NAREIT debuts investible green property index series

National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts wants to help investors be environmentally conscious by launching the first investible green property indexes.

NAREIT together with FTSE Group and the U.S. Green Building Council, a non-profit organization known for its development of LEED, a global green building certification program, are in the late stages of implementing the family of institutional and retail indexes, said Brad Case, senior vice president, research and industry information, at NAREIT, a Washington-based REIT trade organization.

Mr. Case helped develop the family of green property indexes that will be based on the FTSE NAREIT Index Series, using data from the U.S. Green Building Council.

“There's been a lot of growth in green property generally, and recently there's been tremendous growth in the number of green properties,” Mr. Case said. Currently, there are 72 REITs that own some green properties, he said.

“The greener the REIT, the more weight in the index,” Mr. Case said.

This article originally appeared in the November 26, 2012 print issue as, "NAREIT debuts investible green property index series".

— Contact Arleen Jacobius at ajacobius@pionline.com | @Jacobius_PI