United Urban Investment : "Initiatives for External ESG Recognition" page has been updated.

In order to enhance the objectivity and credibility of the status of environmental and social considerations of real estate properties owned by United Urban, the initiatives to acquire external certification and ratings assigned by third parties are underway. The following is the coverage rate of the properties that obtained external certification, etc. (DBJ Green Building, CASBEE and BELS) among properties owned by United Urban. United Urban would like to raise the portfolio coverage rate of external certification, etc. in the future.

■　The number of properties that obtained external recognition and its coverage rate (total floor space basis)

Data as of October 31, 2021, totaling 128 properties (excluding the properties consisting of only land)
*	ARENA TOWER has received recognition under both DBJ Green Building Certification and BELS, but the overlap is deducted in the total. As for LOOP-X・M, which consists of two buildings: Loop-X (office building) and Loop-M (residence), Loop-X has received CASBEE and Loop-M has received BELS, respectively. Therefore, the overlap is deducted in the total. In addition, as for RIHGA Royal Hotel Kokura・ARUARU City, the Retail Building I "ARUARU City" and the Retail Building II "ARUARU City Building No.2"has received CASBEE, respectively. Therefore, the overlap is deducted in the total.

GRESB Survey

【Overview of the GRESB】
GRESB, the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark, is an annual assessment benchmarking assessment to measure ESG integration of real estate companies and funds. It was founded in 2009 by a group of European institutional investors who played leading roles in launching Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) advocated by the United Nations as the core group, and is utilized in their investment decision-making processes.

【Results of GRESB Real Estate Assessment】
In the 2021 GRESB Real Estate Assessment, United Urban received a "4 Stars" in GRESB Rating, which is based on GRESB Overall Score and its quintile position relative to global participants.
It also won a "Green Star" designation for the 7th consecutive year by achieving high performance both in "Management Component" that evaluates policies and organizational structure for ESG promotion, and "Performance Component" that assesses environmental performance and tenant engagement of properties owned.

【Results of GRESB Public Disclosure Level Assessment】
The highest "A" level was granted to United Urban for the fourth consecutive year. Its accomplished disclosure of information regarding ESG initiatives were evaluated.

United Urban will continue to implement its initiatives for the environmental, social, governance issues going forward.

*Press Release： Notice Concerning GRESB Assessment Results (October 15, 2021)

DBJ Green Building Certification

DBJ Green Building Certification Program was established by Development Bank of Japan Inc. in April, 2011 for the purpose of supporting the properties which give proper care to environment and society ("Green Building"). The program evaluates, certifies and supports properties which are required by society and economy. It makes comprehensive assessment of properties, while evaluating various factors which range from properties' environmental features to their communication with stakeholders, such as disaster prevention and proper care for surrounding communities.

* For more details, please refer to the website of DBJ Certification.

CASBEE for Real Estate

"CASBEE (Comprehensive Assessment System for Built Environment Efficiency)" is a system for assessing and rating the environmental performance of buildings and built environment, which is being developed and penetrated in Japan, under the leadership of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

CASBEE for Real Estate was developed with an intention to be widely used among property market participants, and its assessment criteria are designed to use by person engaged in real-estate development and transaction. The assessment items consist of five categories, namely "energy/GHG," "water," "materials/safe," "biodiversity/sustainable site," and "indoor environment" with 21 assessment items. Taking into account international common items advocated by UNEP SBCI (The United Nations Environment Programme - Sustainable Building and Climate Initiative), the same items as environmental performance items, which have received attention from domestic and foreign companies, are considered.

The following properties owned by United Urban have received the certification.

BELS Certification

"Building-housing Energy-efficiency Labeling System (BELS)" is a third-party certification system for rating residential and non-residential buildings fulfilling the obligation to make efforts for labeling of energy efficiency under the Building Energy Efficiency Act (official name: Act on the Improvement of Energy Consumption Performance of Buildings). The assessment is on the basis of the Building Energy Index (BEI) value derived from primary energy consumption based on the building energy efficiency standards provided by the Japanese government.
The assessment and labeling based on BELS is implemented by assessment association members, which are those "registered housing quality evaluation agencies," "designated confirmation and inspection bodies" or "registered building investigation bodies" that have submitted notification as an organization implementing BELS operations. The assessment outcome is represented by a number of stars (five-star scale from one star to five stars).

Among United Urbans portfolio, the following properties have received the BELS certification.