Leading real estate investment managers are failing to take "basic steps" to tackle climate change, according to ShareAction’s new report.

Key standards of climate action
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ShareAction, an organisation campaigning for responsible investment, set 12 key climate-related performance standards that investment managers were expected to achieve, including setting interim carbon reduction targets (see table).

The report reveals that investment management giants Blackstone, Starwood Capital Group and Greystar failed to achieve any of the key standards and ranked last in ShareAction’s benchmark.

ShareAction said there was a “concerning lack of transparency” from firms about their approaches to tackling climate change, with several managers not disclosing the emissions from their portfolios at all, despite making public climate commitments.

Aidan Shilson-Thomas, senior research manager at ShareAction, said: “The construction and operation of buildings account for a staggering third of global emissions, creating financial risks that managers must take seriously. The asset owners they act on behalf of, including pension funds, are relying on them to do so.”

He added: “Given the size of this [real estate] sector, we need managers to step up and take responsibility for their impacts, while ensuring workers, tenants and communities are at the centre of plans to tackle climate change.”

By excluding critical sources of emissions, ShareAction said several firms “undermined the credibility” of their net zero commitments. Meanwhile, although firms said they engaged with their tenants and communities, discussion of the social impacts of decarbonisation was almost entirely absent from public disclosures.

The 16 real estate investment managers evaluated in the report have a combined $1.66trn (£1.22trn) in non-listed real estate assets. Based on public disclosures up to May 2025, ShareAction pre-filled a survey for each manager, inviting them to verify and supplement the data, and six did so: Brookfield Asset Management, CBRE Investment Management, Heimstaden, Hines, Nrep and Partners Group.

Where disclosure was insufficient and managers did not respond, they were deemed not to have met the standards.

A spokesperson for Blackstone told Property Week: “This flawed report uses a subjective methodology that fails to capture the breadth and depth of Blackstone’s long-standing decarbonisation strategies that seek to create value for our investors.”

Starwood Capital said: “The report contains several factual inaccuracies and misrepresents the rigour and intentionality of Starwood’s approach to responsible investment. We remain committed to embedding sustainability considerations throughout the investment lifecycle to both mitigate risk and unlock long-term value for our investors.”

Greystar said: “We have committed to achieving net zero operational carbon emissions by 2040 for landlord-controlled areas, supported by a 25% reduction in energy intensity and a 20% reduction in on-site water usage by 2030. The underlying data for the targets are externally assured and reflect our long-term approach to environmental performance.

“We continue to evolve our strategy in line with global best practice and work with others across the sector to improve data quality and transparency. However, we believe ESG assessments should reflect not only disclosure but also delivery and the structural differences between asset classes, ownership models and regulatory frameworks.”