(LONDON) – The Hines Pan-European Core Fund (HECF) has achieved the highest possible rating of five Green stars out of five and was awarded Sector Leader within its European Diversified Office/Retail/Non-listed Core category in the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) for an unprecedented fourth year in a row.
GRESB, the leading Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) benchmark for real estate and infrastructure investments across the world, has named HECF one of the “best of the best” in sustainability leadership across the real estate sector.
The award demonstrates HECF’s ongoing commitment to having a positive societal impact in the communities it operates in and achieving the highest levels of sustainability across a wide range of areas, including energy performance, stakeholder engagement, building certificates, resilience, social risks and opportunities, water use and management.
GRESB recognized the impressive strides made by HECF, including 100% Sustainability Certificate coverage across the portfolio, as well as a 15.7% reduction in energy use and a 23.8% greenhouse gas reduction since 2016, for like-for-like assets. The Fund has also made sure that 90% of its buildings, where it has landlord control, have been transferred to 100% renewable energy sources.
HECF also ranked first in several categories, ranking first out of all global 412 GRESB participants which participated in the optional Resilience module, demonstrating the portfolio’s ability to future-proof the values of its assets over time. The Fund also ranked first in the Global diversified Office/Retail/Non-listed Core funds category.
The GRESB award follows HECF’s recognition in September as one of the top property funds in Europe by achieving the MSCI European Property Investment Award for the best performing pan-European balanced fund.
Daniel Chang, Managing Director at Hines Europe, said: “In a year where climate change and a global pandemic have more than ever tested life as we know it, Hines has understood the important role that our industry can play in creating a more sustainable future and is committed to delivering projects that enhance and support the communities in which we operate. Hines has a proud history of innovative and sustainable real estate investments and we’re very pleased that HECF has been acknowledged for the fourth consecutive year by GRESB for its sustainability leadership. At HECF, we seek to continuously raise the bar and improve our sustainability performance year-on-year.
Peter Epping, Fund Manager at HECF, said: “The Fund’s investment strategy has always been clear on the value of making responsible investments. We are continuously working to build on our sustainable management policies and innovative approach so that our investments are fit for the future. We’re particularly pleased to have received full marks in the resilience category of this year’s GRESB assessment, demonstrating the premium we place at HECF on future-proofing our investments.”
Sander paul van Tongeren, Managing Director at GRESB, said: “With accelerating sustainability risks, accessing standardized and reliable ESG data and benchmarks has never been more important to investors. It’s inspiring to witness the collective industry effort from around the world to improve ESG transparency and advance sustainable real assets. You are the leaders of this movement and it’s your commitment to ESG integration and reporting that is paving the way for a more sustainable real asset industry.”
About Hines
Hines is a privately owned global real estate investment firm founded in 1957 with a presence in 225 cities in 25 countries. Hines has approximately $144.1 billion of assets under management, including $75.5 billion for which Hines serves as investment manager, including non-real estate assets, and $68.6 billion for which Hines provides third-party property-level services. The firm has 165 developments currently underway around the world. Historically, Hines has developed, redeveloped or acquired 1,426 properties, totalling over 472 million square feet. The firm’s current property and asset management portfolio includes 576 properties, representing over 246 million square feet.
With extensive experience in investments across the risk spectrum and all property types, and a pioneering commitment to sustainability, Hines is one of the largest and most-respected real estate organizations in the world.
Since entering Europe in 1991, Hines has grown its European platform to include offices in 16 cities as well as a presence in 55 cities in 13 countries, with €22.7 billion of assets under management, including €19.8 billion for which Hines serves as an investment manager and €2.9 billion for which Hines provides third-party property-level services, in Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom.
Visit www.hines.com for more information.
About the Hines Pan-European Core Fund (HECF)
The Hines Pan-European Core Fund was set up in 2006 with the aim of providing investors with a resilient income profile derived from a diversified portfolio of high-quality assets located in inner-city locations across major European cities.
The Hines European Core has been awarded by MSCI as the strongest performing fund over the 3 years 2017-2019 among the European institutional balanced sector funds, with a total return of 8.45% p.a. during 2017-2019, 211 bps above the average return of the benchmark, making it one of the best performing core property funds in Europe.
As of Q2 2020 the HECF portfolio was 97.2% occupied with an aggregate value of c.€1.6bn. The portfolio of the Fund comprises 25 assets including forward commitments, invested in 15 city markets across eight different European countries.
