Throughout 2021, the NCREIF PREA Reporting Standards volunteers, including investors, investment managers, consultants, and various industry experts, have been working towards the development of ESG reporting guidance for private real estate. The mission of this initiative is to facilitate the establishment, management, and promotion of transparent and consistent reporting best practices in order to incorporate ESG as part of global investment decision-making.  More information can be found within the project prospectus available on the Reporting Standards website.

After obtaining feedback from standing NCREIF and PREA committees and approval from the Reporting Standards Board, the Reporting Standards is pleased to announce the release of the ESG Principles of Reporting for Private Real Estate.

These Principles should be considered best practices surrounding reporting of ESG for private real estate and are not meant to be prescriptive on how they are used and implemented nor are they required for compliance with the Reporting Standards. Implementing a new reporting framework is a challenging task. We encourage you to use the members of this initiative as a resource as several have created ESG reporting frameworks within their respective organizations in the past. Members are listed within the project prospectus.Furthermore, we encourage investors to use these Principles as a starting point to engage with key stakeholders on the topic of ESG.

In the coming months, the members of this project will work on the development of an accompanying excel template which will include examples of ESG (including DEI) key performance indicators (“KPIs”) that can be used alongside these Principles. Furthermore, it is envisioned that additional materials (e.g., an ESG Best Practices Manual) to facilitate implementation of the Principles will be developed. We view this initiative as an ongoing mission, and as ESG continues to evolve over time, we will monitor and expand our ESG coverage to include new and updated resources as they become available.

For any comments or questions on the Principles or if you are interested in joining this initiative, please contact Marybeth Kronenwetter, Director, Reporting Standards.