January 27, 2021

Our vision is to drive leadership in sustainable real estate across our global organization. Our employees, in collaboration with our tenants and local communities, work to provide healthy and efficient properties—today and into the future.

We incorporate ESG considerations into each stage of the real estate value chain, from the development or acquisition of a building, through to property management and leasing. To ensure that we are accountable to all stakeholders, we report on our performance using globally accepted standards, including the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), CDP (formerly Carbon Disclosure Project), and the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) Assessment.

In 2020, Manulife Investment Management submitted its global real estate portfolio for GRESB assessment and received a rating of 5 stars, ranking it in the top quintile of GRESB participants and second amongst our peers. In addition, all submissions received a Green Star Ranking.

This year, we also submitted for the GRESB Resilience module to assess our capacity to identify, manage, and adapt in the face of physical climate shocks and stressors. We received a Resilience Score of 86 out of 100, placing us third amongst our peers and well above the peer group average of 62.

“We are pleased with our 2020 GRESB results; however, we know that there is much more to do,” said Regan Smith, Head of Real Estate Sustainability, Manulife Investment Management. “Within Real Estate, we focus on driving leadership in sustainability, but with the onset of COVID-19, the importance of these efforts has shifted to the forefront. Now more than ever, we are focused on building a resilient portfolio that reduces our global carbon emissions, while continuing to support the health and wellness of our communities.”

Each year, GRESB assesses and benchmarks the ESG performance of real assets worldwide covering more than 96,000 assets across 64 countries. In 2020, more than 1,200 property companies, real estate investment trusts (REITs), funds, and developers participated in their Real Estate Assessment, representing USD 4.8 trillion in assets under management. GRESB is the leading global sustainability benchmarking organization and uses consistent methodology to compare performance across different regions, investment vehicles, and property types. For details on the GRESB methodology, click here. 

For further information about GRESB, visit their website.