Hillbreak, the market-leading training and advisory specialist in responsible investment for real estate organisations, has been appointed to the Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) Committee of BMO Real Estate Partners (BMO REP). The appointment coincides with the release of BMO REP’s new Responsible Property Investment (RPI) Strategy, on which Hillbreak provided extensive advice.
BMO REP is a pan-European property investment and asset management specialist that is part of BMO Global Asset Management. It has £6.7 billion of assets under management (as at 30 June 2017) across several listed and unlisted investment vehicles, including the FTSE250 F&C Commercial Property Trust. As well as its integration within BMO Global Asset Management, which has an unrivalled pedigree for responsible investment and ethically-screened investment products, a key point of differentiation for the real estate business is its in-house asset management capability, meaning that it is not reliant on third party managing agents for the delivery of its ESG commitments at a property level.
The refreshed ESG Committee, to which Hillbreak will provide independent advice and external challenge, has the dual responsibility of overseeing the implementation of the new RPI Strategy, whilst advising the Investment Committee and wider business of the evolving demands of market stakeholders, including regulators and investors.
BMO REP RPI Strategy 2017
Hillbreak’s advice on the new Strategy was complemented by the development of an integrated acquisition and portfolio risk management and benchmarking tool, which prioritises assessment of ESG issues that are relevant to individual asset classes, property types and locations, and which provides a framework for quantifying and reporting on potential investment risks.
Detailed operating requirements and ESG guidelines were also prepared for asset managers and property managers, linked to an asset classification system based on the materiality of individual property’s impacts, and for which training was delivered to all relevant staff.
Commenting on Hillbreak’s appointment, Angus Henderson at BMO REP,
“Responsible Property Investment is an issue that is of increasing importance to investors. Governance is always high on our agenda and, while the structures provided by BMO Global Asset Management mean that we operate to the highest standards, Hillbreak has provided exceptional clarity of advice that has been instrumental in taking the business to a new level in our approach to Responsible Property Investment.
“We’ve worked closely with Jon and Miles over several months and they’ve been particularly adept in helping us to translate the implications of strengthened client demand into the unique way in which our business operates.”
Hillbreak co-founder, Jon Lovell, added,
“It’s been a privilege to work with BMO REP in helping to develop its new RPI Strategy, and we’re honoured to have been asked to join its ESG Committee as an independent member. The role sits perfectly with our mission of expediting the transition to a sustainable policy, business and investment environment by bringing intelligence, challenge and inspiration to our clients and stakeholders”.
Notes to Editors
About Hillbreak
Hillbreak provides training and advisory services to organisations seeking competitive advantage in a changing urban world. Its mission is to expedite the transition to a sustainable policy, business and investment environment by bringing intelligence, challenge and inspiration to its clients and stakeholders.
Please see www.hillbreak.com for further information about Hillbreak.
https://www.hillbreak.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/architecture-1727807_1280.jpg551827Jon Lovellhttps://www.hillbreak.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/hillbreak-green.pngJon Lovell2017-07-28 13:22:342017-08-04 13:54:50Hillbreak appointed to BMO Real Estate Partners ESG Committee
Hillbreak was privileged to be invited to participate in the inaugural GRESB Spring Conference at Siemens’ inspiring building, The Crystal (dual-rated BREEAM Outstanding and LEED Platinum), in London earlier this month. Miles Keeping, co-founder of Hillbreak, was asked to join the first panel of the day, to discuss Climate Risk & Resilience, a session moderated by Sarah Ratcliffe of the Better Buildings Partnership. Specifically, Miles was asked to provide a challenge to the industry on what more needed to be done to ensure that climate factors are better incorporated into investment and asset management decisions, and professional practice across the sector more broadly.
That’s not the sort of invitation that needs extending to us twice! We were more than happy to oblige with a no-punches-pulled provocation to a number of key industry actors: investors; owners and managers; vendors; and industry bodies. Our headline messages to each are stated clearly in our short slide-deck, which you can view by clicking on the image below. The headline warning to all concerned was that disinterest in climate risk now amounts to a form of professional negligence and/or incompetence; those failing to give it due regard or demonstrate the capabilities necessary to address it are simply not providing the duty of care that is required of them.
Hillbreak Slides for GRESB Spring Conference
Miles was joined on the panel by Professor Sven Bienert from the University of Regensberg, who discussed his research for the Urban Land Institute on climate change and extreme weather, their effects on property values and the so-far inadequate response of the real estate sector to factor these into strategic asset allocations. Tatiana Bosteels, Director of Responsible Investment at Hermes Investment Management, discussed a number of key industry initiatives which have sought to bring better decision-making frameworks to bear in the market, whilst Andrew Rich, Fund Manager for TH Real Estate‘s flagship European Cities Fund, talked candidly about how sustainability and climate risk are integrated into the Fund strategy and its decision-making processes.
Miles Keeping, Hillbreak on the Climate Risk & Resilience Panel
Potential £10bn rental bombshell just twelve months away in buildings failing green standards
Research on the impact of new green standards has estimated the value of failing commercial property in England and Wales could be as much as £10bn in annual rents.
The estimate is based on data included in a major new report by global advisory, broking and solutions company Willis Towers Watson, which calls for radical policy measures to green the UK’s building stock.
Willis Towers Watson – Real Estate Climate Risk Report 2017
The report, to which Hillbreak was a principal contributor, contains research by big data firm DealX showing that nearly a fifth of commercial properties in England and Wales are currently failing the Minimum energy efficiency standards (MEES) due to come into force from April next year.
The research has found over 115,000 commercial buildings – 17.5 percent of those rated – in England and Wales have Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) rated F or G. Landlords will be forbidden from re-letting commercial buildings with EPCs below E from next April.
Analysis of the figures by property consultancy Daniel Watney LLP based on the EPC data and the new business rates valuations estimates that the equivalent annual rental value of F or G-rated commercial buildings could be as much as £10bn. Figures released by the Investment Property Forum last year estimated the annual 2015 value of UK commercial property rents to be £55bn.
The Willis Towers Watson Real Estate Climate Risk Report brings together major listed firms and high street names including British Land, Land Securities, Lendlease, NatWest and the John Lewis Partnership to examine how to best bring property up to standard and help the UK meet the targets enshrined in the Paris Agreement, the world’s
The listed firms say that while they can leverage their economies of scale and the latest technology to achieve substantial energy efficiency gains, the key challenge will be to get smaller businesses to green their buildings.
Recommendations in the report for greening real estate include:
Government funding for a mass retrofitting programme
Ratcheting up the minimum energy efficiency standard to an EPC D rating by 2020
The industry-wide adoption of Display Energy Certificates
Potentially combining DECs with science-based targets in future legislation to drive ongoing emissions reductions
The report also details the potential harm to real estate if action is not taken to limit climate risk, proposing tougher stress testing and increased translation of climate risk to balance sheets. Many firms are not adequately insured against extreme weather events, as seen in the wake of the UK’s 2015/16 winter floods, which caused £600m in uninsured damage.
Paul Chetwynd-Talbot, managing director of the real estate practice at Willis Towers Watson, said:
“Buildings create 40% of carbon emissions and the fact than one in five properties are falling short of standards is worrying. Investors – many of whom are pension funds – increasingly recognise the risks associated with climate change. But we need to see more affirmative action from Government to help retrofit older buildings and drive forward take up of renewable energy.”
Miles Keeping, co-founder and director of sustainability consultancy Hillbreak, said:
“It is of course impossible to identify the precise value of the total rents at risk due to MEES. But relying on rateable value data gives us a very tangible sense of the money landlords are putting at risk if they do not attend to their EPC-related risks appropriately and very soon.”
Martin Siegert, co-director of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment at Imperial College London, said:
“The need to decarbonise our economy is critical. It is going to be a profound change: the developed world will need to have no net carbon emissions by 2050. Ending emissions from our electricity system, manufacturing, transport and supply chains will be challenging enough for our larger companies, but we will need all of our smaller companies to achieve this too.”
Sarah Cary, head of sustainable places at British Land, said:
“Retrofitting old buildings on a mass scale requires a far more complex solution than simple tax incentives to replace boilers or windows. Retrofitting should be set as a priority for a national infrastructure programme.
“The benefits would be twofold: it would be a boon for job creation, and it would work wonders in helping reach energy goals.”
Paul King, managing director of sustainability at Lendlease Europe, said:
“We need to make sustainability easier for everyone to engage with – both in terms of consumers and companies. An industry-wide agreement to have LCD screens on the front of every building showing real-time energy use would be more than welcome. Just as with the example of energy labelling on white goods, while it may not directly cause many consumers to switch from one business to another, the incentive to a CEO to avoid having a negative label compared with a competitor could generate real results in driving businesses to retrofit their buildings.”
Caroline Hill, head of sustainability at Land Securities, said:
“Changes in technology and the ability to access growing pools of data have allowed us to set increasingly ambitious commitments to reduce both energy intensity and emissions by 40% per square metre by 2030. If more leading businesses agreed to using 100% renewable power, this could provoke a serious step-change in how society approaches the challenges we face.
“Giving property owners a hard stop deadline to improve buildings or lose the right to rent them out has clearly had some positive effect. Ratcheting MEES so all buildings must be at least D grade by 2020 would provide the impetus for inefficient buildings to get the investment they need.”
Andrew McAllan, managing director of Oxford Properties Group and chairman of the Canadian Green Building Council, said:
“Most ‘Tier 1’ companies – those with the greatest capital reserves and profits – are by and large already taking the necessary action on making their buildings greener and making more efficient use of energy. It’s that next level down of ‘Tier 2’ companies that need engaging and support. Mandatory reporting of energy consumption would be useful: what gets measured gets managed.
“The best sustainability strategies are built on a foundation of good data, and there are ways of bringing in these measures without making them onerous for smaller businesses. Once you have that compulsory recording in place, smaller businesses then see the easy efficiencies they can make on their utility costs. Combined with something like carbon pricing to add impetus to the need to invest in more efficient installations, that is how we can effect the change we need.”
Richard Garner, head of commercial agency at property consultancy Daniel Watney LLP, said:
“As our research into the value of England and Wales’ F and G rated buildings shows, many investors in commercial property face a ticking timebomb with their properties being potentially unlettable from April next year – this is particularly the case in the office hotspots of Westminster, Kensington and the City, which have commercial space with a collective annual rental estimate of nearly £800m currently not up to standard.
All the evidence demonstrates that adding sustainable features to offices adds value and drives worker productivity and satisfaction, advantages that will serve landlords well over the long term.”
Jon Lovell, co-founder and director at sustainability consultancy Hillbreak, said:
“It is important that that the government clarifies some of the glaring gaps in the confusing regulations. Many large fund managers and REITs are on top of them, but we have a real concern for the long tail of smaller landlords, businesses and family trusts, who own a disproportionate amount of F&G rated properties and will suffer if they don’t get their acts together very quickly.”
— ENDS —
Contributors to the Willis Towers Watson Real Estate Climate Risk Report 2017 included Hillbreak, British Land, Land Securities, Lend Lease, Oxford Properties, John Lewis Partnership, Nattiest, Hermes Investment Management, Blackstock, Grantham Institute for Climate Change & the Environment and DealX.
For more information, please contact Blackstock Consulting / Tyron Wilson / tyron@blackstockpr.com / 07725 197364
Notes for editors
Daniel Watney LLP is not a contributor to the report, but their research on the value of F + G-rated property is based on the DealX data within the report. The rental estimates are based on the latest rateable values used to calculate business rates, calculated using the average rateable value in each local authority and the number of F + G-rated buildings in each district.
About Willis Towers Watson
Willis Towers Watson (NASDAQ: WLTW) is a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company that helps clients around the world turn risk into a path for growth. With roots dating to 1828, Willis Towers Watson has 40,000 employees serving more than 140 countries. We design and deliver solutions that manage risk, optimize benefits, cultivate talent, and expand the power of capital to protect and strengthen institutions and individuals. Our unique perspective allows us to see the critical intersections between talent, assets and ideas – the dynamic formula that drives business performance. Together, we unlock potential. Learn more at willistowerswatson.com.
About Hillbreak
Hillbreak is a unique training and advisory firm that helps organisations seeking competitive advantage in a changing urban world. Its mission is to expedite the transition to a sustainable policy, business and investment environment by bringing intelligence, challenge and inspiration to its clients and stakeholders. Please visit hillbreak.com for further information or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Hillbreak Co-Founder and Urban Land Institute (ULI) UK Vice-Chair, Jon Lovell, will be speaking on the main conference programme at Regen2017. The event, to be held at the iconic St George’s Hall in Liverpool, brings together renowned thought-leaders in UK regeneration and economic development.
Representing the ULI, Lovell will join UK-GBC Campaign & Policy Director, John Alker, and the Chief Executive of The Land Trust, Euan Hall, on a session focusing on Sustainability & Growth. He will address the topic of “Leadership in the responsible use of land and investment” through which he will highlight how the burgeoning momentum of the Responsible Investment agenda is shaping investor and developer attitudes to the creation of places and communities with lasting appeal. He will illustrate how a clear focus on futures thinking and strategic foresight is an essential hallmark of the civic and business leadership needed to shape and nurture successful cities and communities in our rapidly-changing world.
The conference, exhibition and networking event, now in its third year, is free to attend and features participants including the Heseltine Institute for Public Policy & Practice, Peel Group, Urban Splash, Triodos Bank and the Department for Communities and Local Government.
The Government has today issued a new Housing White Paper for England, “Fixing our broken housing market”. It includes out a broad range of welcome reforms to increase the supply of new homes and to make housing more affordable, including:
Compelling councils to produce a current plan properly to confront housing demand;
Requiring developers to avoid low density projects where housing land is scarce;
A new emphasis on affordable renting;
Reducing the currency of planning permissions;
Employing a £3 billion fund to help smaller building firms compete; and
Putting the question of further tightening of energy performance standards back on the agenda, albeit without any specific proposals at this stage.
This patchwork of measures, however, comes nowhere close to fixing a shattered system, as our response below highlights.
The Present Situation
Successive governments over the past 50 years have failed to properly to address the ‘housing problem’. The stark reality now is that:
House prices in the UK are the highest in the world, except Monaco.
Construction of new housing has been decreasing steadily since the 1970’s.
Housing in Greater London is exorbitantly expensive, with a price to income ratio of 8.5 compared to 5.0 for the rest of the country.
There is an overall shortage of inexpensive (‘affordable’) housing across all forms of tenure, almost everywhere.
New houses are about 40% smaller than those in similar European countries.
The housing stock is not just deficient in absolute terms, much of it is in the wrong place and is of very poor quality.
Current Complications
The situation is further complicated by such factors as:
A planning regime so unimaginative, rigid, restrictive and subject to locally vested ‘NIMBY’ interest, that housing tends to be built where the development constraints are least, rather than where effective demand is greatest.
Green Belt policy that is not just obsolete or outmoded, but conceptually wrong. Land, and landscapes, of truly high environmental quality should actually be better protected, if not positively enhanced. Meanwhile, swathes of ‘brownish’ urban ground and poor-quality peri-urban farming terrain could readily be released. Greater sense and selectivity should be the watchwords.
Housing markets are insufficiently flexible in terms of size, style, type and tenure. They cater badly for the old, the young, the alone, the mobile, the transient, and the home-worker – let alone the poor and the destitute.
Many government perceived ‘solutions’, such as Help-to-Buy, Inheritance Tax Reform, higher taxes on Buy-to-Let, and ‘Bedroom Tax’, might play to the electoral galleries, but are, in practice, invariably counter-productive.
Even the differential Stamp Duty imposts, widely acclaimed, have the effect of reducing mobility and stagnating the market.
Council Tax has not been subject to a proper revaluation since 1992, so that the tax levied bears little relation to underlying property values, and the consequent ‘equalisation’ system plainly works against more progressive planning authorities.
Few politicians dare to embrace and promote really radical reform. The housing crisis is capable of mindful rectification, but momentary ministers lean towards policies that treat the surface symptoms, rather than tackle the root causes.
The one overriding feature of vital housing policy reform remains, as it has endured for the past half-century, the fundamental prerequisite to concentrate crucially on the ‘supply-side’ of the market (in terms of both quantity and quality), and not continually tinker with ‘demand’.
Options
In addition to the simple imperative of making more land available, Hillbreak would offer three options to help solve the persisting shortage of affordable housing.
Meaningful urban intensification complemented by more Garden Cities, Towns and Villages. We need to place even greater emphasis on executing good urban density, for which the contemporary examples in the UK are few and far between. The intensification and continued renewal of our towns and cities, including a key focus on suburban neighbourhoods and hubs centred on decent public transport and green infrastructure, is vital. In this regard, our work last year with British Land and Deloitte on meeting the needs of London’s growing population is pertinent. In parallel, we have a few new ‘Garden’ projects popping up as a testament to the enduring legacy of Ebenezer Howard, and admittedly more promised. However, it really requires a multiplicity of these numbers to have a meaningful and meritorious effect. Perhaps the “Development Corporation” approach merits a revisit.
A Unified Infrastructure Fund. International investment monies are seeking long-term, certain and secure havens almost as never before. We propose that the government should orchestrate the assembly of top investors – insurance, assurance, mutual, private equity and sovereign wealth – to form a Unified Infrastructure Fund, independent of, but underwritten by (not debt!), government, to finance planned new developments and the necessary framework of services and facilities.
Tax Increment Finance (TIF). Although the idea of TIF has been around for quite a while, and successfully deployed in many countries across the world, especially in the United States, where it started in the 1950’s (Illinois alone has over 900 districts), somewhat surprisingly it has not caught-on well at all in the UK. This is despite strong campaigning from such organisations as the Core Cities Group, The British Property Federation and many Chambers of Commerce. Put very simply, TIF is an investment tool for funding infrastructure and other related development which promotes growth and captures locally generated value and revenues. The potential for TIF’s is, we believe, utterly enormous.
In all this, we believe that quality and ‘placemaking’ should be central to the planning and development of new homes and neighbourhoods, inspired by and capitalising on local assets and potential. The intention always should be the creation of excellent places that promote health, happiness and well-being.
A ‘Royal’ Recommendation
We think a Royal Commission on Housing should be established to inquire into the persisting housing crisis. This would ‘imagine ahead’ to envision the prospect of a healthy market tomorrow for all types of tenure across all locations, and ‘plan backwards’ to identify today the necessary policies, plans and programmes to achieve it. It would have a fixed timetable, say two years, be politically, professionally and societally ecumenical in its membership, headed by remarkable and respected figure(s), and consult widely, wisely and well. Surely, it is not beyond the wit and wisdom of governance at all scales and across all divides to unify for such a noble and common purpose?
https://www.hillbreak.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/reflection-1977040_640.jpg478640Jon Lovellhttps://www.hillbreak.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/hillbreak-green.pngJon Lovell2017-02-07 14:47:482017-02-07 14:50:35Hillbreak responds to new Housing White Paper
TH Real Estate, the top 10 global real estate fund manager with nearly $100bn of Assets Under Management, has launched its new Sustainability Strategy, Tomorrow’s World. Advised by Hillbreak, TH Real Estate has anchored its Strategy around four strategic pillars:
Preparing for Tomorrow’s World, which is constantly changing, by ensuring that the business, the assets it manages and the people it works with, are ready for the heightened pressures, growing responsibilities and new opportunities in the markets of tomorrow, so that TH Real Estate consistently outperform through the cycles.
Investing in the value of Tomorrow’s World, which is currently at stake, with investment strategies focused on opportunities which safeguard and enhance value for its clients, whilst making a lasting and positive difference in the cities of tomorrow.
Helping to create a Tomorrow’s World which supports thriving communities, businesses and ecosystems by creating outstanding places for people in the communities of tomorrow, where community-wide prosperity is unlocked and environmental systems are restored.
Ready to be part of Tomorrow’s World in which TH Real Estate is an active and positive corporate citizen, engaged and influential in the business of tomorrow.
This excellent new video, produced by The Edge Picture Company, conveys the philosophy of Tomorrow’s World and articulates how TH Real Estate is integrating its principles into its investment management processes.
Short-lived market cycles, evolving investor needs and sustainability pressures bring with them significant challenges. Our people deliver unique investment solutions today, by focusing on the structural trends that will shape real estate tomorrow. The local and global expertise across our business, combined with a collaborative and responsible approach, enables us to unlock opportunities and deliver excellence in Tomorrow’s World.
TH Real Estate, 2016
It was Hillbreak’s privilege to advise and provide training support to TH Real Estate. Working closely with the Executive Leadership Team, our role has been to bring insights on the key Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) trends that are shaping real estate markets around the world, to work with the Senior Management Team to integrate ESG objectives and considerations into the various operational and investment management functions of the global business, and to provide advice and training support on key areas of implementation.
Throughout the process of evolving the Tomorrow’s World concept, which in our view provides a genuine point of differentiation for TH Real Estate from its peers, we have been struck by several hallmarks of the business:
A highly engaged and sincere Executive Leadership Team, with a strong appreciation of the need for a foresighted approach to Sustainable Investment;
A well connected operational platform with an empowered Senior Management Team, providing the basis for well-targeted ESG objectives and interventions;
Award-winning legacies on which to build from the RPI activities of its predecessor organisations, TIAA-CREF and Henderson Global Investors;
A collaborative spirit between different teams, such as Product Development, Research, and Sustainability, which creates the environment for embedding RPI across the global TH Real Estate platform.
These attributes have been central to the successful envisioning and early execution of the Tomorrow’s World strategy, and we look forward to supporting TH Real Estate with the ongoing realisation of its RPI goals.
https://www.hillbreak.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/glass-traingles.jpg533800Jon Lovellhttps://www.hillbreak.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/hillbreak-green.pngJon Lovell2017-02-01 08:00:492017-08-04 13:46:09Investing in Tomorrow’s World with TH Real Estate
Eminent professor joins forces with Keeping and Lovell at specialist training and advisory firm, Hillbreak
Professor John Ratcliffe
Professor John Ratcliffe, a globally eminent chartered surveyor and consultant, has joined Hillbreak, the specialist training and advisory start-up fronted by former Deloitte duo, Jon Lovell and Miles Keeping.
Ratcliffe joins the growing firm, whose client book includes marquee real estate organisations including TH Real Estate, British Land and BMO Real Estate Partners, as Head of Strategic Foresight.
With over forty years of working in academia and industry, Ratcliffe brings a wealth of experience to Hillbreak.
Until 2007 he held the position of director at the Dublin Institute of Technology, where he remains Emeritus Professor, as well as being a visiting professor at Henley Business School and the University of Salford,
He has worked as a consultant to countries, cities, companies, colleges and communities in the area of strategic foresight and is currently conducting several projects on the future of sustainable cities and sustainable real estate development.
Currently, he acts as president of the Futures Academy, an applied research and strategic consultancy organisation that was established in order to promote a fresh and more effective approach towards long-term planning.
His work has gained global recognition as a new way of encouraging business and investment management leaders to strengthen their focus on strategic foresight as a means of future proofing policy and leadership strategies.
Ratcliffe will lead the firm’s work on anticipatory leadership through strategic foresight, helping business leaders prepare for a range of future scenarios and making sure their business plans are both adaptable and resilient.
His appointment comes at a time when the firm is expanding both its advisory and training services, particularly in the field of Responsible Property Investment strategies for international asset owners and investment managers.
Professor Ratcliffe said:
“With unprecedented geopolitical uncertainty an acute issue for businesses across all sectors and financial markets, the need for CEOs and their Executive teams to take a more structured and anticipatory look at future operating scenarios has never been greater. Investors and other stakeholders expect rigorous and inclusive approaches to risk management. The volatility, complexity and ambiguity we are witnessing demands exceptional adaptability which can only be realised with a solid approach to strategic foresight.”
For most of my professional career in and around real estate, cities and the built environment, I have championed the cause of thinking farther, wider, deeper and differently about tomorrow’s future, so as to take better decisions for today’s business. Joining Hillbreak is a very special opportunity to promote strategic foresight and anticipatory leadership for the advancement of the real estate industry and the betterment of the communities it serves. I am genuinely very excited at the prospect.”
Miles Keeping, co-founder of Hillbreak and Chairman of the Green Property Alliance, said:
“We are delighted to combine forces with John, whom we have known for and collaborated with over many years. Responsible investment practices and resilient business models require an ever deeper understanding of futures trends and operating scenarios, and John’s knowledge and talent are a perfect fit for Hillbreak in this regard. We’re really excited about the added depth of capability that he will bring to our clients”.
Notes to Editors
About Hillbreak
Hillbreak provides training and advisory services to organisations seeking competitive advantage in a changing urban world. Its mission is to expedite the transition to a sustainable policy, business and investment environment by bringing intelligence, challenge and inspiration to its clients and stakeholders.
https://www.hillbreak.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/hillbreak-postcard-2.jpg665960Jon Lovellhttps://www.hillbreak.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/hillbreak-green.pngJon Lovell2017-01-27 08:00:322017-01-27 08:24:46Professor John Ratcliffe joins Hillbreak
Jon Lovell, co-founder of Hillbreak, was recently interviewed by ULI Connect, the official newsletter of the ~40,000 worldwide members of the Urban Land Institute (ULI). He discusses the impacts of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change for the global real estate industry, the risks and competitiveness drivers of climate change and evolving market expectations, and what motivates him to challenge convention in the industry.
Hillbreak recently concluded its first year of business, during which we’ve been fortunate to work with some of the best clients the real estate market has to offer. We’ve been engaged on an array of truly fantastic engagements, from global responsible investment strategies to the cultural envisioning of regeneration schemes; from coaching a new wave of graduate talent into the profession to helping the Boards of worldwide and pan-European organisations to understand and respond to the impacts of a changing urban world. We’ve spearheaded industry initiatives with worldwide reach, and have contributed to projects with an inherently local focus.
We wanted to share with you the story of an impactful and enjoyable first twelve months, captured in this short document:
Our First Year in Numbers
As proud as we are of the projects we’ve worked on, the clients we’ve worked with and the initiatives we’ve supported, we’re very much focused on what lies ahead.
If you would like to find out more, we’d love to here from you.
We’re just getting started!
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Hillbreak was the principal author on a major new report on the global real estate implications of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, published today by the Urban Land Institute. The publication of the report coincides with the gathering of world leaders at the United Nations in New York, during which progress on the ratification of the Paris Agreement gathered significant pace.
The central element of the Paris Agreement is the aggressive scientific objective of holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and of pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C. The agreement is expected to have significant and far-reaching implications for national and municipal policy making and for business and investment decisions.
Here’s today’s press release on the report:
REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY MUST ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE TO MAINTAIN COMPETITIVENESS, SAYS NEW RESEARCH FROM THE URBAN LAND INSTITUTE
Paper analyzes the real estate implications of UN Paris Agreement on climate change
WASHINGTON (September 21, 2016) – As world leaders gather at the United Nations this week to ratify the Paris Agreement on climate change, a new paper released today by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) argues that many real estate organizations are not adequately prepared for the implications of the agreement, which was made at last year’s 21st annual Conference of the Parties in Paris (COP-21).
Entitled L’Accord de Paris: A Potential Game Changer for the Global Real Estate Industry, the paper provides an overview of the key issues that arose from the COP-21 agreement and outlines steps that the real estate industry can take in response. Since buildings account for nearly one-third of global climate-changing carbon emissions, the agreement could trigger significant changes in requirements for building design, development, operations and management. In order to remain competitive, the industry must proactively limit and respond to the effects of climate change, the paper says.
It notes that from a business perspective, taking action to address climate change can help real estate organizations manage risks and capitalize on new opportunities. Investors and developers who proactively respond to impacts of the Paris agreement can ensure that their buildings remain competitive within changing policy, market, and climate conditions. They are also likely to see bottom-line benefits, as improving energy efficiency to reduce the carbon impact of buildings is one of the most cost-effective solutions to mitigating climate change.
“As leaders in the responsible use of land, ULI’s global members have a pivotal role to play in addressing some of the greatest challenges facing our rapidly urbanizing world, including the pressing threat of climate change,” said Patrick Phillips, ULI’s Global Chief Executive Officer. “The Paris Agreement on climate change will have important implications for both developed and emerging real estate markets, including new business and investment opportunities. ULI has published this paper to support our members in navigating the implications of this agreement, and charting strategies for success.”
ULI leader Jon Lovell, cofounder of Hillbreak and principal author of the report, said, “the Paris Agreement was undoubtedly a landmark diplomatic success, but was only possible because of the groundswell of demand, action and support from business leaders, investors, mayors and industry bodies from across the world.” He added, “Given the value at stake and the weight of evidence collated by this paper, it would be naive to think that investors, tenants and regulators won’t all begin to turn the screws on real estate companies and asset owners. The message is clear — act now to address the implications of the Paris Agreement or face irrelevance in the market.”
According to the paper, the Paris Agreement has catalyzed a change in attitudes and expectations surrounding the real estate market. Organizations are under increasing pressure to divest from carbon-intensive companies and assets, and to engage with policymakers and stakeholders on sustainability issues. Furthermore, they are expected to demonstrate a heightened disclosure of carbon performance and the risk posed by climate change to their assets, and to retrofit development standards through new technologies and financing models. Assets that do not conform to these new standards risk low demand and suppressed value.
The first priority for real estate organizations, says the report, should be to audit their resilience against post-COP-21 impacts. The audit should include a review of the risk exposure of their assets and the capabilities and expectations of their stakeholders. The paper suggests a list of specific questions on the topics of climate risk, client and stakeholder expectations, competitor approaches, policy change, asset performance, value chain, people and processes.
L’Accord de Paris: A Potential Game Changer for the Global Real Estate Industry is a precursor for a more detailed report, including case studies, scheduled for release in October.
About the Urban Land Institute
The Urban Land Institute is a nonprofit education and research institute supported by its members. Its mission is to provide leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide. Established in 1936, the institute has nearly 40,000 members worldwide representing all aspects of land use and development disciplines. For more information, please visit uli.org or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
For more information, please contact Trish Riggs Senior Vice President of Communications at 202-624-7086 email: trisha.riggs@uli.org or Peter Walker, Vice President of Strategic Communications: +44 (0)20 7487 9586 or e-mail peter.walker@uli.org
About Hillbreak
Hillbreak is the new name in training and advisory services for organisations seeking competitive advantage in a changing urban world. Its mission is to expedite the transition to a sustainable policy, business and investment environment by bringing intelligence, challenge and inspiration to its clients and stakeholders. Please visit hillbreak.com for further information of follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
For more information, please contact Jon Lovell, Co-Founder & Director at +44 (0)7825 531031 or e-mail: jon@hillbreak.com, or Miles Keeping, Co-Founder & Director at +44 (0)7971 457959 or e-mail miles@hillbreak.com
https://www.hillbreak.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/urban-city-1245777_1280.jpg400600Jon Lovellhttps://www.hillbreak.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/hillbreak-green.pngJon Lovell2016-09-21 12:00:502017-08-04 15:24:40Real Estate Industry Must Address Climate Change to Maintain Competitiveness
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