Climate Disclosures of Listed European Property Funds: A BDO Perspective

Real estate companies play a key role in tackling today’s sustainability challenges, particularly climate change. With 40% of global carbon emissions originating from the real estate sector, listed real estate funds are well-positioned to lead decarbonization by managing large property portfolios and developing or upgrading buildings.  

As climate reporting standards continue to evolve across Europe, gaining insight into current disclosure practices is becoming increasingly important. To support this understanding, BDO conducted a comprehensive analysis of climate reporting maturity in the annual reports of 15 listed real estate funds based in the Netherlands and Belgium. This article presents the key trends identified in these disclosures and highlights areas where climate reporting can be further strengthened. 

Trends and insights 

The maturity of climate reporting among the listed real estate funds was assessed using a set of ten key criteria. The criteria evaluated both the presence and depth of each fund’s climate-related disclosures. The analysis revealed several noteworthy trends and insights into the varying levels of reporting maturity across the funds. The figure below provides a visual overview, mapping each fund’s climate disclosure maturity against its revenue and the geographical distribution of its assets. 

Contrary to initial expectations, the analysis revealed that the size of the fund or its geographic reach did not necessarily correlate with the quality of climate reporting. Smaller funds operating in a single country often demonstrated more robust disclosures than larger, multinational ones. This suggests that internal priorities, leadership commitment, and stakeholder pressure may be stronger drivers of reporting quality than scale. 
 

Another key insight was the relative strength of governance-related disclosures. Most of the reviewed funds provided detailed and structured information on how climate governance is embedded within their organizations. The level of detail in these disclosures suggests that governance is often the first area where climate considerations are formalized, likely because it is internally controlled and straightforward to document. 

Following governance, the next most developed area of disclosure was energy usage. This is unsurprising, as energy consumption is a tangible and quantifiable metric that real estate companies have long tracked for operational efficiency and cost management.  

Room for improvement 

Despite the progress made in recent years, BDO’s analysis identified several key areas where climate reporting by real estate funds can be strengthened. 

Climate Scenario Analysis: Few funds model how their portfolios would perform under different climate futures (e.g., 1.5°C or 4°C warming). This limits their ability to assess resilience to physical risks or policy changes. 

Science-Based Targets (SBTs): Only a minority of funds have adopted SBTs aligned with the Paris Agreement. Without such targets, it is challenging to determine whether a fund’s climate ambitions are genuinely aligned with global goals or merely high-level statements. 

Transition Plans: Even when targets exist, many funds lack detailed roadmaps outlining how they will achieve them. An effective transition plan should include retrofit timelines, investment strategies, and tenant engagement initiatives. Without such a roadmap, climate strategies risk being perceived as more aspirational than actionable. 

Conclusion 

BDO’s analysis underscores that climate reporting maturity is not solely a function of size or geographic scope. Instead, it reflects internal leadership and strategic intent. By addressing gaps in scenario analysis, target setting, and transition planning, real estate funds can strengthen their climate disclosures and better prepare for future regulatory and market demands.

Leading the way to low-carbon real estate: How BDO can support you 

BDO’s Climate and Decarbonization team offers tailored support to real estate funds at every stage of their climate reporting journey. From conducting scenario analyses and setting science-based targets to developing actionable transition plans, our experts help organizations enhance transparency, meet regulatory requirements, and build investor confidence. Contact us to learn how BDO can support your organization. 

Contact