The BBP is thrilled to welcome CEG, Orchard Street Investment Management and Savills Investment Management as the three latest members of the Better Buildings Partnership. Their joining demonstrates the continued emphasis property investment companies are placing on ESG.
"It's both exciting and encouraging to see the continued importance being placed on sustainability by the real estate sector, even during these challenging market conditions. The addition of CEG, Orchard Street and Savills IM will help continue to strengthen the partnership and I'm very much looking forward to working with them throughout 2021 and beyond” said Sarah Ratcliffe, CEO at Better Buildings Partnership.
Nick Lee, Development Director at CEG said: CEG’s approach has sustainability at its heart. Working within the built environment, we recognise our role and responsibility to reduce carbon across the entire development and operational lifecycle. Sustainability, responsibility and resilience are embedded at the earliest stages in order to achieve this. Collaboration is key and we look forward to working with the Better Buildings Partnership and its members in achieving this shared goal.”
Philip Gadsden, Managing Partner at Orchard Street Investment Management said: “ESG considerations sit at the heart of our approach to investment. We are passionate about developing and managing our buildings in a sustainable way and have just announced our ambitions to become a net zero carbon business by 2050, publish a 2030 NZC transition strategy in 2021, as well as to work with our occupiers to achieve a 25% reduction in occupier carbon intensity by 2025. We look forward to working with the Better Buildings Partnership to highlight the importance of coming together as an industry, and the urgency needed in making decisive and positive environmental changes.”
Alex Jeffrey, Global Chief Executive at Savills Investment Management said: “Savills Investment Management is delighted to join the Better Buildings Partnership, collaborating with likeminded peers, learning from each other and sharing best practice. Growing and managing a highly sustainable portfolio which is resilient to climate change is fundamental to our business strategy as well as being important to our investors. We are committed to improving our sustainability performance and have consistently increased our GRESB scores since 2012, as well as maintaining an A+ grade for Strategy and Governance within the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment transparency report. We look forward to actively engaging in BBP’s ambitious and exciting programme of work.”
CEG
CEG is a property investment and development company with a difference. CEG takes a long-term approach, finding properties and sites with potential and turning them into thriving places to work, retaining and managing this business space within the company’s extensive UK property portfolio. This long-term approach offers better performance, energy savings and resilience across the entire development and operational lifecycle. Everything the business does is linked to providing exactly what its customers need to thrive, providing sustainable, flexible, healthy, productive and digitally resilient workspace and the facilities to retain staff and productivity; from gyms, cafés and a concierge service to cycle spas, fitness classes and innovative places to meet.
Orchard Street Investment Management
Orchard Street Investment Management is a leading UK commercial real estate investment manager acting on behalf of institutional clients worldwide, advising them on investment in and the active management of UK property assets. Underpinning their approach is a commitment to responsibly protect and enhance clients’ real estate portfolios. Orchard Street have £3.94 billion of assets under management (as of 30 September 2020) and have invested £2.76 billion over the last 7 years. Their annual Responsible Investment Report provides a full and transparent view of their responsible investment activities and performance in 2020.
These commitments mark the next stage on Orchard Street’s bold responsible investment journey and follow the appointment of Lora Brill as the business’ first Head of Responsibility & ESG in November last year. In addition to this, Orchard Street have recently announced the expansion of their ESG efforts through their commitment to become a Net Zero Carbon business by 2050.
Other notable ESG activities undertaken by the business in 2020 include securing planning permission for the re-development of a carbon neutral industrial site in Surrey, delivering BREEAM Excellent and EPC A+ ratings for an industrial redevelopment in West London, and repositioning Bauhaus, its Manchester office asset, to achieve WELL Gold Core + Shell certification in December 2020. Bauhaus is the only refurbished office building in the UK to secure the coveted WELL Gold Core + Shell certification, which enhances the health of building occupiers through features such as excellent ventilation, outstanding cycling facilities, plentiful daylight, and beautiful outdoor space.
Savills Investment Management
An independent subsidiary of the Savills group, Savills Investment Management (Savills IM) is a global real estate investment manager with a 30+-year track record. Savills IM have over £18bn of assets under management globally, including more than £5bn in the UK. Their global platform of 17 offices in 13 countries is led by a team with hundreds of years of combined global real estate and investment management experience.
Their corporate vision is to be the property investment manager of choice recognised for their investment performance and client focus. This is consistent with Savills IM’s objective to encourage, promote and enforce good corporate governance and awareness of environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues across property investment decision making and ownership practices. The business believes that doing so is a key part of their responsibility towards investors, clients, employees and other stakeholders, as well as those in the wider community.
Savills IM have been a proud GRESB participant since 2012 and are a signatory of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI) since 2014. In 2020 Savills IM scored an A+ for Strategy and Governance and an A for the Property module within the latest UN PRI transparency reporting.