SATO keeps its four-star rating in Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) assessment


SATO Corporation, Press Release 17th September at 11

The rental housing provider SATO participated for the fifth time in the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) assessment providing an internationally comparable score. SATO kept its four stars on a scale of one to five in the GRESB assessment. In its peer group, Northern European housing investment companies, SATO was ranked higher than the average score.

SATO’s long term sustainability efforts could be seen in almost all of the aspects of the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) assessment, in which SATO participated for the fifth time this year. SATO kept its four stars and improved its overall GRESB score by three points.

”In 2018, SATO focused especially on the development of the sustainability strategy. This also turned out to be SATO’s strength in the Northern European benchmarking group. SATO’s strengths also included energy efficiency measures and comprehensive monitoring as well as transparency in policy and disclosure,” says Miia Eloranta, Director of Marketing and Communications, from SATO. “The GRESB assessment provides us with important tools for maintaining and developing a sustainable approach.”

An area in need of development for SATO brought up by GRESB is the lack of environmental certificates for properties. So far, certificates have been utilised mainly in the construction of new business premises and shopping centres and they are not widely used for residential buildings in Finland.

GRESB harmonises reporting in the sector

The Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) assesses the sustainability performance of real estate portfolios. The GRESB assessments have introduced a uniform and comparable reporting model for the real estate sector that increases and supports investment decisions. The aspects measured are Management, Policy & Disclosure, Risks & Opportunities, Monitoring & EMS, Performance Indicators, Building Certifications, and Stakeholder Engagement.

GRESB has been conducting an international benchmark since 2009, and the results of the participating enterprises form a comparative matrix. In 2019, a total of 964 enterprises from 65 countries took part in the assessment.

For more information please contact:

SATO Corporation
Miia Eloranta, Director, Marketing and Communications, phone: +358 50 441 4221

www.sato.fi/en

SATO is one of Finland's leading rental housing providers. SATO aims to offer a comprehensive choice of rental housing and an excellent customer experience. At year-end 2018 SATO owned around 25,900 apartments in Finland's largest growth centres and in St. Petersburg.

We promote sustainable development and initiative through our operations and work in open interaction with our stakeholders to generate added value. We operate profitably and with a long-term view. We increase the value of our housing stock through investments, divestments and repairs.

The SATO Group's net sales in 2018 were EUR 290 million, operating profit EUR 273 million and profit before taxes EUR 231 million. The value of SATO's investment properties was roughly EUR 3.9 billion.