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.

Peter Clarke – British Land

Peter is Executive Officer of British Land and Chairman of the BBP.  He is responsible for the group’s capital markets and derivatives activities and led the teams that dealt with the refinancings of Broadgate; British Land’s superstore portfolio; Meadowhall Shopping Centre; and its award winning debenture restructuring, in 2005 and 2006.  His other responsibilities include portfolio-wide control of rent reviews, credit control, information systems and corporate responsibility.  He is Chairman of Broadgate Estates Limited which manages office, retail and residential properties for British Land and third party clients.  Peter joined British Land in March 1989 as Company Secretarial Assistant.  He was appointed as Executive Officer in September 2005.  Peter is a Chartered Secretary and Associate of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

 Paul Edwards - Hammerson

Paul Edwards is 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.

 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.

Martin Powell - London Development Agency

Martin is Director of Environment & Capital Projects at the LDA where he is responsible for the delivery of the core Regeneration and Climate Change projects.

He was formally a Management Consultant responsible for delivery of business improvement and project management improvement projects for several global organisations.

Martin's has a degree in Engineering. He worked for an Italian Engineering Company in Rome before joining Ove Arup & Partners where he was responsible for the delivery of several high profile projects in Italy, Spain and Asia.

Martin has written several papers on Project Management and is one of the authors of the Wiley Guide to Project Management. He also features on the NBS learning channel presenting on project management.