MERLIN Properties Annual Report 2023

100 | Annual report | 2023 Sustainability ratings MERLIN regularly participates in various sustainability benchmark indices, which reflect the advances made by the Group and the effectiveness of the steps taken in both internal management and asset management. The Group's rating on 6 of the 7 sustainability indexes has been maintained or upgraded in 2023 compared to 2022. Specifically, MERLIN participates in 7 sustainability indices; 3 of them— GRESB (real estate), CDP (climate change), and S&P Global (general) — consist of a questionnaire, while the other 4 — Sustainalytics (ESG risks), Bloomberg (general), Vigeo Eiris (general), and MSCI (general) —are based on the Group's public reporting. MERLIN participated in the GRESB assessment, an international benchmark that measures the environmental, social, and governance performance of companies in the real estate sector, for the fifth year in a row and improved its score. The Group achieved a score of 83 points out of 100, which places it above the global average and ahead of its peers (companies classified as comparable to MERLIN). For the second year in a row, MERLIN also participated in the CDP questionnaire, which assesses the degree of a company's commitment to climate change issues. In 2023, MERLIN maintained 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). MERLIN again actively participated in the S&P CSA questionnaire, scoring 69%. This improvement allows the Company to maintain its inclusion in the Dow Jones Sustainability European Index for the third consecutive year and to enter the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for the first time. With regard to sustainability reporting, MERLIN received the Gold Award from EPRA for the sixth 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 Sustainalytics ESG risk rating since 2022, 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.