Oceania tops global GRESB rankings for sustainable real estate

The 2025 GRESB benchmark results reaffirm Oceania’s position as the world’s leading region for sustainable real estate, with the region achieving the highest global scores across both the Standing Investments and Development benchmarks.

Oceania, which includes Australia, New Zealand and neighbouring Pacific nations achieved an average score of 83.3 for standing investments (up 3.3%) and 93.9 for developments (up 0.6%), well above the global averages of 78.9 and 87.9 respectively. The results reflect the region’s maturity in sustainability performance, transparency, and investor alignment.

The GRESB Real Estate Benchmark, which assesses the environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance of real assets worldwide, recorded strong participation in 2025 with 1,002 fund managers submitting 2,382 assessments globally, including 132 participants from Oceania, of which 123 are based in Australia.

The region’s strength was underpinned by high data quality and a growing commitment to climate action, with over 90% of Oceania participants now adopting net zero policies and 85% setting net zero targets. The region also outperformed global averages in biodiversity and resource efficiency.

“Australia’s property sector continues to set the pace globally,” said Green Building Council of Australia Chief Executive Officer, Davina Rooney.

“With over 90% of entities adopting net zero policies and the strongest data coverage globally, these results show that transparency and performance are driving long-term value in our market. Frameworks like Green Star and GRESB are helping our industry lead the world in delivering measurable sustainability outcomes.”

Oceania’s 2025 highlights include:

• Standing Investments average score: 83.3 (+3.3%)
• Development average score: 93.9 (+0.6%)
• Net-zero policies: 90.9% (global 81.5%)
• Net-zero targets: 84.85% (global 66.4%)
• Energy data coverage: 87.8% | GHG: 86.7% | Water: 95.2% | Waste: 65.6%
• Biodiversity strategies: 71.2% of entities (global 56.4%)

Property Council of Australia Chief Executive, Mike Zorbas, said the results demonstrate Australian property leaders remain successfully committed to world-class ESG performance despite changing market conditions.

“These results reflect the enduring strength of ESG commitment across Australia’s real estate sector,” Mr Zorbas said.

“Australian investors and developers continue to prove that sustainability and performance go hand in hand. The GRESB results reinforce that our market is well positioned to meet the expectations of global capital and the need to decarbonise our economy.”

The 2025 results also highlight the next frontiers for global sustainability leadership, with new metrics tracking embodied carbon, biodiversity and circularity. Oceania’s continued dominance shows that Australian companies are not only maintaining leadership but shaping the next phase of sustainable investment.

The GRESB Regional Insights event will be held in Sydney on 6 November 2025, bringing together leading investors, developers and sustainability professionals to explore the data behind the benchmark and discuss strategies for the year ahead.