PRESS scores: an essential tool in sustainable finance

PRESS scores provide a transparent assessment of the sustainability performance of Swiss real estate funds. Their methodology is based on three fundamental pillars: quantitative indicators based on detailed building-level data, a textual analysis of the funds' annual reports highlighting their ESG strategies, and the aggregation of scores. These three pillars ensure that environmental, social and governance (ESG) aspects are fairly taken into account.

Eric Jondeau, Professor at HEC Lausanne (UNIL) and Co-Director of the Center for Risk Management (CRML), answers our questions on PRESS scores, whose objective on the long-term is to become the standard for real estate fund valuation, thereby reinforcing transparency, independence and sustainability within the industry.

This new method provides a transparent assessment of the ESG scores of real estate funds. Can you tell us more about it?
Our approach aims to inform as widely as possible about the ESG practices of real estate funds, so that investment decisions can be based on both financial and ESG criteria. We can guarantee the transparency and factual nature of the scores, as we use the same measurement methods and tools for all funds, and rely solely on publicly available information - be it the characteristics of the buildings owned by the funds or the information they provide themselves.

PRESS scores are intended to optimize the sustainability performance of real estate funds. What potential does this represent in terms of CO2 impact for Switzerland?
Switzerland is committed to the transition to a low-carbon economy. Real estate is one of the sectors with the highest emissions and the greatest potential for improvement. It is therefore essential that all real estate investment vehicles make a firm commitment to this transition, and that the funds that are most advanced in this process can be clearly identified. This is the primary objective of PRESS scores.

Is this the first method of its kind in Switzerland? 
Prior to the introduction of our first investment vehicle surveys, and now with the launch of Press Scores, ESG analysis of the Swiss real estate market was rather limited, mainly due to limitations on fund resources. We can therefore speak of a pioneering initiative.

PRESS Scores and their results are freely available on crml.ch/pressscores, where they will be regularly updated. 

Contact: please write to esg-immo@unil.ch.