Q) Why do you think it’s important for individuals across the sector to come together at Property Week’s ESG EDGE Conference?

A) The sector is facing political and commercial headwinds. I think it is more important than ever to come together to share successes and failures and to sharpen the collective narrative around why ESG matters. We are at a pivotal moment in which regulatory expectations, investor scrutiny, and stakeholder demands are converging. Coming together creates the opportunity to align and learn from one another.

Q) What’s the single biggest ESG challenge facing the property industry right now?

A) Our most important challenge right now is to demonstrate that low carbon, climate resilient can be delivered in a way that protects value, not erodes it, while ensuring a just transition. These arguments are winnable but we need to sharpen and strengthen them if we are to retain momentum.

Q) What part of this year’s agenda are you most looking forward to?

A) I am particularly looking forward to the keynote, which promises to address the critical question of how we frame the ESG narrative to ensure it survives commercial and political headwinds. I’m also excited about the section on technology. There is a real sense that we are entering a new age of automation and AI-assisted insights (even after the hype passes), with significant potential for improving ESG delivery across the sector.

Q) What do you hope to see change in the industry over the next year?

A) I would like to see a rapidly growing body of evidence that investing in adaptation and decarbonisation of real assets not only delivers business value and protects against risk, but also strengthens relationships with occupiers, tenants, and supply chains and simply represents better business. Many of us have been convinced of this for some time, but we need to see the evidence base grow by orders of magnitude for this to become normal practice. Encouragingly, BBP members are already generating many of the real-world examples that show this is achievable. I would also like to see more open sharing of where things haven’t worked in terms of ESG implementation, and what could be done to improve it. Honest discussion of challenges is essential.

Q) If you could give one piece of advice to property professionals on their ESG journey, what would it be?

A) My advice would be to look to how the investment, management and development processes and decisions that you are responsible for on a daily basis can be adapted and enhanced to deliver ESG outcomes. Avoid creating separate structures as these are less likely to last. Embedding ESG into core decision-making is the best way to ensure it delivers. BBP members have found this approach the most effective way to sustain progress through changing market conditions.

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