Data

In collaboration with BuildZoom, we freely provide data on sustainable renovations for the population of properties owned by listed real estate firms (REITs) or 32 million commercial and residential US properties by ZIP code, county, and state quarterly since 1990. Permits are retrieved from public registries and standardized across municipalities. Subsequently, they are classified as environmentally and socially sustainable (e.g., HVAC, solar, insulation, outdoor spaces, etc.) or conventional (e.g., electrical, mechanical, plumbing, remodeling, etc.) using the documentation of EnergyStar, LEED, WELL, and Fitwel. This database could be used as an indicator of green/sustainability preferences before the retrofits are implemented, as we report the request date of permits rather than the completion date.

van der Kroft, B., Palacios, J., Rigobon R., & Zheng, S., Timing Sustainable Engagement in Real Asset Investments (July 3, 2024). Available at SSRN: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4883596 

Assessing firms' sustainable aspirations and performance is complicated due to heterogeneous reporting, a lack of convergence among ESG ratings, and information asymmetries. With the dataset provided below, we allow fellow academics to readily separately assess firms' relative sustainable aspirations (or Symbolic CSR) and sustainable performance (Substantive CSR). Each variable is reported on a 0 (worst) to 10 (best) scale within the industry. We also provide separate scores for ESG reporting, policies, activities, targets, outcomes, and controversies. This data is available for listed firms in over 70 countries from 2003 to 2022. When using the data, please cite and read the paper below that provides further information on how the measures are constructed. Note that this data may only be used for non-commercial academic or educational purposes.

Bams, Dennis and van der Kroft, Bram, Tilting the Wrong Firms? How Inflated ESG Ratings Negate Socially Responsible Investing under Information Asymmetries (February 14, 2024). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4126986