BNP Paribas Real Estate appoints sustainability and ESG expert

Jonathan Hale, BNP Paribas Real Estate

BNP Paribas Real Estate’s Property Management team has appointed Jonathan Hale to lead on sustainability and ESG.

Jonathan brings extensive experience in the field of sustainability to the business having spent over a decade strategically supporting clients on ESG at corporate and asset level.

The hire is a strategic move by the firm to cement its commitment to lead from the front on ESG. With the real estate sector being responsible for 39% of all global Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GhG), according to the World Green Building Council, the industry has a pivotal role to play in tackling the climate challenge. BNP Paribas Real Estate has a dedicated team of experts ready to support clients in reducing their emissions and achieving their net zero targets. Jonathan will be instrumental in leading this transition.

His diverse experience has included everything from advising on the benefits associated with assessments on social value and biodiversity, to the undertaking of entire ESG portfolio risks and opportunities reviews. Jonathan’s support has helped clients to understand the performance of their assets and to implement clear action plans.

In addition, the collection and analysis of clients’ ESG data has enabled Jonathan to fully understand what drives the sustainability performance of real estate assets and link this to the requirements for organisations to disclose the actual and potential impacts of climate related risks over the short, medium and long term. He joins from Savills and has previously worked for Inenco Group and John Laing.

Steve Harber, UK Head of Property Management, comments: “Jonathan joins our Property Management team during a period of sustained growth and his expertise will add significant value for clients across both portfolios and flagship assets.

ESG is fast becoming a key priority for real estate players and with COP26 coming up later this year, it will increase accountability and intensify focus on action and disclosure.

He will be able to support clients with identifying potential risks and opportunities that climate change presents to their portfolios. This process will bring clients closer to their own ESG targets and align them with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures’ (TCFD) recommendations that aims to bring greater transparency to financial markets and investors on their climate impact.

We are delighted to have Jonathan join our team. His wealth of expertise and experience will help our clients drive forward their ESG agenda on UK assets working closely with our UK teams and property management’s European Head of Sustainability, Christophe Girard.”

Sustainability is fast moving up investors and organisations’ agenda due to increased pressures from the UK Government to reduce emissions. In addition, property owners are increasingly seeing the value in sustainable portfolios, as they are likely to be more compliant with regulations and more attractive to investors and occupiers.