2020 GRESB Blog
CommonWealth Partners
Recognized by GRESB for its Leadership in Sustainability
The distinguished recognition of an Office Americas Regional Sector Leader and Regional Non-listed Sector Leader was awarded to CommonWealth Partners (CWP) in 2020 for their exceptional performance on their seventh submission to the GRESB Real Estate Assessment in 2020, where they ranked 1st in the U.S. Office Corporate High-Rise category, received a GRESB 5 Star Rating and earned 1st in Resilience in their peer group. This achievement follows CWP’s 2019 recognition as Northern America Regional Sector Leader and 1st in the U.S. Office Regional Non-listed peer group.
“It is an honor to be recognized again this year for the progress and accomplishments made through our sustainability programs at CommonWealth Partners”
- Jessica Loeper Director of Sustainability for CommonWealth Partners and Vice President of Verdani Partners
“Since 2013, we have been working tirelessly alongside our dedicated property managers, engineers, and tenants to advance our environmental performance, stakeholder engagement and governance practices for a comprehensive ESG program. Our Class-A office portfolio remains committed to sustainable operations and high-performance buildings, and we are excited to be recognized for our achievements. It is a tremendous honor to rank #1 again this year and to be recognized as an Office Americas Regional Sector Leader.”
Key recent accomplishments include:
Industry Awards & Recognition
2019 USGBC Award for Leadership in ESG
2018, 2019 and 2020 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year
2019 LADWP Award for Energy Management Sustainability
2019 was our 6th consecutive year reporting to GRESB
2019 was our 6th consecutive year reporting to the Climate Disclosure Project (CDP)
Public Commitments, Goals & Targets
Science Based Targets (SBTs) approved in 2019
Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs) since 2018
The Better Building Challenge Energy, Water and Waste Commitments since 2016
Green Building Certifications
100% of portfolio is LEED certified
63% Platinum and 37% Gold certifications
61% of portfolio earned Fitwel certification for building health
44% of portfolio ENERGY STAR Labeled
Environmental Performance - Energy, Water, Waste and Emissions
63% of electricity consumed in 2019 came from renewable energy sources
14.9% reduction in energy use intensity in 2019 from 2013 baseline
54.01% of waste was diverted from landfill in 2019
40.17%CO2 emissions were reduced in 2019 from 2013 baseline
Charitable Giving
34 organizations across the U.S. received charitable donations from CWP
The GRESB Sector Leader Awards Program recognizes real estate and infrastructure companies, funds and assets that have demonstrated outstanding leadership in sustainability. Sander Paul van Tongeren, the Managing Director at GRESB reflects, "We are proud to recognize the 2020 Sector Leaders for their clear commitment and meaningful action to improve their ESG performance. Your efforts continue to shape the future of sustainability leadership and play a critical role in accelerating the transition towards sustainable real assets.”
Each year GRESB assesses and benchmarks the ESG performance of real assets worldwide. The 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, goals and emerging regulations.
The 2020 ESG benchmark covers more than US $5.3 trillion AuM (2019: 4.5 trillion), giving clarity and direction to the real asset investment market as a means to address complex sustainability challenges. GRESB data is used by hundreds of capital providers and thousands of asset managers to benchmark investments across portfolios and understand the opportunities, risks and choices that need to be made as the industry transitions to a more sustainable future.
The strong foundation that CommonWealth Partners has established will continue to serve them well as they work to advance sustainability for the common good as they strengthen business relationships, improve the health and well-being and productivity of building occupants and mitigate negative impacts on the natural environment.
Learn more about CommonWealth Partners’ sustainability program in their 2019 ESG Report.
Read more about Verdani’s client performance in our 2020 GRESB Results Press Release.
About CommonWealth Partners
CommonWealth Partners, LLC is a vertically integrated, privately owned real estate investment, development and management organization. They are headquartered in Los Angeles with assets located throughout the United States, including New York, Washington DC, Seattle, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, San Diego, Los Angeles, and most recently Boston. They offer a wide array of services including investment and capital market transactions, portfolio management, asset management, property management, marketing, leasing, development, and reporting with a sharp focus on tenants and investors. Since establishing their partnership with CalPERS in 1998, together they have owned and managed more than 45 assets located in over 20 markets across the United States. In addition to high class assets, CommonWealth Partners provides tenants and financial partners with the unmatched levels of capability, experience and service. Learn more about CommonWealth Partner’s sustainability program.
About Verdani
Verdani Partners is a leading sustainability consulting firm managing ESG programs for 10 national and international real estate firms with over 4,000 properties managed across 720 Million SF of diversified real estate portfolios, representing over $350 Billion AUM. Verdani empowers organizations with cost-effective strategies and ongoing programs to create sustainable and resilient buildings and communities.
Verdani’s corporate sustainability, green building certifications, technical services, communications department and educational programs bring an impressive breadth of expertise to each portfolio and project. Verdani’s clients leverage the team of professionals, state-of-the-art tool and resources, and industry connections to advance their portfolios, minimize risk and create long-term value. The certification experts at Verdani manage a wide range of certification systems for clients such as Fitwel, LEED, ENERGY STAR, USGBC’s ARC Platform, WELL, Green Globes, BREEAM, IREM, and more. Verdani is also a GRESB Premier Partner and member of the GRESB Benchmarking Committee. They manage GRESB reporting and creates annual sustainability reports for some of the nation’s top real estate firms. For more information, visit www.verdani.com.
About GRESB
GRESB is a mission-driven and investor-led organization providing standardized and validated Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) data to the capital markets. Established in 2009, GRESB has become the leading ESG benchmark for real estate and infrastructure investments across the world. In 2020 alone, more than 1,200 real estate portfolios reported to GRESB covering more than 96,000 assets. Our coverage for infrastructure includes more than 540 infrastructure portfolios and assets. Combined, the reported assets represent US $5.3 trillion AUM. The data is used by more than 100 institutional and financial investors to monitor investments across portfolios and navigate the strategic choices needed for the industry to transition to a more sustainable future.
Learn more at GRESB.com.