Pick up the pace,
demonstrate your credentials

Developing a robust framework for data collection early will make a good start for regular and consistent reporting.

Why housing providers
issue sustainability reports 

Sustainability Reporting will become mandatory for medium and large housing companies driven by the imminent EU-taxonomy (and in the UK with the Green-taxonomy). In advance of mandatory reporting, housing providers are increasingly issuing a sustainability report to demonstrate their credentials. Currently, the main large housing providers, usually the ones with an extended and diversified lender base, publish a sustainability report, applying either reporting frameworks (e.g., GRI) or national standards (e.g., DNK in Germany, SRS in the UK).

These frameworks are likely to be modified to reflect mandatory reporting required by the EU through the EU-taxonomy (the Green-taxonomy in the UK). Recently, not only lenders, but also governments, regulators and other stakeholders want to engage with housing providers that illustrate their sustainability credentials. So, it is likely that we will see an expansion of sustainable reporting in medium sized housing providers.

Good sustainability reporting depends on the quality of the available environmental and social data. Developing a robust framework for data collection will guarantee transparent and consistent reporting. In this way, a housing provider will gain credibility in its corporate sustainability performance and enhance the trust of both existing and new ESG investors and other stakeholders (tenants, cities, etc.)

Good sustainability reporting depends on the quality of the available environmental and social data. 

Core Elements of Sustainable Reporting

Housing providers demonstrating their sustainability credentials in a transparent way apply environmental and social key performance indicators (KPI) derived from their corporate sustainability strategy. Compiling a sustainability report comes with some challenges:

1

Defining and prioritising the relevant material topics

2

Defining the relevant KPI set in compliance with widely acknowledged standards (e.g., GRI)

3

Gathering data for the defined KPI set with respect to common standards (for example GHG Protocol to measure CO2-Emmissions) and developing a sustainability database

4

Defining suitable benchmarks for each KPI to compare amongst peers in the housing sector

Sustainability Reporting as a Service

RITTERWALD, with its strong European sustainability expertise, can help housing providers sketching their first sustainability report or improve their existing structure and ensure it aligns both with the corporate sustainability strategy and regulatory requirements: 

Standardise and/or optimise data gathering and assessment for a reliable reporting process

Analysis of sustainability report evaluated against existing and forthcoming requirements

Contacts

Ad Hereijgers
Amsterdam
Austen Reid
London
Lutz Rittig
Frankfurt
Mathias Hain
Berlin
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