Board Gender Diversity and Environmental Practice in Global REITs: Examining the Impact on Policies and Outcomes

The real estate sector has a significant impact on urban environments and carbon emissions. As demand for environmental sustainability grows, understanding factors driving real estate portfolios to adopt environmentally friendly policies becomes crucial. This study examines the impact of board gende...

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Main Authors: Voraprapa Nakavachara, Yishuang Xu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2025-12-01
Series:Journal of Sustainable Real Estate
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/19498276.2025.2519978
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author Voraprapa Nakavachara
Yishuang Xu
author_facet Voraprapa Nakavachara
Yishuang Xu
author_sort Voraprapa Nakavachara
collection DOAJ
description The real estate sector has a significant impact on urban environments and carbon emissions. As demand for environmental sustainability grows, understanding factors driving real estate portfolios to adopt environmentally friendly policies becomes crucial. This study examines the impact of board gender diversity on environmental policy adoption and outcomes in global real estate investment trusts (REITs) from 2017 to 2023. Using a dataset of 375 REITs worldwide, we examine relationships between board gender diversity and environmental policies, including emissions reduction protocols, renewable energy use, waste reduction initiatives, and sustainability-linked compensation. We also investigate the impact of gender diversity on REITs' environmental performance, measured by greenhouse gas emissions intensity (emissions divided by revenue). Path analysis identifies direct and indirect mechanisms through which board gender diversity influences environmental outcomes. Our findings reveal significant positive associations between board gender diversity and environmental policy adoption in REITs. However, we observe limited evidence of gender diversity's impact on GHG emissions intensity reduction, suggesting that gender-diverse boards' environmental impact may be more nuanced and indirect. This study contributes to corporate governance and environmental sustainability literature by providing novel insights into the role of board gender diversity in shaping real estate portfolios' environmental policies and performance.
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spelling doaj-art-dc6e5a8570e64ac598ee715cb45f56852025-08-20T03:28:18ZengTaylor & Francis GroupJournal of Sustainable Real Estate1949-82761949-82842025-12-0117110.1080/19498276.2025.2519978Board Gender Diversity and Environmental Practice in Global REITs: Examining the Impact on Policies and OutcomesVoraprapa Nakavachara0Yishuang Xu1Faculty of Economics, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, ThailandManchester Urban Institute, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UKThe real estate sector has a significant impact on urban environments and carbon emissions. As demand for environmental sustainability grows, understanding factors driving real estate portfolios to adopt environmentally friendly policies becomes crucial. This study examines the impact of board gender diversity on environmental policy adoption and outcomes in global real estate investment trusts (REITs) from 2017 to 2023. Using a dataset of 375 REITs worldwide, we examine relationships between board gender diversity and environmental policies, including emissions reduction protocols, renewable energy use, waste reduction initiatives, and sustainability-linked compensation. We also investigate the impact of gender diversity on REITs' environmental performance, measured by greenhouse gas emissions intensity (emissions divided by revenue). Path analysis identifies direct and indirect mechanisms through which board gender diversity influences environmental outcomes. Our findings reveal significant positive associations between board gender diversity and environmental policy adoption in REITs. However, we observe limited evidence of gender diversity's impact on GHG emissions intensity reduction, suggesting that gender-diverse boards' environmental impact may be more nuanced and indirect. This study contributes to corporate governance and environmental sustainability literature by providing novel insights into the role of board gender diversity in shaping real estate portfolios' environmental policies and performance.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/19498276.2025.2519978Board gender diversityenvironmental policiesenvironmental performancegreenhouse gas (GHG) emissionsreal estate investment trusts (REITs)
spellingShingle Voraprapa Nakavachara
Yishuang Xu
Board Gender Diversity and Environmental Practice in Global REITs: Examining the Impact on Policies and Outcomes
Journal of Sustainable Real Estate
Board gender diversity
environmental policies
environmental performance
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
real estate investment trusts (REITs)
title Board Gender Diversity and Environmental Practice in Global REITs: Examining the Impact on Policies and Outcomes
title_full Board Gender Diversity and Environmental Practice in Global REITs: Examining the Impact on Policies and Outcomes
title_fullStr Board Gender Diversity and Environmental Practice in Global REITs: Examining the Impact on Policies and Outcomes
title_full_unstemmed Board Gender Diversity and Environmental Practice in Global REITs: Examining the Impact on Policies and Outcomes
title_short Board Gender Diversity and Environmental Practice in Global REITs: Examining the Impact on Policies and Outcomes
title_sort board gender diversity and environmental practice in global reits examining the impact on policies and outcomes
topic Board gender diversity
environmental policies
environmental performance
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
real estate investment trusts (REITs)
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/19498276.2025.2519978
work_keys_str_mv AT voraprapanakavachara boardgenderdiversityandenvironmentalpracticeinglobalreitsexaminingtheimpactonpoliciesandoutcomes
AT yishuangxu boardgenderdiversityandenvironmentalpracticeinglobalreitsexaminingtheimpactonpoliciesandoutcomes