Real estate goes sustainable with ESG

ESG has presented itself as a decision-making guideline for developers and investors alike

AsianInvestor reported on the warm reception that strategies with ESG real asset focus have been receiving from different investors who prefer these rather than approaches led by returns. They invest their money into real assets like real estate, energy, and infrastructure among others that have positive ESG impacts despite the scepticism they receive from doing this.

But what is ESG and why has it caught the eye of investors?

According to Apiday, ESG is an acronym for Environmental, Social and Governance. These three words pertain to the ways to measure a corporation’s impact on the environment and society outside of the usual finances, making this more of a policy for sustainability. In fact, it is a set of policies, procedures, or practices that focus on creating or enhancing any positive impact there is on the environment, society, and the government.

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As the world becomes more susceptible to climate change and focused on shifting to sustainable lifestyles, investors have been paying more attention to the importance of ESG criteria in all of their decisions and projects. They use ESG as guidelines for operations and business strategies, as well as evaluation criteria for any risks and practices that a company may have.

The PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards, for instance, introduced the Special Recognition in ESG accolade in its 15th year in 2020, adding on top of other ESG-related awards such as Best Green Development and Special Recognition in CSR. The oldest and biggest awards series in the region aims to honour and reward businesses who are not only committed to excellence, but also to those that by ESG standards.

The Property Report editors wrote this article. For more information, email: [email protected].