LaSalle Achieves Strong Results in 2018 GRESB and UN ‘Principles for Responsible Investment’ Assessment; Joins Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosure

22 September 2018
LaSalle Achieves Strong Results in 2018 GRESB and UN ‘Principles for Responsible Investment’ Assessment; Joins Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosure

LaSalle Achieves Strong Results in 2018 GRESB and UN ‘Principles for Responsible Investment’ Assessment; Joins Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosure

22 September 2018

CHICAGO, LONDON AND SINGAPORE (September 20, 2018) — LaSalle Investment Management (“LaSalle”) is pleased to announce it has earned high marks across two industry-recognized global environmental, social and governance (ESG) benchmarks for asset managers, and has joined the United Nations Environmental Programme – Finance Initiative’s Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) Investor Pilot, an advocacy group aimed at promoting climate-related financial risk disclosures for use by companies in providing information to investors, lenders, insurers and other stakeholders.

Within the 2018 Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB), 12 of the firm’s commingled funds and three separate account mandates across Asia, Europe and the U.S. have been recognized for environmental sustainability. Across these 15 submissions, the firm achieved eight 4-Star GRESB Ratings and seven 3-Star GRESB Ratings; each of the company’s eligible real estate private equity submissions earned the Green Star designation, a significant achievement that demonstrates the progress LaSalle has made in its ESG programs. In order to achieve a Green Star, a GRESB Assessment participant must meet score thresholds in both Management & Policy as well as Implementation & Measurement categories. With these results, LaSalle is seeing significant year-over-year improvements in both segments relative to 2017 results.

LaSalle commingled funds recognized within the 2018 GRESB include:


Two of LaSalle’s separate accounts based in France and a U.S.-managed separate account mandate were also recognized by GRESB for their performance in these areas.

LaSalle also achieved favorable results from its 2018 United Nations ‘Principles for Responsible Investment’ (UN PRI) Assessment Report, maintaining the strong relative performance since becoming an official signatory of the program in 2009. The UN PRI Assessment Report is a key global benchmark that assesses asset managers' ESG integration into decision making and ownership practices. The assessment reviewed over 1,000 participants, including all major global asset managers who complete a Strategy & Governance module and modules specific to their sector.

LaSalle UN PRI Assessment Report results (compared to median real estate industry score):

  • Strategy & Governance: A+ (median: A)
  • Listed Equity – Incorporation: A (median: B)
  • Listed Equity – Active Ownership: B (median: B)
  • Property: A (median: B)

Eric Duchon, Global Head of Sustainability at LaSalle commented: “As a firm, we have placed a high priority on continued integration of ESG practices and measures across our global business functions, including asset management, due diligence and acquisitions, which have helped make our portfolio more environmentally-friendly and resilient. It is incredibly gratifying to see those efforts pay off in our outstanding GRESB and UN PRI achievements, and we remain committed to implementing sustainable best practices while continuing to deliver superior investment performance for our clients. We look forward to playing an active role in the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosure Investor Pilot, as a means to elevate transparency and help develop the tools and indicators required to assess exposures to the risk and opportunities presented by climate change.

These recent achievements add to LaSalle’s track record of ESG best practices and distinctions. Clients and industry organizations continue to recognize LaSalle for ESG leadership and maintaining its distinction as an employer of choice. LaSalle has received the following U.S. and global awards in the last year:


About GRESB
GRESB is an industry-driven organization transforming the way capital markets assess the environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance of real asset investments. More than 900 property companies and funds, jointly representing more than USD 3.6 trillion in assets under management, participated in the 2018 GRESB Real Estate Assessment. The Infrastructure Assessment covered 75 funds and 280 assets, and 25 portfolios complete the Debt Assessment. GRESB data and analytical tools are used by more than 75 institutional and retail investors, including pension funds and insurance companies, collectively representing over USD 18 trillion in institutional capital, to engage with investment managers to enhance and protect shareholder value. Greater transparency on ESG issues has become the norm, with GRESB widely recognized as the global ESG benchmark for real assets. For more information about GRESB and its ESG benchmarking and reporting for real estate, please visit https://gresb.com/gresb-real-estate-assessment/.

About the PRI
The PRI is the world’s leading proponent of responsible investment. It works to understand the investment implications of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors and to support its international network of investor signatories in incorporating these factors into their investment and ownership decisions. The PRI acts in the long-term interests of its signatories, of the financial markets and economies in which they operate and ultimately of the environment and society as a whole. The PRI encourages investors to use responsible investment to enhance returns and better manage risks, but does not operate for its own profit; it engages with global policymakers but is not associated with any government; it is supported by, but not part of, the United Nations. For more information about UN PRI and its ESG benchmarking and reporting for real estate, please visit https://www.unpri.org/.

About the TCFD Investors Pilot
The UN Environmental Programme Finance Initiative’s TCFD Investors Pilot group will focus on developing the analytical tools and indicators required to assess and disclose their exposures to the risks and opportunities presented by climate change. LaSalle is proud to be among the first PRI Signatories to pioneer this work to implement the TCFD recommendations. To learn more about LaSalle’s involvement in this pilot group, visit https://www.fsb-tcfd.org/.

About LaSalle Investment Management 

LaSalle Investment Management, Inc. (together with its global investment advisory affiliates, “LaSalle”) is one of the world’s leading real estate investment managers. LaSalle on a global basis manages approximately $59.5 billion as of Q2 2018 of private and public equity and private debt investments. LaSalle’s diverse client base includes public and private pension funds, insurance companies, governments, corporations, endowments and private individuals from across the globe. LaSalle sponsors a complete range of investment vehicles including separate accounts, open- and closed-end funds, public securities and entity-level investments. LaSalle Investment Management, Inc. is a wholly-owned, operationally independent subsidiary of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (NYSE: JLL), one of the world’s largest real estate companies. For more information please visit www.lasalle.com. 

This information is based on the market analysis and expectations of LaSalle and should not be relied upon by the reader as research or investment advice regarding LaSalle funds or any issuer or security in particular. The information presented herein is for illustrative and educational purposes and is not a recommendation, offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities or to adopt any investment strategy in any jurisdiction where prohibited by law or where contrary to local law or regulation. Any such offer to invest, if made, will only be made by means of a private placement memorandum. Past performance is not indicative of future results.