Sustainability practices underline our operations, developments and funds management. They are integrated into our organisational culture and governance processes with active oversight from our Board of Directors.

Effective stakeholder engagement helps GPT to identify and manage business risks and opportunities, while also informing responsible business decision making. We are committed to exceeding stakeholder expectations and meeting regulatory requirements. To ensure transparency and accountability, we will openly disclose our sustainability efforts.

OUR
ESG
STRATEGY

GPT has developed an ESG strategy focused on the priority areas identified below. Our approach to ESG goes beyond a set of principles or good intentions and into tangible actions that do good. ESG is central to every experience we create, and we are committed to ensuring our ambitions match our actions.

  • Environmental

    Climate response
    Water neutrality
    Resource circularity
    Restoring nature
  • Social

    Stakeholder engagement
    Reconciliation
    Human rights (including modern slavery)
    Social investment
    Safety
    GPT’s People Strategy
  • Governance

    Reporting & transparency
    Risk Management
    Investor rights & expectations
    Board effectiveness
    Executive remuneration
OUR
ESG
STRATEGY

GPT has developed an ESG strategy focused on the priority areas identified below. Our approach to ESG goes beyond a set of principles or good intentions and into tangible actions that do good. ESG is central to every experience we create, and we are committed to ensuring our ambitions match our actions.

  • Environmental

    Climate response
    Water neutrality
    Resource circularity
    Restoring nature
  • Social

    Stakeholder engagement
    Reconciliation
    Human rights (including modern slavery)
    Social investment
    Safety
    GPT’s People Strategy
  • Governance

    Reporting & transparency
    Risk Management
    Investor rights & expectations
    Board effectiveness
    Executive remuneration

Governance

Corporate governance plays an integral role in supporting GPT’s business and helping us deliver on our strategy.

Full details of GPT’s governance arrangements, including Board and Committee Charters and key policies, can be found in the Governance section of our website. These are reviewed regularly to ensure that they remain appropriate, meet regulatory requirements and evolving stakeholder expectations, and maintain a high standard of corporate governance.

Sustainability governance and management

The GPT Board is responsible for the overall governance, management and strategy setting for GPT, including our targeted ESG strategy.

The Board has established the Audit and Risk Committee, Human Resources and Remuneration Committee, and the Nomination Committee to assist it in carrying out its responsibilities. The Board and each of its Committees has a role in GPT’s management of our sustainability strategy.

The Board Audit and Risk Committee has ultimate responsibility for overseeing the application and management of the Risk Management Framework and the Group’s Environmental Management System (EMS) to ensure that sustainability-related financial and environmental risks and impacts are appropriately identified and assessed.

 

GPT’s Sustainability Governance Framework

 

 

The Annual Report addresses the Group’s material risks, including any material exposure to environmental and social sustainability risks and how they are managed. The Board also considers material climate and nature-related risks and reviews and approves GPT’s annual Climate and Nature Disclosure Statement which contains further detail on our sustainability-related governance framework.

The Chief Risk Officer manages GPT’s Risk and Sustainability Team, with accountability for risk, internal audit, environmental and social sustainability, and health and safety.

The Chief People Officer manages the People team which is responsible for GPT’s people strategy.

The General Counsel and Company Secretary manages the legal, governance and compliance functions, accountable for the Group’s Corporate Governance Framework and Compliance Framework.

GPT applies the principles of simplicity, accountability, integrity and transparency in our processes and increasingly seek to automate and verify data capture and integrity. We prioritise independent third-party certification, such as Climate Active and NABERS certifications for operational performance, Climate Active for net zero milestones and Green Star certifications for development outcomes, and Cleaning Accountability Framework certification for supply chain risk.

We define metrics in alignment with global standards and the Australian market context and refine these to ensure we can measure our progress. Our identified material metrics receive independent assurance according to ASAE3000 and ASAE3410.

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Sustainability Policies

To underpin our purpose of creating experiences that drive positive impact for people, place and planet, a suite of sustainability policies has been implemented at GPT in areas of environmental sustainability, social sustainability, health and safety, suppliers and employees.

GPT’s Sustainability Policy Suite

GPT is committed to being a positive contributor to environmental sustainability while improving resilience to environmental changes, guided by our Climate Change Policy, Energy Policy, Materials & Waste Management Policy, Water Policy, and Biodiversity Policy.

GPT is committed to being a trusted and positive contributor to the communities in which we operate and to our partners, guided by our Human Rights Statement, Community Engagement Policy and Customer Engagement Policy.

Safety is a core value of GPT. We believe that all work-related injuries can be prevented. Safety of employees, service providers, contractors, customers and members of the public is prioritised above everything else. GPT’s commitment to health and safety is set out in our Safety Policy.

GPT is committed to fostering a culture and work environment in which our people have opportunities to do their best work, guided by our Equal Employment Opportunity & Workplace Behaviour Policy, Employee Engagement Policy, Diversity & Inclusion Policy, Code of Conduct, Grievance Policy, Learning & Development Policy, Personal Dealing Policy and Whistleblower Policy.

GPT is committed to working in partnership with suppliers to realise the full value of relationships and to positively contribute to stakeholder communities and the environment, guided by our Supplier Policy and Supplier Code of Conduct.

Materiality

GPT identifies, addresses and reports on both financial materiality as well as environmental and social impact materiality matters that are important to our stakeholders, guided by an ISO-based approach and the Global Reporting Initiative’s Sustainability Reporting Standards.

Our materiality process

Utilising a ‘double’ materiality approach, our materiality assessment references multiple stakeholders and information sources, including our Megatrends review, economic outlooks, company research, investor and customer feedback to consider both:

  • Financially material topics, which create or erode enterprise value, and
  • Impact material topics, which reflect significant positive or negative impacts on people, the environment and the economy.

Materiality

GPT identifies, addresses and reports on both financial materiality as well as environmental and social impact materiality matters that are important to our stakeholders, guided by an ISO-based approach and the Global Reporting Initiative’s Sustainability Reporting Standards.

Our materiality process

Utilising a ‘double’ materiality approach, our materiality assessment references multiple stakeholders and information sources, including our Megatrends review, economic outlooks, company research, investor and customer feedback to consider both:

  • Financially material topics, which create or erode enterprise value, and
  • Impact material topics, which reflect significant positive or negative impacts on people, the environment and the economy.

We analyse insights, issues and opportunities from a range of internal and external sources and stakeholders, including:

  • Investor and analyst feedback
  • Board feedback
  • Global human rights frameworks
  • International environmental management standards
  • GPT’s Key Risks Dashboard
  • Employee engagement and surveys
  • Tenant and customer engagement and surveys
  • Global megatrends and data-driven industry trends
  • Civil society and government engagement and research
  • Participation in external events and forums
  • Industry memberships, and
  • Media focus and questions.

We define what is material to our business by considering the risks and opportunities that influence our ability to deliver on our purpose and strategy. Material matters are those that have the highest likelihood and/or consequence of impacting our business and our ability to create value for our stakeholders over the long term, whether by:

  • Directly impacting the financial performance of our business and assets, or
  • Impacting the environment and communities in which we operate.

To identify what is material, GPT research trends, consults advisors and regularly engages with stakeholders to consider and understand their views. GPT conducts regular materiality assessments, including formal external assessments and annual reviews of key megatrends, material matters and ongoing stakeholder feedback.

The material topics identified from these processes are discussed with and endorsed by the Board as part of strategy setting. These topics are also considered by the Board and Leadership Team in regular ongoing reviews of the Group’s Key Risk Dashboard.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that address material issues are included in the Group Scorecard Objectives, the objectives of the CEO, Leadership Team and other relevant executives and are linked to remuneration outcomes.

Workshops are held across our business at least annually with internal stakeholders, and subject matter experts to evaluate and prioritise material topics. These material topics are considered against the broader issues and insights from Step 1 and incorporated where relevant into GPT’s Key Risk Dashboard and ESG Strategy (see Strategy section). Workshops are used to identify and prioritise risks, trends and opportunities specific to business units and strategy delivery.

The Key Risk Dashboard is reviewed quarterly by the GPT Leadership Team and six-monthly by the Board Sustainability and Risk Committee. The Dashboard informs Group strategy development and review. KPIs for material topics are included in the objectives of the CEO and Leadership Team and other relevant executives and are linked to remuneration outcomes.

Recent materiality updates – implementation detail

Material issues evolve over time, so we review and update our material topics accordingly. We conduct both internal reviews from our business units and subject matter experts as well as focused externally facilitated reviews. See above for the steps taken to maintain an up-to-date view of what is material to our business.

An externally facilitated materiality assessment was undertaken in 2021 to inform our consideration of potentially material economic, environmental, and social matters.

The materiality assessment was reviewed in 2023 by internal subject matter experts and business unit managers to confirm the continued relevance and significance of our material topics. The review determined that we remain focused on the topics that are the most material to our business and stakeholders and that we have strategies in place to manage them. Internal reviews were conducted in early 2024, with an externally facilitated materiality review planned for later in the year.

GPT’s material topics are reflected in the Megatrends section of the 2023 Annual Report and are also incorporated into the Group’s ESG Strategy.

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GPT’s double materiality assessment

For full detail of GPT’s material topics, including indication of any change in priority during the period, see our Material Topics table. Also included are the ‘Related key risks’, which have the potential to impact, either positively or negatively, on the material topic.

Stakeholder engagement

Effective stakeholder engagement helps GPT to identify and manage business risks and opportunities, while also informing our decisions as we act as a responsible business and create long-term value.

Our sustainable returns from investments come from focusing on what matters most to customers — a great experience and doing good. GPT’s Manifesto has stakeholder management at its core.

Our leasing, asset management, development, investment and funds management, marketing and community engagement teams incorporate stakeholder engagement practices into their planning and activities. We foster collaborative relationships with stakeholders to ensure that we understand their needs, interests, expectations and aspirations to encourage positive sustainability outcomes.

Stakeholder engagement activities take place across our business, from engaging with tenants and customers as we manage our properties, to engaging with local communities and government authorities as part of planning activities for developments. We regularly meet with our investors to understand what is important to them and share our learning broadly to influence outcomes beyond our direct business.

Click below to view the key stakeholder groups interested in and impacting our business activities and our engagement with them.

 

 

Human rights

GPT is committed to maintaining high ethical standards in our business practices and decision making, including respecting the human rights of all individuals we engage with.

We focus on advancing our environmental, First Nations engagement and modern slavery commitments and utilise our Risk Management Framework to conduct comprehensive human rights due diligence across our business.

We actively participate in global initiatives such as the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) which we have been a member of since February 2012, and our Human Rights Statement mirrors the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs).

As a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI), we confirm our commitment to responsible business practices worldwide and leverage our influence to foster sustainable value creation for stakeholders.

GPT’s priority SDGs

Taking action for the Sustainable Development Goals

We recognise the ambition and importance of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) “to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all”. We acknowledge the SDGs as a call to action to address global social, environmental and governance matters by 2030, to improve lives and prospects of people everywhere.

GPT is committed to taking action to advance the SDGs. As part of our double materiality assessment and follow-up reviews, we have identified the priority SDGs most relevant to our business, and where we can have the most impact. We have also aligned our GRI reporting to show action across all 17 SDGs.

 

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