Board members

Kate Freer - The Blackstone Group

Kate Freer is the Development Manager within The Blackstone Group, a world leader in private equity real estate investment. Blackstone have invested in providing sustainable opportunities for investors in both Private Equity and Real Estate. We aim to develop and embed sustainability into existing portfolios whist investing sustainable investments for our investors in the future. Kate worked for NHP as Head of Real Estate and WS Atkins for a number of years before joining Blackstone Group.

Kate has been working at Blackstone for 4 years and responsible for an extensive development programme across all sectors of the UK and Europe Real Estate market. She leads a team of professionals dealing with all development and Asset Management related activity. Kate is a member of the RICS and has a Masters in Real Estate investment and a qualification in Sustainability in Real Estate Investment.

 Paul Edwards - Hammerson

Paul Edwards is Chairman of the Better Buildings Partnership and the Head of Sustainability at Hammerson, a FTSE100 European REIT. Hammerson have concentrated on embedding sustainability into its culture and delivering community and environmental benefits at all assets and projects. The results are already evident with two BREEAM Excellent certificates in 2008 and the existing portfolio showing a 10% reduction in carbon and 9% in water. Hammerson were recently voted Sunday Times 12th greenest company in the UK and named top in sector for Carbon Disclosure Project 6 scoring 96.

Before Hammerson Paul worked for 10 years in Australia, USA and Asia, for Lend Lease and Arup.  His projects in Australia won over 40 sustainability awards and delivered the first 5-star ABGR and 5 Green-star As Built ratings.

Paul is also the chairman of the BBP Owners Occupier Working Group.

Tatiana Bosteels - Hermes Real Estate

Tatiana Bosteels is responsible for developing and implementing Hermes Real Estate’s Responsible Property Investment strategy. Hermes Fund Management is a leading Institutional Fund Manager in the UK. Tatiana’s work focuses on mitigating impacts and enhancing opportunities of existing urban environments. Her experience lies in developing innovative climate change and sustainability programmes through public private partnerships. Previously, Tatiana has contributed to the London Climate Change Action Plan and delivered the Better Buildings Partnership (BBP) a collaboration of leading UK commercial property owners and London’s Government. Previously she provided policy advice and implemented Kyoto Protocol mechanisms and Emission Trading Schemes. Tatiana is Director of the Better Buildings Partnership, Director of Climate Change Solutions and sits in the World Future Council Commission on Cities and Climate Change.

Emma Strain - Greater London Authority

Emma Strain leads the delivery of the Mayor of London’s portfolio of environmental projects focusing on energy efficiency and the development of the low carbon economy. This includes the award-winning retrofit programmes RE:NEW and RE:FIT are delivering CO2 savings and reducing energy bills for London’s homes and public buildings, along with a number of other programmes focused on mitigating climate change in London.   

Previously, Emma worked for Transport for London in the Commissioner’s Delivery Unit focusing primarily on the environmental policy and sustainable travel.  Prior to this Emma spent 6 years working a management consultant for PA Consulting Group specialising in project and programme management across a broad range of sectors including energy, banking, telecoms and retail.

Nigel Hughes - Grosvenor

Nigel qualified as a Chartered Building Surveyor in 1982.  Since joining Grosvenor in 1985 and prior to his current role as Planning & Environment Director, he has held a number of senior positions at Grosvenor including Deputy Chief Building Surveyor, Director of Surveying Services and Planning & Estate Director.

In his current role as Planning & Environment Director, one of his key responsibilities is to ensure, through an involvement with a multiplicity of stakeholders, that Mayfair and Belgravia continue to thrive as sustainable urban villages in the 21st Century.  Fundamental to this objective is having integrated policies relating to the environment.  In addition to Grosvenor’s “Green Plan”, these policies, which amongst other issues cover town planning and the maintenance, management and redevelopment of the Estate, including the Public Realm, help to ensure that both the buildings and the spaces between them are put to the most beneficial and sustainable uses.

As one of the founder members of the BBP Grosvenor are committed to the principles and objectives of the BBP and to working in partnership with the public and private sectors to achieving carbon reduction.

In addition to being a director of the Better Buildings Partnership, Nigel is also Vice Chairman of the Victoria Business Improvement District and a Trustee of the Grosvenor Pension Scheme.

Neil Pennell - Land Securities


Neil Pennell is the Head of Sustainability & Engineering for Land Securities PLC, the UK’s largest quoted property company. He leads an in-house specialist team responsible for the management of design, procurement and delivery of building service installations and infrastructure for all the Group’s major new development projects.

Neil chairs an internal Environment Panel with responsibility at corporate level to ensure the Company’s environmental targets are met as part of Land Securities’ long-term commitment to sustainable development.

Neil is the Chairman of the Technical Committee of the British Council of Offices and has contributed to a number of their technical publications. He is a keen advocate of the application of new energy technologies and energy efficient systems in commercial and residential development and is a member of the London Hydrogen Partnership. Neil is also the chairman of the BBP Sustainable Retrofit Working Group.

Andy Stanton - Transport for London

Andy is Head of Sustainable Buildings at Transport for London, where he heads a team responsible for the sustainability and environmental performance of TfL’s offices and commercial properties.

His team has delivered year on year improvements in energy and water efficiency achieving Carbon Trust Standard accreditation in January 2010, and recognition in the past three years at the CIBSE Low Carbon Performance Awards, as Client of the Year 2010 and for work on occupant engagement. Their work also features in key CIBSE publications.

Other achievements include installation of the largest fuel cell CHP in a UK building, retrofitting energy efficiency and renewables to existing buildings, delivering BREEAM Excellent refurbishments and a playing a key role in developing London’s RE:FIT energy efficiency retrofit programme.

Andy is a chartered building services engineer and CIBSE Low Carbon Consultant and was the ESTA Energy Manager of the Year 2009/10. He is also a member of the Energy Institute and lectures on sustainability. He has been with TfL for over ten years and has worked and studied in France and the UK, specialising in energy efficiency and sustainability, both in the private and public sector.