Integrating ESG into Real Estate

Bookings for the 2023 BBP Real Estate ESG Training course, delivered by Hillbreak, are now open. Due to the high demand expected and the need to ensure an impactful learning experience for participants, the course is being delivered to groups of between 15-25 individuals. Check the full list of available groups and course dates and make sure that you are booking the right one based on your availability; we cannot guarantee that booked places will be able to be transferred from one group to another. Swapping groups once your course is underway is usually not possible.

The key details of the course include the following:

Group AOM/ADV- I Course Dates

• Core Module One: 29 June 2023 (13:30-17:30) – pre-course learning materials for Module One will be released to participants in advance of the first training date.
• Core Module Two: 20 July 2023 (13:30-17:30) – pre-course learning materials for Module Two will be released on completion of Module One.

The live sessions will be held virtually using Zoom.

Audience

This particular course group is a trial consolidation group, bringing Asset Owners and Managers, and Advisors together for the first time in the spirit of radical collaboration which BBP members have been advocating. It has been re-designed especially for real estate professionals working within an asset management context, including those working for fund management and investment advisory institutions, Real Estate Investment Trusts and private property companies; as well as advisory professionals in capital markets, investment advisory, valuation, leasing and transactions-based roles. It is open and applicable to those in the following roles:

• Fund managers
• Portfolio and asset managers
• Investment/ transaction managers
• Development managers
• Investor Relations specialists
• Product development and distribution specialists, especially those looking to incorporate ESG characteristics into new or existing funds
• Real estate finance professionals and analysts
• Equity raising
• Debt sourcing and structuring
• Investment brokerage / consultancy
• Agency (i.e. buying, selling and leasing assets and portfolios)
• Valuation
• Capital markets research

Please note that the course has been developed to fulfil a particular industry skills development need and is intended for the audience set out above. The BBP and Hillbreak reserve the right to reject booking requests from individuals or organisations that do not fall into eligible role categories, including, for example, those in ESG and sustainability consultancy roles.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the course, participants will:

• Have deeper knowledge and understanding of the key environmental, social and governance factors pertinent to commercial real estate investment.
• Have greater awareness of salient market trends, including investor, lender, occupier and other stakeholder expectations, and the implications of these for real estate portfolios and their managers.
• Be able to identify the ESG factors that are material to a range of commercial property types, including across the spectrum of investment strategies, from core to opportunistic.
• Be able to identify and advise on the ESG-related risks and opportunities that are material to different transaction and capital raising contexts, including understanding the relationship with property value
• Be able to identify and assess ESG-related risks and opportunities to real estate investments in the short and longer-term.
• Know what needs to be done at each stage of the investment lifecycle to address these ESG-related risks and opportunities – and how to factor these into investment decision-making.
• Know how to measure, set targets for, track and report on ESG factors, including in relation to risk profile, environmental performance and social impact.
• Understand the scope and limitations of the principal ESG measurement, benchmarking and certification frameworks, and the role these can play in improving transparency.
• Be confident in driving forward the environmental and social performance of assets under management, based on a stronger appreciation of some of the practical interventions that are available
• Have better understanding of how ESG-related strategies of investors and occupiers are evolving and how this impacts on the advice and insights that clients need from their advisors and agents
• Have deeper knowledge and understanding of material ESG factors and their effects in different investment contexts, within and beyond the transaction of assets, portfolios and operating platforms
• Be more confident to integrate ESG factors into investment strategy advice and appraisals
• Be able to justify the advice given to clients and the positions represented to clients’ counter-parties in the context of the evolving ESG landscape.

Course outline

The course will be split into two half-day core modules, with a choice of shorter elective modules focusing on key topics available thereafter. The core modules’ principal elements of content will cover the following:

Module One (Context & Strategic Considerations)

• ESG drivers and market trends: understanding how investment and operating contexts are changing in response to environmental and societal imperatives.
• New risks and opportunities: defining key ESG topics, such as Net Zero and social impact, and their application to different property types and asset strategies.
• Financial and non-financial returns: unpacking the relationship between ESG, property value and investment performance.
• Measurement and transparency: certification, benchmarking and reporting frameworks applicable at the asset, portfolio and corporate level.

Module Two (Practical Implementation)

• Prioritising ESG interventions throughout the property investment lifecycle, including integration into asset business plans and the growing role of sustainable finance.
• Ways of engaging with other stakeholders, such as occupiers and operating partners, to secure the delivery of ESG interventions and outcomes.
• Establishing roles and responsibilities, ensuring accountability and incentivising action across the value chain.
• Market leadership: examples of best practice and innovation from around the sector.

Pricing

• Participants from BBP Member organisations: £500 + VAT per participant
• Participants from organisations that are not members of the BBP: £750 + VAT per participant.