Tributes have been paid to Sarah Sayce, professor of sustainable real estate at Henley Business School, who died on 22 November after a short illness.
Sayce’s colleagues described her as “a bundle of energy”, adding that she had “enthusiasm for everything, seeming to thrive on being very busy and operating over a wide range of activities”.
“She had unlimited time for students and her research and committee work, and was somebody who appeared to say yes to everything and then had the organisational ability to deliver anything and everything,” they said.
Sayce was also visiting professor at the Royal Agricultural University and professor emeritus at Kingston University.
Her work in sustainability began in the late 1990s for Sir Martin Laing’s Sustainable Construction Forum under the umbrella of the Construction Confederation. Over the following years she encouraged the real estate industry and particularly investors to recognise the business case behind sustainable real estate.
She wrote the first RICS Valuation & Sustainability information papers and guidance notes covering residential and commercial real estate in 2010 and 2013. Earlier this year she published a report for UNEPFI on climate risk and commercial property value and sat on the expert working group for the RICS’ upcoming Sustainability & ESG in Commercial Property Valuation guidance note.
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