BENGALURU, India--(BUSINESS WIRE)--#ESGbenchmark--Embassy Office Parks REIT (NSE: EMBASSY / BSE: 542602) (�Embassy REIT�), India�s first listed REIT and the largest office REIT in Asia by area, is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a 4-star (out of 5 stars) rating in the 2021 Real Estate Assessment by GRESB, the leading global ESG benchmark for real estate and infrastructure investments.
In its first year of participation, Embassy REIT achieved a �Green Star� status and an overall score of 80% for its Standing Investments, placing it 7 percentage points above the average. Embassy REIT stood out in particular on the �Governance� pillar with a score of 19/20, surpassing the peer average, reflecting the best-in-class framework and strong corporate governance standards adopted and followed by the REIT. Embassy REIT also achieved high scores for the �Environmental� (47/62) and �Social� (14/18) pillars, taking into account the high proportion of electricity from renewable sources and the strong stakeholder programmes in areas of health, education and public infrastructure which have been running for a number of years.
Michael Holland, Chief Executive Officer, Embassy REIT, said,
�We are extremely proud to be awarded a GRESB 4-star rating in our first year of participation in this prestigious global benchmark assessment. Our ESG initiatives comprising 19 distinct programmes around the pillars of Responsible Business, Resilient Planet and Revitalised Communities have always been a significant part of our business philosophy and our multi-year ESG action plan is already underway. We will continue to strengthen our efforts by scaling up our ongoing ESG programs and commitments. The rating also reflects the transparent reporting of our ESG performance to our rapidly growing investor base.�
About Embassy REIT
Embassy REIT is India�s first publicly listed Real Estate Investment Trust. Embassy REIT owns and operates a 42.4 million square feet (�msf�) portfolio of eight infrastructure-like office parks and four city?centre office buildings in India�s best-performing office markets of Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, and the National Capital Region (�NCR�). Embassy REIT�s portfolio comprises 32.3 msf completed operating area and is home to 190 of the world�s leading companies. The portfolio also comprises strategic amenities, including two operational business hotels, four under?construction hotels, and a 100MW solar park supplying renewable energy to tenants.
About GRESB
GRESB is a mission-driven and industry-led organization that provides actionable and transparent environmental, social and governance (ESG) data to financial markets. Created in 2009, GRESB assessments are guided by what investors and the industry consider to be material issues in the sustainability performance of real asset investments and are aligned with international reporting frameworks.
A member-based organization, GRESB is trusted by 140 institutional investors and more than 2,200 fund managers, companies and asset operators to improve decision-making. In 2021, more than 1,500 property companies, REITs, funds and developers participated in the Real Estate Assessment, representing $5.7 trillion in assets under management. The Assessment covers nearly 117,000 assets across 66 countries. For more details, refer www.GRESB.com.
Disclaimer
This press release is prepared for general information purposes only. The information contained herein is based on management information and estimates. It is only current as of its date, has not been independently verified and may be subject to change without notice. Embassy Office Parks Management Services Private Limited (�the Manager�) in its capacity as the Manager of Embassy REIT, and Embassy REIT make no representation or warranty, express or implied, as to, and do not accept any responsibility or liability with respect to, the fairness and completeness of the content hereof. Each recipient will be solely responsible for its own investigation, assessment and analysis of the market and the market position of Embassy REIT. Embassy REIT does not provide any guarantee or assurance with respect to any distribution or the trading price of its units.
This press release contains forward-looking statements based on the currently held beliefs, opinions and assumptions of the Manager. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, financial condition, performance, or achievements of Embassy REIT or industry results, to differ materially from the results, financial condition, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Given these risks, uncertainties and other factors, including the impact of COVID-19 on us, our occupiers and the Indian and global economies, recipients of this press release are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The Manager disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect future events or developments or the impact of events which cannot currently be ascertained, such as COVID-19. In addition to statements which are forward looking by reason of context, the words �may�, �will�, �should�, �expects�, �plans�, �intends�, �anticipates�, �believes�, �estimates�, �predicts�, �potential� or �continue� and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements.
Contacts
For more information please contact:
Abhishek Agarwal
Head of Investor Relations and Communications
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +91 80 4722 2222
Sowmya Shenoy
Media Relations
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +91 9663699991