BentallGreenOak Achieves New High Mark for Exceptional Performance in the 2021 Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB), Marking 11 Consecutive Years of Excellence and Industry Leadership in ESG

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- BentallGreenOak (BGO) announced today that, in a consecutive run of industry leadership now marking 11 years, its global real estate investment platform has achieved a new high mark for exceptional performance in the annual Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB). Four of BGO’s flagship investment strategies, already amongst the best performing funds in their global categories, achieved five star ratings and higher scores in 2021, reinforcing a firm-wide commitment to enhanced, year-over-year performance in ESG across its platform. For the first time in BGO’s 11 years of GRESB participation, all BGO funds participating in the Development module — which measures an entity’s efforts to address ESG issues during a building’s design, construction and renovation phases — ranked first in their peer group, achieving Sector Leader status.

Highlights from BentallGreenOak’s 2021 GRESB scores:

• All BGO Funds scored 100% on the Management component of GRESB, demonstrating leadership in firm-level ESG policies and programs.
• BGO Diversified, Prime Canadian Property Fund and the Sun Life General Account scored 100% on all Social & Governance indicators.
• BGO Diversified US Property Fund achieved a 5-star rating with a score of 90/100, and ranked first and named Sector Leader in Developments.
• WELPUT achieved a 5-star rating with a score of 90/100.
• Prime Canadian Property Fund achieved a 5-star rating with a score of 89/100, and ranked first and named Sector Leader in Developments.
• The Sun Life General Account achieved a 5-star rating with a score of 89/100, and ranked first and named Sector Leader in Developments.

“The pursuit of excellence in ESG is a firm-wide, collective effort and defining characteristic of the culture at BentallGreenOak, and every year the bar is set higher for us to showcase what is truly possible for impact and sustainable investing in the commercial real estate industry,” said Anna Murray, Managing Director and Global Head of ESG, BentallGreenOak. “A cross-functional array of teams at BGO dig deep into each and every asset to realize new benchmarks for efficiency, sustainability performance, climate resiliency and a reduced environmental footprint that demonstrate how excellence in ESG is part of the enduring and differentiated value that we offer our investor clients, tenants and broader stakeholders.”

"BentallGreenOak's decade of sustained ESG success includes repeat GRESB Sector Leader awards and multiple GRESB 5-Star rankings," said Dan Winters, GRESB Head of Americas. "Each successive year BentallGreenOak raises the bar, driving the institutional real estate industry in a competitive race to the top."

“The increased focus on ESG from the commercial real estate investment industry is ushering in a new era where intensifying investor expectations, evolving public sentiment and tangible improvements from asset managers are unstoppable forces that must confront the challenge of climate change that we are experiencing today and will continue to experience in the decades ahead,” said Sonny Kalsi, Co-CEO, BentallGreenOak. “We celebrate our progress at BGO and our 11^th consecutive year of out-performance in the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB), and we know that the work is not done. We have set our unwavering intention as a firm to continue to lead the industry and strive for new high marks for sustainability in the built environment.”

In 2021, more than 1,520 property companies, real estate investment trusts (REITs), funds and developers participated in GRESB’s Real Estate Assessment, representing USD 5.7 trillion AUM. The Assessment covers nearly 117,000 assets across 64 countries.

About BentallGreenOak

BentallGreenOak is a leading, global real estate investment management advisor and a globally-recognized provider of real estate services. BentallGreenOak serves the interests of more than 750 institutional clients with approximately $69 billion USD of assets under management (as of June 30, 2021) and expertise in the asset management of office, industrial, multi-residential, retail and hospitality property across the globe. BentallGreenOak has offices in 24 cities across twelve countries with deep, local knowledge, experience, and extensive networks in the regions where we invest in and manage real estate assets on behalf of our clients in primary, secondary and co-investment markets.

BentallGreenOak is a part of SLC Management, which is the alternatives asset management business of Sun Life.

The assets under management shown above includes real estate equity and mortgage investments managed by the BentallGreenOak group of companies and their affiliates, and as of 1Q21, includes certain uncalled capital commitments for discretionary capital until they are legally expired and excludes certain uncalled capital commitments where the investor has complete discretion over investment.

For more information, please visit www.bentallgreenoak.com.

About GRESB

GRESB is a mission-driven and industry-led organization providing standardized and validated Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) data to financial markets. Established in 2009, GRESB has become the leading ESG benchmark for real estate and infrastructure investments across the world, used by 140 institutional and financial investors to inform decision-making.

For more information, visit www.GRESB.com.

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