McKay Securities PLC, the only UK REIT specialising exclusively in the London and South East office and industrial markets, has achieved Green Star status for the third year running in the international Global Real Estate Benchmark Survey (GRESB), rating it amongst the most sustainable companies in the commercial property sector. In doing so, McKay achieved its highest ever GRESB rating having actively made Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) measures a core component of the Group's business strategy. GRESB is the Global ESG Benchmark for Real Assets and McKay has entered its fifth successive year of participating in the scheme.
McKay's leadership team have ensured that ESG is fully integrated throughout the business' activities with its in-house development and asset management teams well placed to ensure this is delivered across the Group's portfolio of industrial and office assets.
GRESB is the property market's recognised sustainability benchmark within the investor community; the higher GRESB ratings are only awarded to real estate companies which can demonstrate that strong sustainability governance, the implementation of relevant measures across all key activities and the measurement of performance over time are integral parts of their business.
Simon Perkins, Chief Executive of McKay, said:
“Everyone within McKay has put in the hard yards to achieve our best GRESB rating yet. Having gained the Green Star status for the third year running and risen to a 3-star GRESB rating, this is a highly satisfactory result. It recognises our consistent performance on sustainability across the portfolio and reflects the significant progress made since the introduction of ESG into our strategy in 2013 and our commitment to elevating its place within our business. Our efforts don't stop here and we will continue to seek further improvements over the coming 12 months.”
Beth Ambrose, Director, Upstream Sustainability Services, JLL, who advises McKay, added:
“We are pleased to see McKay exhibit such a strong improvement in performance in the 2018 GRESB Real Estate Assessment. This achievement is one of the outcomes of a 5-year sustainability journey, which reflects the major steps taken by McKay in its approach to creating and managing sustainable buildings. One of the crucial elements of its success has been its positive engagement with its tenants, suppliers and employees on sustainability. We're proud to have supported McKay in the development and implementation of its sustainability strategy, and extend our congratulations on this excellent result.”