Support in Improving ESG Assessment
GRESB(http://gresb.com/), is an annual benchmarking assessment that measures the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) integration of companies and funds in the real estate and infrastructure sectors. We provide comprehensive support for GRESB participation and results analysis.
For more information on GRESB, please click here.
Our Strengths
We have been promoting GRESB in the Japanese market since 2011 and are the designated Premier Partner for Japan.
As active members of various GRESB committees and working groups, we stay informed about assessment criteria developments and relay relevant information between GRESB and the Japanese market.
This expertise and our long-standing relationship with GRESB allow us to provide precise support for accurate reporting and score improvement.
Our Consulting Services
Participation Support
We offer one-stop services for GRESB participation, providing tools and guidance to over 100 companies annually, including J-REITs, private REITs, private funds, real estate developers, and infrastructure companies. Our support includes:
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●Japanese-language survey forms, reference guides*, response tools, and webinars*
●Advice for your responses and consistency checks
●Pre-submission score calculations*
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●Translation of responses into English and online input
●Assistance during the Validation and the Review Period
*For Real Estate only
Response Analysis
We analyze your GRESB assessment results, comparing them with other participants in Japan.
Our detailed and easy-to-read reports in Japanese summarize your response data and highlight trends in various aspects and indicators. We also identify potential issues for the following year, estimate score improvement, and suggest future initiatives. (For Real Estate only.)
Provisional Response Analysis (Gap Analysis)
For companies considering GRESB participation, we offer a provisional response analysis. This service calculates your potential score and identifies areas for improvement based on a hypothetical participation in the most recent assessment. This service is useful not only for gathering information from your company and relevant business partners prior to participation, but also for expanding your initiatives in anticipation of participation.
CDP is an international NGO that promotes corporate environmental reporting. In its five-year strategy "Accelerating the rate of change" (2021 - 2025), CDP outlines the ways to broaden its scope of environmental reporting to cover new themes like biodiversity, ocean, land use, food production and waste, beyond the current focus on climate change, water security, and deforestation.
Key developments in CDP’s strategy include the introduction of these categories by 2025, with annual updates to address emerging trends and requests of investors, such as biodiversity-related questions in the 2022 Climate Change Questionnaire and plastics-related questions in the 2023 Water Security Questionnaire. In 2024, CDP incorporates the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) climate-related disclosure standards (IFRS S2), enhancing global consistency in sustainability disclosures.
Disclosing companies have also increased with all Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market companies included in the Climate Change Questionnaire in 2022 and the Water Security Questionnaire further expanding its reach in 2023. In 2024, CDP streamlines the previous climate change, water security, and forest questionnaires by introducing an integrated corporate questionnaire for more holistic environmental reporting. With the need to simultaneously solve the twin crisis of climate and nature and to take both into consideration, companies are increasingly asked to respond to various environmental issues and disclose information about them.
The real estate and infrastructure sectors, which significantly impact climate, water, and deforestation, will face heightened disclosure requirements, driving more detailed reporting and action on various environmental fronts.
Our Strengths
As a scoring partner of CDP in the climate change and forest areas since 2021, with expertise expanded to water areas in 2023, we offer robust support for companies to respond to CDP questionnaires. Our strengths include ESG disclosure support, with expertise in TCFD compliance, climate change risk analysis and SBTi certification. Additionally, our participation in the TNFD Forum ensures we stay ahead with the latest disclosure frameworks. With this knowledge, we support real estate and infrastructure companies in responding to CDP questionnaires.
Our Consulting Services
Support in Preparing Responses and Follow Up
Our consulting services include comprehensive preparation support, guiding companies from summer to winter every year with detailed explanations, response tools, and advice. We help estimate scores and identify areas for improvement. For submission and follow up, we assist with administrative procedures, questionnaire changes, and provide detailed explanations and analysis of CDP Score Reports to address scoring issues.
Our goal is to help real estate and infrastructure companies effectively navigate CDP’s expanding and integrating questionnaires, enhancing their environmental disclosures and performance.
The Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) was established in 2006 by former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan alongside the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) and the United Nations Global Compact. PRI sets forth six principles for responsible investment. These principles include the integration of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) issues into the investment decision-making process to promote a long-term sustainable international financial system.
Investors may become PRI signatories by demonstrating their commitment to the Principles, and must submit an annual report on their responsible investment (RI, so-called ESG investment) practices every year.
The six Principles for Responsible Investment
- We will incorporate ESG issues into investment analysis and decision-making processes.
- We will be active owners and incorporate ESG issues into our ownership policies and practices.
- We will seek appropriate disclosure on ESG issues by the entities in which we invest.
- We will promote acceptance and implementation of the Principles within the investment industry.
- We will work together to enhance our effectiveness in implementing the Principles.
- We will each report on our activities and progress towards implementing the Principles.
Our Strengths
As a PRI signatory since 2012, we have led PRI Japan real estate and infrastructure working groups and currently serve on the Real Estate Advisory Committee and Japan Advisory Committee. With deep ESG expertise across real estate, infrastructure, asset owner, and financial sectors, we provide comprehensive support to signatory institutions when preparing their annual PRI reports.
Our Consulting Services
Annual PRI Report Preparation
We provide the following one-stop services for PRI signatories:
・Explanation of the annual report and response process
・Japanese version of the response sheet
・Advice on the responses and consistency check
・English translation of responses and online submission
MSCI publishes ESG indexes, such as the MSCI Japan ESG Select Leaders Index, which lists selected companies that excel in ESG based on the MSCI ESG Ratings. In a world where ESG ratings are factored into the investment process, standing out is more important than ever.
Our Strengths
We offer expert advice to issuers on improving their ESG ratings and analyzing competitors’ ratings, drawing on our extensive ESG expertise in the real estate and infrastructure sectors and data from MSCI.
Our Consulting Services
Analysis of Current Assessment
We compare your ESG ratings report with your existing initiatives and disclosed information to identify areas where improvements can be made. This analysis includes benchmarking against the J-REIT and real estate sectors.
Strategic Disclosure Advice
We provide guidance on enhancing your disclosures to boost MSCI ratings, focusing on structure, content, and wording, as well as reviewing your drafts.
Proactive Feedback Support
We provide support for compiling feedback drafts for the MSCI Issuer Portal to ensure your ESG disclosures are more accurately assessed. We track the results and provide ongoing support to maintain your ratings.