- Following the release of Morningstar Sustainalytics’ Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) Risk Ratings report, Equites Property Fund Limited today announced that it has received an ESG risk rating of 8.0, which places the organisation in the “Negligible Risk” category, the best achievable tier.
- The risk rating score reflects the level of unmanaged risk for a company, with a lower score indicating that ESG issues are less likely to have an impact on the company’s economic value.
Morningstar Sustainalytics’ data reveals that the REIT has continued to improve its rating, achieving its lowest score to date, in its 5th year of assessment, and showing a 54% improvement in its overall ESG risk rating since its first evaluation.
In comparison to all companies rated across industries globally, Equites is positioned 135th out of 15 061, placing it in the top 2nd percentile of those companies. Looking more specifically to the global real estate industry, the REIT places 38th out of 1 008, with a favourable risk rating compared to 95% of other real estate organisations rated by Morningstar Sustainalytics. In the REIT sub-industry, Equites now ranks 24th out of 427, better than 94% of other evaluated REITs.
Additionally, its management of ESG risk falls within the best possible categorisation as “Strong”. This defines how well theREIT is managing material ESG issues by assessing the robustness of the organisation’s ESG programmes, practices and policies.
Morningstar Sustainalytics’ comprehensive evaluation examines the material ESG issues applicable to the organisation. These include its business ethics and practices; the integration of ESG criteria in its financial and real estate decision-making; and product governance, which involves risk mitigation through the entire property lifecycle.
“We are pleased that Equites has achieved the Morningstar Sustainalytics ESG Top-Rated Companies List accolade for 2024, for both the Regional and Industry categories. The most recent rating points to our continued commitment to sustainability and our alignment with global best practice,” shares Irshaad Wadvalla, ESG Officer at Equites.
Additional insights can be obtained in Equites’ 2024 Sustainability Report.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
