JLL Creates New Sustainability Role
The brokerage firm tapped its EMEA CEO for the job, following in the footsteps of other CRE firms that recently boosted their commitment to the cause.
Reflecting the commercial real estate industry’s increased emphasis on sustainability, JLL has created the new position of global head of sustainability services & ESG and moved EMEA CEO Guy Grainger into the role.
Grainger will manage sustainability services, products and strategy, as well as JLL’s ‘Building a Better Tomorrow’ program, which includes its annual sustainability reporting and targets. “Our strategy to decarbonize real estate through sustainability products can deliver ground-breaking results for clients,” he said, “significantly improve the environment, and be tremendously inspiring for our people in the process.”
JLL’s new position follows on the heels of a similar play by Blackstone. Earlier this month the private equity giant hired Eric Duchon as global head of real estate ESG, a newly created position. In this new role, Duchon will work with Blackstone’s global real estate asset management teams to build and scale existing environmental, social and governance efforts. He will also work with portfolio companies on sustainability, diversity and inclusion issues.
ESG has been important to private equity for some time with the pandemic accelerating these companies’ adoption.
Recently Blackrock CEO Larry Fink pledged that 100% of its portfolios will integrate ESG metrics, up from 70% at the end of April.
Anna Grotberg, an associate partner at EY-Parthenon, discussed this new trend at the British Pvt. Equity and Venture Capital Association Ltd. Summit, according to a report by S&P Market Intelligence.
“Based on the conversations over the past few months, this real sense of purpose and responsibility that has been on the agenda is being accelerated right now,” she said. “We’ve had increasing demand from [limited partners] in terms of transparency and accountability, particularly around [environmental, social and governance] and ESG policies,” she added.
A report from The Counselors of Real Estate earlier this year seconds the notion that sustainability has taken on an increased significance.
“COVID-19 has underscored the importance of ESG issues,” said Michel Couillard, 2020 chair of the organization. “ESG has been established as a prudent risk mitigation strategy that will contribute to long-term value creation that real estate has historically enjoyed.”