MERLIN Properties Annual Report 2022

102 | Annual report | 2022 Sustainability ratings MERLIN regularly participates in various sustainability benchmark indices, which reflect the Group’s efforts and the effectiveness of the steps taken in both internal management and asset management. The Group’s score increased in 2022 compared to 2021 on all of the relevant sustainability indices. Specifically, MERLIN participates in six sustainability indexes; three of them— GRESB (real estate), CDP (climate change) and S&P Global (general) — consist of a questionnaire, while the other three — Sustainalytics (ESG risks), Bloomberg (general) and Vigeo Eiris (general) — are based on the Group’s public reporting. MERLIN has reinforced its position on GRESB, an international benchmark that measures the environmental, social and governance performance of companies in the real estate sector, having participated for the fourth year in a row. The Group achieved a score of 79 points out of 100, which places it above the global average and ahead of its peers (companies ranked as comparable to MERLIN). For the third year in a row, MERLIN also participated in the CDP questionnaire, which assesses the degree of a company’s commitment to climate change. MERLIN improved its rating to an “A-”, which means that the Group is transparent and manages climate change issues adequately. This rating is higher than the global, European and peer group average assigned by CDP (financial services). In line with the commitment made last year, MERLIN once again actively participated in the S&P CSA questionnaire, obtaining a score 70%, a substantial improvement on the 58% obtained in 2021. This improvement allows the Company to once again be included in the Dow Jones Sustainability European Index for the second year in a row. With regard to sustainability reporting, MERLIN received the Gold Award from EPRA for the fifth year in a row. This award recognises the degree to which its Sustainability Report (formerly CSR) is aligned with EPRA Sustainability Best Practices Recommendations. Since 2020, MERLIN has adapted its Sustainability Report (formerly CSR) to Bloomberg’s ESG Disclosure Score, reporting additional information that is more in line with the indicators defined by Bloomberg for this index. MERLIN has considerably improved its ESG risk rating in Sustainalytics, positioning itself as a leader both globally and in the real estate and REIT sector, obtaining a total rating of 7.2 points and thus being included among the top 1% of the best rated companies worldwide.