PRESS Index: A New Standard for Sustainable Real Estate Investment

The Center for Risk Management Lausanne (CRML) at the Faculty of Business and Economics (UNIL) has unveiled the PRESS Index (Public Real Estate Sustainability Switzerland Index), the first public sustainability index for real estate in Switzerland. Updated daily, this index aims to provide a more responsible investment option in publicly traded real estate funds by integrating sustainability performance with financial returns.

With the PRESS Index, investors gain a straightforward and efficient tool to evaluate the financial returns and sustainability goals of their real estate portfolios. The PRESS Index leverages CRML’s PRESS scores to adjust the weightings of funds in the well-known SWIIT index, prioritizing those with higher ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) ratings.

“By strengthening the sustainability criteria for investments in publicly traded real estate funds, this index supports the transition to a low-carbon economy,” explain CRML researchers Dr. Nathan Delacrétaz and Professors Fabio Alessandrini and Eric Jondeau. “It also meets the growing demand for transparency in the real estate market.”

The portfolio construction methodology was developed through targeted research exploring effective ways to integrate ESG factors. As a result, the PRESS Index enhances the sustainability of the parent index while maintaining its financial performance, offering a more responsible investment option without straying from the market benchmark.

The PRESS Index was developed with financial support from the Banque Cantonale Vaudoise and the University of Lausanne. Daily values of the index and detailed information about its composition are available at https://crml.ch/pressindex/.