It was January 2019 that Guy Grainger experienced a “moment” that would change his life.
“It was the epiphany,” says Grainger, who was at the World Economic Forum in Davos as head of JLL’s EMEA business at the time. “I was attending a presentation with Christiana Figueres, who many in sustainability will know as a very inspiring spokesperson on climate change. And I just felt I had to do something about this. I felt that, as a leader in business, I wasn’t engaged enough. And I made a note, a physical note, to dedicate much more of my time to it. From that moment on, I was planning my next career move.”
It took two years, but this January Grainger became JLL’s global head of sustainability services and ESG. “I’ve been given a relatively blank sheet of paper to design what ‘good’ looks like in the future,” he says. “That’s energising – and frightening. I’m still being kept awake at night, but with slightly different challenges, and hopefully ones that will have real impact going forward.”
Getting it right
For someone with Grainger’s profile to lead on sustainability at a firm the size of JLL is significant. He brings profile, influence and, you can expect, capital. A hundred or so days into his new role and he talks to EG while preparing to set out his vision to global chief executive Christian Ulbrich. Expect investment to follow. “This will require some capital for us to get it right,” he says.
Some in real estate are already getting it right. Those who aren’t will have to catch up, and fast. “There are definitely a lot more targets being set by property companies, by the real estate industry, which is good. It’s not everything, I have to say – it is pretty easy to set targets. It’s not quite so easy to execute on them.”
In getting us to here, Grainger praises the EU for a legislative programme that has driven engagement and acknowledges that the coronavirus pandemic has amplified the conversation. And, perhaps unsurprisingly, he sees greater progress in the UK and Europe than in other parts of the world.
He warns others across the industry that they need to start embracing the agenda now – and not to underestimate the challenge. “Data is a big problem,” he says, even for an adviser experienced in managing 5bn sq ft of property around the world. “Even when we were setting our targets, it took us two years to get the data to actually understand where we were starting from. It is really hard.”
I’ve been given a relatively blank sheet of paper to design what ‘good’ looks like in the future. That’s energising – and frightening
Different speeds
Grainger worries that too many still have a long way to go. “We only need to see the listed sector of real estate to see that not everyone is signed up. And real estate is full of private companies where the responsibilities are not so great. Certain sectors of the industry are going more quickly than others. And a lot of that is down to leadership. Leaders can have a huge influence on what companies do and what organisations do.”
So who is lagging? “I don’t think the housebuilders are doing that well on this, quite frankly,” he says.
Greenwashing worries him too, but not in the way you might expect. “It’s good that people are talking about greenwashing. And, you know, we’ll all get caught up in this, myself included. I’ll come out with some ambitious statements that might be misleading or I might not be able to follow up on the actions. And I should be called out on that.”
He watched former Bank of England governor Mark Carney come under fire recently for claiming that his new employer, Brookfield, was zero carbon across an investment base that takes in fossil fuels and renewables. But that’s not an experience that deters him. “Sustainability is still an area of experimentation; people will get caught out. Don’t be afraid of it. And greenwashing should be exposed for what it is.”
But, says Grainger, these converging agendas offer real estate something it has long craved: relevancy. The future of the high street and the office is a conversation being had in living rooms up and down the country, and so is sustainability. “Property is becoming very relevant,” he says. “The question is how we are going to use that relevance for positive good, which, by the way, can also equal commercial good.”
We talk a lot about 2050 being the target for the Paris Agreement. But really, we need milestones much closer – we need 2025, 2030, 2035 milestones
Work in progress
Grainger speaks both as an adviser and as a tenant. JLL has signed a 15-year lease for 134,000 sq ft at British Land’s 1 Broadgate, EC2, as its flagship UK office. Grainger had said he was hoping to move into a net-zero-carbon building. He admits he underestimated the challenge, and compromises were made.
“It was harder than we expected. And in the end, if I’m honest, we didn’t really want to take a new building. But we are doing that. It’s part of a regeneration of a big area at Broadgate. We’ve been working very closely with British land, who I told at the outset we would push into a very uncomfortable place. But they’ve responded really well – embracing modern methods of construction to see if we can really minimise the resource impact as much as possible and create an environment for our people.
“Ultimately, not just in five years when we take occupation, but over the next hundreds of years, it will be a very resilient and environmentally friendly and healthy place to work. I’m very pleased with the result we’re getting there through a great partnership. It’s a work in progress. But London is not a good exemplar of net-zero buildings, quite frankly.
“It’s been a really interesting journey to go on as a customer, I must admit, because you get a different impression of what the property industry is providing for you. It’s been a great cathartic exercise for us.”
In his new role, Grainger will be pushing for progress, not perfection. “If you are waiting for perfection, you’ll be waiting a long time,” he says. “But we can make a difference along the way.”
And he’ll be impatient too. “We talk a lot about 2050 being the target for the Paris Agreement in terms of reducing climate impact,” he says. “But really, we need milestones much closer – we need 2025, 2030, 2035 milestones. If we leave things too long, then we’re going to be leaving too much to do. And one thing I’m absolutely sure of: we cannot get there without buildings.”
To send feedback, e-mail damian.wild@egi.co.uk or tweet @DamianWild or @estatesgazette
