URB-B.02.B - Affordability Targets Disclosure
Does the company set targets for affordability, including a description of how it determines affordability?
About the data
The WBA Urban Benchmark measures and ranks the world's most influential companies on their efforts to shape sustainable, inclusive and resilient urban environments, tracking how companies address essential urban needs while respecting planetary boundaries across dimensions including decent work and human rights, environmental and climate impacts, social inclusion, and sustainability leadership. The 2026 edition assessed 300 companies across four key industries shaping urban environments: real estate, construction and engineering, transport, and utilities. Companies were scored on 24 urban-specific indicators plus 18 core social indicators, spanning four measurement areas: sustainable governance, inclusive cities, healthy cities, and climate change and resilient cities. The benchmark is designed to incentivise the private sector to take adequate responsibility for its role in ensuring affordable, safe and inclusive urban environments for all. More information can be found here.
Methodology
Out of the 92 major metropolitan housing markets globally, 79 have become severely
unaffordable (Urban Reform Institute & Frontier Centre for Public Policy, 2022). With basic services
being privatised in many cities, and large real estate companies dominating local property markets,
the private sector has a crucial role to play in addressing the global cost-of-living crisis. Transport and
utility companies can offer tiered pricing systems, delayed payment options or subsidised rates to
make their services more affordable to low-income users, while real estate and construction
companies can allocate a portion of their portfolio to affordable housing through mixed-use
developments or dedicated projects. Such initiatives can complement the efforts that governments
are making through subsidy programmes and regulations.
Research Guidance
The company discloses time-bound, measurable targets for improving product/service affordability for its customers.
All targets must include the baseline value and base year from which progress is measured.
All targets should have clear, quantitative, and measurable metrics. Qualitative targets may be accepted as long as their achievement is measurable, however, vague or general goals to become affordable are not sufficient.
Targets must be short-term (now to 2030) - longer term targets (i.e. those with an end date past 2030) are only accepted if they are broken down into interim targets that are 5 years away or less.
Targets must cover all of the company's operations - targets only applied to one-off or isolated projects are not accepted.
The company must disclose the methodology used to determine ‘affordability', which could include international or local standards related to local income. Targets without a definition, e.g. by 2030, 50% of our housing units will be affordable”, are not accepted, since it is unclear what is meant by affordability.
If there are changes in targets within the latest reporting year, the company must provide an explanation of the rationale for those changes and their effect on comparability.
unaffordable (Urban Reform Institute & Frontier Centre for Public Policy, 2022). With basic services
being privatised in many cities, and large real estate companies dominating local property markets,
the private sector has a crucial role to play in addressing the global cost-of-living crisis. Transport and
utility companies can offer tiered pricing systems, delayed payment options or subsidised rates to
make their services more affordable to low-income users, while real estate and construction
companies can allocate a portion of their portfolio to affordable housing through mixed-use
developments or dedicated projects. Such initiatives can complement the efforts that governments
are making through subsidy programmes and regulations.
Research Guidance
The company discloses time-bound, measurable targets for improving product/service affordability for its customers.
All targets must include the baseline value and base year from which progress is measured.
All targets should have clear, quantitative, and measurable metrics. Qualitative targets may be accepted as long as their achievement is measurable, however, vague or general goals to become affordable are not sufficient.
Targets must be short-term (now to 2030) - longer term targets (i.e. those with an end date past 2030) are only accepted if they are broken down into interim targets that are 5 years away or less.
Targets must cover all of the company's operations - targets only applied to one-off or isolated projects are not accepted.
The company must disclose the methodology used to determine ‘affordability', which could include international or local standards related to local income. Targets without a definition, e.g. by 2030, 50% of our housing units will be affordable”, are not accepted, since it is unclear what is meant by affordability.
If there are changes in targets within the latest reporting year, the company must provide an explanation of the rationale for those changes and their effect on comparability.
License
Topics
Framework Mappings
Value Type
Category
Options
Yes
No
Not Applicable
Assessment
Steward Assessed
Report Type
Aggregate Data Report