports, Annual reports, Standalone sustainability reports, Dedicated sections on corporate websites.
RM1	Environmental Management System (EMS)	Demonstrates proof of formal alignment or integration into the framework of the EMS. Accreditation includes uploaded certification, referencing name of standard, independent third-party, and date within the reporting period.
RM2.1	Environmental Risk Assessments	Details elements of the risk assessment process and environmental issues that it considers. Confirm a standalone risk assessment was conducted within the last three years.
RM2.2	Social Risk Assessments	Details elements of the risk assessment process and social issues that it considers. Confirm a standalone risk assessment was conducted within the last three years.
RM2.3	Governance Risk Assessments	Details elements of the risk assessment process and governance issues that it considers. Confirm a standalone risk assessment was conducted within the last three years.
RM4.1	Transition Risk Identification	Demonstrate a systematic transition risk identification process. List the outcomes of the assessment, including the identified transition risks, or lack thereof. Outcomes must be entity specific. Must be applicable to reporting year, or two years prior.
RM4.2	Transition Risk Impact Assessment	Demonstrate a systematic transition risk impact process. List the outcomes of the assessment, including the identified financial impacts, or lack thereof. Outcomes must be entity specific. Must be applicable to reporting year, or two years prior.
RM4.3	Physical Risk Identification	Demonstrate a systematic physical risk identification process. List the outcomes of the assessment, including the identified physical risks, or lack thereof. Outcomes must be entity specific. Must be applicable to reporting year, or two years prior.
RM4.4	Physical Risk Impact Assessment	Demonstrate a systematic process for assessing the financial impacts of physical risks. List the outcomes of the assessment, including the identified financial impacts, or lack thereof. Outcomes must be entity specific. Must be applicable to reporting year, or two years prior.
RM4.5	Climate-Related Opportunities Identification	Demonstrate a systematic climate-related opportunity identification process. List the outcomes of the assessment, including the identified climate-related opportunities risks, or lack thereof. Outcomes must be entity specific. Must be applicable to reporting year, or two years prior.
RM4.6	Climate-Related Opportunities Impact Assessment	Demonstrate a systematic process for assessing the financial impacts of climate-related opportunities. List the outcomes of the assessment, including the identified financial impacts, or lack thereof. Outcomes must be entity specific. Must be applicable to reporting year, or two years prior.
GH1	Greenhouse Gas Emissions	Must include a regulatory scope (based on an internationally recognized standard). Must include all operational Scope 1, 2, and relevant Scope 3 emissions (e.g., business travel, freight, etc.). GHG emissions must cover a whole reporting period, expressed in CO2e values. Aligned with defined industry standards. Approved for third-party verification/professional review against a standard.

Validation Outcomes

What are the impacts of each validation decision?

Validators will make one of the three decisions below depending on the degree to which evidence meets GRESB’s requirements.

Each validation outcome corresponds with a scoring weight that impacts the indicator’s final score. See the Scoring Basics page for more information.

'Other' Answers

Validation status	Explanation	Scoring impact
Accepted	'Other' answer falls outside the provided options and fulfills indicator requirements.	Full points
Duplicate	'Other' answer fulfills indicator requirements but duplicates an already selected answer.	No points will be awarded for this answer
Not Accepted	No points will be awarded for this answer'Other' answers do not fulfill indicator requirements.	No points will be awarded for this answer

Evidence and Open Text Boxes

Validation Status	Explanation	Scoring Impact
Accepted	Evidence fully meets the validation requirements.	Full points, resulting in the application of the full multiplier (100%) to the indicator's score
Partially Accepted	Evidence fully meets general requirements but fails to meet some indicator-specific requirements and/or support all selected options.	Partial points, resulting in a reduced multiplier (50%) to the indicator's score
Not Accepted	Evidence does not meet general requirements and/or does not support the selected options.	No points, resulting in a 0 multiplier to the indicator's score

Download GRESB's Evidence Cover Page Template below: