Manulife Financial: Investment Management’s GRESB Assessments Highlight Strength of Its Sustainability Integration for Real Estate and Infrastructure

By James J. Moya Last updated Oct 19, 2021

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BOSTON, October 18, 2021 / CNW / – Manulife Investment Management today announced the results of its GRESB 2021 assessments for real estate and infrastructure. GRESB assessments compare the environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance of funds, companies, and real estate and infrastructure assets, providing investors with standardized data to help assess complex sustainability issues. Manulife Investment Management The 2021 assessment recorded above-average scores for real estate and infrastructure. The company’s global real estate portfolio was also recognized as a leader in the GRESB sector, ranking first in its peer group in the “Diversified – Office / Industrial” category in the Americas Category.

“We are satisfied with the results of the GRESB 2021 assessment as we are in an excellent position with above-average scores for real estate and infrastructure,” said Christoph schumacher, responsible for real estate assets, Manulife Investment Management. “Sustainable management will continue to be essential and is an expectation of investors in real assets. Responsible stewardship is imperative to protect and increase the value of our assets and the GRESB ESG Benchmark helps us maintain and improve results and demonstrate our commitment to ESG integration for clients. “

In 2021, more than 2,227 real estate and infrastructure entities, representing US $ 6.4 trillion in the assets have been covered by the GRESB assessments and are included in the ESG GRESB reference system.

“We are proud to have been named a GRESB Industry Leader in a year where global real estate appraisal participation increased by 24%,” said Regan smith, responsible for real estate sustainability, Manulife Investment Management. “This is a significant achievement for us as we work to transition to a low carbon economy. It’s also great to see increased participation from our peers, as improved engagement with a standardized baseline demonstrates the industry’s desire to achieve greater transparency of ESG data. ”

Real estate appraisal
Manulife Investment Management was one of the 1,520 real estate companies, REITs, funds and developers who participated in the GRESB real estate appraisal, representing US $ 5.7 trillion assets under management. The GRESB ESG Benchmark covers nearly 117,000 assets worldwide declared at asset level. Manulife Investment Management real estate portfolio obtained a GRESB score of 88 out of 100 possible points for both management and performance and a GRESB green star. The strength of the company’s GRESB assessment for real estate this year can be partially attributed to the following activities: reductions in use across all utilities (energy, water, waste) and greenhouse gas emissions ( GHG), increasing energy and GHG data coverage for industrial, commercial and residential portfolios, maintaining high green building certification rates and increasing the number of properties being tracked ENERGY STAR and an internal portfolio-level physical climate risk and resilience assessment.

Infrastructure assessment
Manulife Investment Management infrastructure funds were ranked among 149 funds totaling $ 343 billion assets under management. The strength of the company’s GRESB fund assessments for infrastructure can be attributed to the development and implementation of more robust ESG processes and tools, the assessment of ESG risks and opportunities during due diligence and post-review. investment, improving ESG reporting practices, and ensuring ESG’s continued accountability across the organization and infrastructure team members. Manulife Investment Management does not submit to the assessment of GRESB infrastructure assets for benchmarking performance at the asset level.

Manulife Investment Management the capacities of global private markets include real estate, infrastructure, forestry, agriculture, and private equity and credit totaling more than US $ 53 billion in assets under management. For more information on Manulife Investment Management private markets, please click here.

On Manulife Investment Management

Manulife Investment Management is the global wealth and asset management segment of Manulife Financial Corporation. We draw on more than a century of financial stewardship and all of our parent company’s resources to serve individuals, institutions and pension plan members around the world. Based at Toronto, our cutting-edge capacities in public and private markets are reinforced by an investment footprint that covers 18 geographic areas. We complement these capabilities by providing access to a network of unaffiliated asset managers from around the world. We are committed to investing responsibly in all of our activities. We develop innovative global frameworks for sustainable investing, collaborate with the companies in our securities portfolios and maintain a high level of stewardship where we own and operate assets, and we believe in supporting financial well-being through of our workplace pension plans. Today, plan sponsors around the world rely on our expertise in pension administration and investment to help their employees plan, save and experience better retirement.

From June 30, 2021, Manulife Investment Management assets under management and administration, including assets under management for other segments of Manulife, totaled Canadian dollars $ 1.0 trillion (WE $ 834 billion). Not all offers are available in all jurisdictions. For more information, please visit manulifeim.com.

About GRESB

GRESB is a mission-driven, industry-led organization that provides standardized and validated environmental, social and governance (ESG) data to financial markets. Created in 2009, GRESB has become the main ESG benchmark for real estate and infrastructure investments around the world, used by 140 institutional and financial investors to inform decision-making. For more information, visit GRESB.com

GRESB sector leaders are the best performers by sector and by region among GRESB assessments. The entity with the best score, as well as the entities with a score within 1 point of the best score in a category are recognized as Sector Leaders.

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