D21: Involvement in Sustainability-Related Tenant Engagement Programs/Initiatives

Maximum Score

4 points

Pillar

Social

Topic

Implementation & Measurement

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Has the entity been involved in sustainability-related tenant engagement programs/initiatives?

Assessment Instructions

Intent: What is the purpose of this indicator?

An effective tenant engagement program facilitates communication with the landlord and provides a path for tenant questions, concerns, and suggestions to be integrated into operational and sustainability decision-making.

Input: How do I complete this indicator?

Select yes or no. If yes, disclose where the online information can be found.

Terminology

Disclosure

The act of making information or data readily accessible and available to all interested individuals and institutions. Disclosure does not need to be public, but must be external to the reporting entity and cannot be an internal and/or ad hoc communication within the participating entity. 

Tenant engagement programs/initiatives

Tenant engagement is meant to increase the satisfaction of tenants and, with that, their likelihood of remaining in the building. An effective tenant engagement program facilitates communication with the landlord and provides a path for tenant questions, concerns and suggestions to be integrated into operational and sustainability decision-making. Examples of sustainability related tenant engagement programs include, but are not limited to, tenant sustainability training, sponsoring events on environmental awareness, or providing tenant fit-out guides.

Tenants/occupiers/customers

The definitions of customers and tenants/occupiers are mutually exclusive. The tenant/occupier is the person with whom the landlord of the building has a direct contractual relationship to occupy part or all of the building. In most cases, this will be a landlord/tenant relationship documented by a lease. However, it also includes occupiers that occupy on the basis of other types of contractual agreement, for example as a franchisee.

Validation: What evidence is required?

Evidence: URL. Ensure that the hyperlink is not outdated and the relevant page is directly accessible. It is possible to provide multiple hyperlinks.

• The supporting evidence should display how the sustainability-related engagement with the tenants positively affects their tenancy within the constituent’s buildings.

Such engagement could deal with topics such as air quality, the use of green lease clauses, or environmental initiatives.

The engagement ideally improves the satisfaction of the tenant and hence increases tenant retention.

A best practice example would include:

• A clear outline of what the engagement project is and how it relates to an environmental, social, and/or governance aspect

• How frequently and with which tenants this engagement is carried out

• A clear relationship between the effort made and tenant satisfaction/well-being

Scoring

Scoring: How does GRESB score this indicator?

The answer options are validated based upon the hyperlink(s) collected by GRESB or provided by the constituent. Points are contingent upon the validity of the disclosure.

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References

SASB-Real Estate Owners, Developers & Investment Trusts (March 2016): IF0402-12

GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards, 2016: 102-43, Approach to stakeholder engagement