News Articles relating to ESG & Social Impact

The FCA have published guidance on their anti-greenwashing rule. More details can be found here.

Find out more here about the FCA's Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR) and investment labels regime.

Find out more about the policy work being undertaken by governments, regulators and standard setting bodies in relation to sustainable finance and climate-related disclosures.

The Transition Plan Taskforce are producing guidance for preparers and users of climate transition plans, including Asset Managers and Asset Owners. More details can be found here.

AREF has responded to the consultation from the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision on the Disclosure of climate-related financial risks

Click to view details of a number of initiatives that the Committee is working on to support members in the ESG and Impact Investing arena.

AREF member funds outperformed the UK GRESB benchmark in 2023 by 3 percentage points with a score of 76%.

The proposals within the paper on ESG Metrics for Real Estate have been updated in January 2024.

The European Commission (EC) published public and targeted consultations on the implementation of SFDR. AREF responded to the targeted consultation. Also, the ESAs have published their Final Report on draft RTS on the review of PAI and financial product disclosures in the SFDR Delegated Regulation. In October 2023, AREF held a webinar and produced guidance advice on the SFDR process for real estate funds. More details can be found here.

In December 2023, ICMA and IRSG launched their voluntary Code of Conduct for ESG Ratings and Data Products Providers. More details can be found here about the work by regulators and governments on ensuring good governance by ESG ratings and data products providers.

This new report considers common approaches to sustainability and environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks in real estate valuations for commercial lending.

View the IA's Path to Net Zero Bulletin

The FCA have published a discussion paper on firms' sustainability-related governance, incentives, and competencies. Please see here AREF's near final response.

This report discusses some common sustainability features in UK commercial property and how they relate to property value.

In March 2023, PCAF, CRREM, and GRESB released technical guidance for "Accounting and Reporting of GHG Emissions from Real Estate Operations"

This year we have been supporting The Academy of Real Assets. The Academy is a membership organisation that helps its members execute their “S” strategy.

AREF Managing Director Paul Richards joined a panel of experts to discuss the challenges of reducing carbon emissions in property portfolios.

In June 2022 the Government Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) published the response to its consultation on Climate and Investment reporting: setting expectations and empowering savers. Click for more details.

Watch the recording from this event.

Today the RICS have launched their UK Commercial Real Estate Impact Report. We would encourage everyone to take a look at this report, which highlights the socio-economic value of UK commercial property alongside the challenges and solutions.

Oliver Light and Melville Rodrigues ask: How should the real estate industry help develop the ‘right’ climate-related metrics for under the TCFD guidelines?

MSCI has developed a tool that assesses the costs faced by RE portfolios generated by climate change. This one-off analysis will be done free of charge for all funds contributing their climate data to MSCI.

View AREF's draft response to FCA CP21/17 Enhancing climate-related disclosures by asset managers, life insurers, and FCA-regulated pension providers.