REITs go green with new property indexes

A joint venture between FTSE Group, NAREIT, and the U.S. Green Building Council has created the first investable green property indexes for both institutional and retail investors, Forbes reported. The collaborative effort involved global market leaders in U.S. real estate indexing, REIT market experts, and environmentally friendly builders.

The indexes, which are currently in their final stages of development, will give investors a structured way to measure the risks and rewards of investing in green property. The indexes will also help property investors introduce principles of sustainability into their portfolios.

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The green property indexes will be based on the analysis of more than 14,300 LEED and 18,400 Energy Star projects, with third-party certifications based on their energy consumption and sustainability.

“The new family of green property indexes will be based on the market’s leading benchmark for U.S. real estate, the FTSE NAREIT Index Series, using green data (LEED & Energy Star ratings) from USGBC. The USGBC is a leading non-profit organization known for its development of LEED, a global green building program, and its large diverse community,” the collaborative group said in a statement. [Forbes]Christopher Cameron