GRESB (Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark) has awarded outstanding scores to COIMA’s sustainable real estate development strategy. COIMA ranks as the leading Italian operator, and the only one worldwide, among 2,382 funds assessed across 76 countries, with five funds classified as “Global Sector Leaders” in the Development Benchmark category, which recognizes real estate funds with the highest ESG performance globally.
- The COIMA ESG City Impact Fund and the Lampugnano Regeneration Fund confirm their position among the Global Sector Leaders for the fourth and second consecutive year, respectively
- The Olympic Village Fund (just one year after its launch), the COIMA Opportunity Fund II, and Feltrinelli Porta Volta have also entered the ranks of the Global Sector Leaders
- In 2025, the number of COIMA funds awarded a 5-star rating increases to six, five of which rank first in their respective categories
Milan, 5 December, 2025 – COIMA SGR, a leader in the investment, development, and management of real estate assets on behalf of institutional investors, is the first Italian company, and the only one worldwide in 2025, to receive the Global Sector Leader recognition for five investment funds in the GRESB Development Non-Listed Benchmark category, one of the most respected ESG assessments globally for the real estate sector. This achievement further strengthens COIMA’s leadership in the design and management of sustainability-driven real estate projects and reinforces Italy’s outstanding competitive positioning on the international stage.
The five funds included among the Global Sector Leaders are:
- Olympic Village Fund, which enters the ranks of the Global Sector Leaders with a 5-star rating and a score of 99/100 in the Residential, Non-Listed, Italy category. The project – one of Europe’s most significant examples of low-impact urban regeneration – will later be converted into Italy’s largest affordable student housing complex;
- COIMA ESG City Impact Fund (Impact), Italy’s largest discretionary urban regeneration fund, which maintains its 5-star rating and a score of 99/100, ranking for the fourth consecutive year among the “Global Sector Leader” funds in the Diversified – Office/Residential, Non-Listed, Europe peer group. The Impact Fund – currently backed by leading pension funds, banking foundations, and Intesa Sanpaolo, with a capital allocation exceeding €900 million – aims to contribute to the ecological and social transition of Italian cities through investments focused on building-level reuse and neighborhood-scale urban regeneration.
- COIMA Lampugnano Regeneration Fund, established to acquire a site in the Lampugnano area of Milan and develop a next-generation office building, which maintains its position among the “Global Sector Leaders,” achieving a score of 99/100 and ranking 1st for the second consecutive year in the Office: Corporate: Mid-Rise Office, Non-Listed, Italy peer group.
- COIMA Opportunity Fund II – backed by COIMA SGR and leading national and international institutional investors, including Ivanhoé Cambridge (Quebec sovereign fund), Poste Vita, and Inarcassa — which again ranks 1st in the Office: Corporate: High-Rise Office, Non-Listed, Italy peer group, confirming its 5-star rating with a score of 99/100.
- Feltrinelli Porta Volta Fund, which enters the ranks of the Global Sector Leaders for the first time, achieving first place in the Diversified – Office/Retail, Non-Listed, Italy category with a score of 99/100. Established in 2015, the fund primarily holds office assets, including the headquarters of a leading multinational company as well as the premises of the Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Foundation, a historic cultural and intellectual institution in Milan.
Particularly noteworthy is the recognition received by the Olympic Village Fund, dedicated to the Olympic Village for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games, just 12 months after its establishment. The project, which will be converted after the Games into Italy’s largest affordable student housing complex with 1,700 beds — covering 6% of the student housing demand in Milan — was completed in a record 30 months. It represents the first phase of the large-scale urban regeneration plan for the Scalo di Porta Romana, a project involving leading investors, including:
- Intesa Sanpaolo, acting both as investor and lender together with Crédit Agricole and the Istituto per il Credito Sportivo, supporting the entire operation through a “Green Loan” of approximately €110 million — a type of financing whose terms are linked to the achievement of predetermined sustainability objectives;
- Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, through its subsidiary CDP Real Asset SGR;
- Covivio and Prada Holding, promoters of the initiative alongside COIMA and the Impact Fund.
In recent years, Italy has progressively recognized the strategic importance of sustainability in the real estate sector: in 2025, 121 Italian funds are included in the GRESB rankings, a significant increase compared to previous years. COIMA has been among the pioneers in this process, having participated in the GRESB assessment for the first time in 2018, when only three Italian-domiciled funds were included, anticipating the market’s shift toward increasingly responsible and transparent investment and development models.
Kelly Russell Catella, Head of Sustainability & Communication at COIMA SGR: “This recognition confirms the solidity of COIMA’s ESG integration journey and the consistency of our approach, which combines real estate development, innovation, and the creation of shared value. The results achieved represent a tangible step toward the decarbonization of our portfolio and demonstrate the positive impact that a responsible development model can generate on the communities and territories in which we operate.”
Founded in 2009, GRESB is now one of the leading ESG assessment platforms in the real estate sector, used to structure and manage sustainability-related issues. GRESB ratings help investors compare the non-financial information provided by rated entities through a methodology that is consistent across countries, investment vehicles, and property types, and aligned with major international reporting frameworks (GRI, EPRA, TCFD). In the 2025 edition, GRESB assessed 2,382 funds across 76 countries, covering over 500,000 underlying properties.
Participants in the rating are required to provide a set of information covering various topics: policies and governance of non-financial issues at the organizational level, quantitative data on the environmental performance of assets in the portfolio, and sustainability characteristics of development projects. Particular attention is also given to the level of engagement with key stakeholder groups – tenants, local communities, and employees. The outcome provides information that investors and participants can use to support ESG analysis in their investment and decision-making processes, as well as to monitor ESG risks and opportunities associated with their investments. Furthermore, continuous participation in the rating enables a more effective assessment of portfolio transition risks, in line with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) approach.
COIMA’s Sustainability Report can be consulted here.
