Deconstructing the stereotypes: building mutual respect

Through a combination of a detailed literature review and structure online survey, the study seeks to establish the extent of interdisciplinary attitudes within built environment students at Kingston University, whilst building a picture of not only the stereotypes held amongst and between disciplines, but also the fundamental root of such perceptions

Disclosing environmental and sustainability practices and initiatives in the annual reporting process of property investors: evidence from Malaysia

Investors around the world are increasingly recognising the importance of embedding environmental, social and governance issues when making property investment decision or sustainable and responsible investment (SRI). The objective of this paper is to examine the implementation of environmental, social practices of property investors in Malaysia as revealed through published company material. Content analysis is used in this research. Analysis was conducted of potential SRPI (Socially Responsible Property Investment) or ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) initiatives of all (13) Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), together with a selection of property investment companies and key institutional investors using publicly available company literature. The websites and annual reports of these investors from 2007-2009 were examined in order to identify activities, strategies contributing to the progress of sustainable and responsible property investment. The progress made was also compared with progresses made in other countries including UK, USA and Australia. The study indicates that although some of the Malaysian REITs and property investment companies are beginning to adopt sustainability practices this is less embedded than in other major countries notably Australia. The study also shows that the sustainability agenda is skewed more to notion of corporate philanthropy than environmental issues

Winning in the long run: a quantified approach to the drivers of sustainable financial value on real estate: Working Paper 2

This working paper describes the first empirical study measuring the impact of sustainability characteristics on the financial performance of European office and retail properties. The authors present the project, the issue and the approach of their ongoing search for a �Green Alpha�. In a joint effort, university experts at Danube University Krems are in cooperation with Kingston University London tackling a robust analysis on hard data from real properties of institutional investment portfolios in the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Their first results are expected by the end of 2010