Leading landlords commit to SmartScore, the global certification for smart buildings

• AXA IM Alts, Cbus Property, and Lendlease are first to sign up to WiredScore’s SmartScore certification: the global benchmark for smart buildings
• SmartScore was developed in conjunction with the WiredScore Smart Council – 90 tenants, landlords and property professionals from all over the world
• SmartScore certification defines what smart buildings are, and how to build them, allowing the most advanced landlords in the world to understand, improve and communicate the user functionality and technological foundations of their buildings

The assets, 101 Collins Street in Melbourne, managed by AXA IM Alts on behalf of its clients, Cbus Property’s 83 Pirie Street in Adelaide and 720 Bourke Street in Melbourne, and Lendlease’s 800 Collins Street in Melbourne, are all undergoing certification.

SmartScore, which launched globally early last year, is the smart building certification helping landlords understand, improve and communicate the user functionality and technological foundations of their buildings.

Providing a global standard, SmartScore identifies best-in-class smart buildings that deliver an exceptional user experience, drive cost efficiency, meet high standards of sustainability and are future ready.

The SmartScore scorecard reflects this definition of a smart building by scoring the breadth and depth of the user experiences delivered by the building, as well as assessing the technology, processes and procedures that underpin these experiences.

SmartScore certification was developed in conjunction with the WiredScore Smart Council – 90 tenants, landlords and property professionals from all over the world – in response to increasing demand for guidance around what ‘smart’ really means in relation to commercial buildings, and how it can and should be implemented. The certification provides credibility and certainty to an industry rapidly pursuing digital transformation.

“As the first to commit to being SmartScore certified in Australia, our clients are demonstrating to tenants and the wider industry their commitment to the future of an ever-changing real estate landscape. Smart buildings will play a pivotal role in creating more experiential and sustainable workspaces that place productivity and collaboration at the heart of them. As we return to offices, ensuring tenants are benefiting from the best possible working environments will be paramount to maintaining the dynamism of our cities.”

“AXA IM Alts recognises that its customer base expects commercial office assets to be digitally enabled to support productive workspaces, and improve customer experience more broadly. We are excited to pursue a SmartScore rating for our flagship Australian premium asset, 101 Collins Street, which will independently demonstrate our ongoing strategy to ensure that the asset remains a benchmark for Premium Grade assets, particularly in respect to digital enhancement.

“The rating will save future customers time, as well as investment in complex technical due diligence, and demonstrate to our existing customers our commitment to continual reinvestment in our assets.”

“Cbus Property is committed to driving technology solutions across our investment and development portfolio, ensuring that we provide an optimised experience for all of our stakeholders.

“We are looking forward to delivering leading and intuitive technology solutions that enhance how our tenants and their visitors experience and utilise our buildings. We are prioritising delivering robust infrastructure and adopting certification tools such as WiredScore, to assess, support and improve these functions, coupled with integrated and easy-to-adopt user interfaces to ensure our assets can adapt with the rapid pace of technology and consumer expectations of what that technology can help them to achieve.”

“People want to work in the best buildings, and assets that deliver great functionality, connectivity and wellness benefits will continue to be in demand well into the future. Smart buildings are going beyond being just about technology and Lendlease is increasingly offering great experiences and personalised services for users through our Worklife customer app, along with world-leading sustainability initiatives and great connectivity.”

WiredScore launched in Australia in 2019 with its first certification, WiredScore, which assesses, improves and benchmarks digital connectivity in commercial buildings.

AXA IM Alts is a global leader in alternative investments with €162 billion of assets under management as of 31 March 2021, across real assets (real estate and infrastructure), private debt and alternative credit and private equity and hedge funds. AXA IM Alts employs over 750 people located in 16 offices around the world and serves the needs of more than 350 clients from Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and Middle East. We are a global leader in real assets investment with c. €109 billion of assets under management, the number one property portfolio and asset manager in Europe, and one of the largest worldwide.

AXA Investment Managers in Australia manages both single account mandates and pooled investment vehicles, totalling in excess of $5.2 billion (€ 3.6 billion) in real estate assets, as well as a debt vehicle designed to fund building environmental upgrades. The assets include a broad spectrum of investments in the office, retail, hotel and residential sectors.

AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM) is a responsible asset manager, actively investing for the long-term to help its clients, its people and the world to prosper. Our high conviction approach enables us to uncover what we believe to be the best global investment opportunities across alternative and traditional asset classes, managing approximately €869 billion in assets as at the end of March 2021. AXA IM is a leading investor in green, social and sustainable markets, managing €555 billion of ESG-integrated, sustainable and impact assets as at the end of December 2020. We are committed to reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 across all our assets, and integrating ESG principles into our business, from stock selection to our corporate actions and culture. Our goal is to provide clients with a true value responsible investment solution, while driving meaningful change for society and the environment. AXA IM employs over 2,440 employees around the world, operates out of 27 offices across 20 countries and is part of the AXA Group, a worldwide leader in insurance and asset management.

Cbus Property is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cbus, the industry superannuation fund for the construction, building and allied industries, with funds under management exceeding $65 billion at 30 June 2021. Cbus Property has responsibility for the strategic performance and management of all aspects of the Cbus direct property investment business, including major investments and developments in the commercial and residential sectors. The property portfolio currently exceeds $6.0 billion, with a further $4.5 billion of development work ‘in hand’, making Cbus Property one of Australia’s leading integrated property investors. Cbus Property has extensive experience undertaking sustainable initiatives within Australia and is committed to using its considerable experience in the investment and delivery of developments that provide a benchmark for both economic and environmental sustainability.

Lendlease is a globally integrated real estate and investment group with core expertise in shaping cities and creating connected communities. Our strong investment management capability complements the world-class product creation capability of the broader Lendlease group. This means we can offer a range of global real estate products and solutions tailored to the needs of institutional investors. We are committed to leading the evolution of our industry to be truly sustainable – environmentally, socially and economically. This is fundamental to our vision to create the best places, places for people today and for generations to come.