Welcome to the latest edition of Sustainability Matters, a regular wrap from EG to make sure that you and your business are up to date with the latest news, views and opinion about all that is important in the world of ESG in the built environment.
Kate Neale has a big new job on her hands. After four years at Hammerson as an environmental and energy manager she has taken on the role of sustainability manager at Cadogan, the landed estate that owns swathes of Chelsea and Kensington.
It’s the first time the estate has had a sustainability manager and Neale has the task of launching a 10-year plan for the firm.
To go from a shopping centre owner where assets – at least in comparison with the Cadogan estate – are relatively young, to an estate which dates back some 300 years, will require a lot of forward and innovate thinking when it comes to sustainability.
But Neale and Cadogan’s chief executive Hugh Seaborn have plenty of ambition.
“Sustainability has long been a core part of Cadogan’s strategic objectives and will grow in importance dramatically as we look ahead to the next 10 years,” says Seaborn. “Kate’s contribution to our stewardship strategy will be invaluable in helping us to introduce new, tech-driven solutions to minimise our environmental impact and leave a meaningful sustainability legacy for future generations.”
Elsewhere in the world of sustainability and ESG, Brookfield has made a headline-grabbing hire, adding former governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney to its payroll. Carney joins Brookfield Asset Management as a vice chair and head of ESG and impact fund investing.
In his new role Carney will help build on Brookfield’s ESG investments by establishing a new group of funds that will seek to make a positive impact socially and environmentally while also delivering investors “strong” risk-adjusted returns.
Carney said: “With an accelerated transition to a net-zero economy imperative for climate sustainability and one of the greatest commercial opportunities of our time, I’m looking forward to building on Brookfield’s leading positions in renewable energy and sustainability to the benefit of its investors and society.”
The critical nature of a sustainability agenda is being grasped by more and more in the financial sector. Chief among the lenders that have put climate at the centre of their activity is Lloyds Banking Group.
Its head of commercial real estate Madeleine McDougall urged the property industry to put sustainability at the forefront of decision-making at the beginning of this year. Last month, the bank said that it would make sure it played “a leading role in financing the UK’s green recovery”.
Lloyds’ sustainability journey started in March 2016, when the bank pledged to deploy £1bn of financing at a discounted margin to clients that commit to improving the energy efficiency of their buildings.
In an interview in EG last month, McDougall said the bank had exceeded this target, having deployed around £1.3bn of green loans. This, she said, meant that funding has been provided to make roughly 18.6m sq ft of buildings greener.
But the bank is now taking this further. It will give developers 100% of the financing needed to retrofit their buildings to make them more sustainable.
It is a move that McDougall hopes will incentivise property companies to become more sustainable.
More sustainable and more ambitious
Gavin Bridge’s Cubex is certainly setting its ambitions high. It is seeking unconsented land around the South and South West to deliver 2,500 sustainable, affordable, modular homes over the next five years.
And in the quiet Buckinghamshire village of Dorney, one developer has set itself the colossal challenge of getting planning for a huge “green” park. The project by little known developer Adveneco is exciting and takes sustainable development to the next level, proposing a host of high-tech green solutions.
The ambition is clear, the suitability less so. But even if the development doesn’t get the go ahead, those that care about the future of the planet should be encouraged that there are businesses out there sharing ideas for the next level of green property development.
For those that aren’t quite at the next level, yet, EG sustainability partner Evora is on hand to deliver a basic introduction to what sustainability in real estate really is. The free, one-hour webinar on Thursday 10 September is aimed at anyone and everyone in the real estate industry and will explore the explain how to approach sustainability and provide practical tips on where to start the journey. To find out more, head to Evora’s website.
Hungry for more information? Keep up with all things ESG by visiting EG’s Sustainability Hub
To send feedback, e-mail samantha.mcclary@egi.co.uk or tweet @samanthamcclary or @estatesgazette
