Board Directors

Louise Ellison, BBP Chairman

Head of Sustainability, Hammerson

Louise Ellison is Chairman of the Better Buildings Partnership and the Head of Sustainability at Hammerson, a FTSE 100 property company focused on retail. Hammerson considers sustainability to be a key element in delivering the company's vision which is to be the best owner- manager and developer of retail property within Europe.

Louise has previously held lead sustainability roles at M&G Real Estate and Quintain. She was Research Director at IPF, leading the £1m-plus IPF research programme that focused on property investment research. The programme funded a number of sustainability-focused projects including the Sustainable Property Appraisal Project which provided the foundation for a number of sustainable property investment projects that followed.

Dan Grandage

Head of ESG, Real Estate, Aberdeen Standards Investments

Dan Grandage is Head of Responsible Property Investment at Aberdeen Asset Management. Dan supports Aberdeen’s £20bn global property investment division to manage property obsolescence and improve the environmental efficiency of Aberdeen managed properties, with the ultimate aim of future-proofing the investment funds. Dan also chair’s Aberdeen’s corporate environment committee having responsibility for the environmental performance of Aberdeen’s global office network. 

Dan represents Aberdeen Asset Management on a number of external committees including the UK Better Buildings Partnership, the BCSC, IIGCC, BPF, INREV property working groups and the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) benchmark committee. Dan has over 18 years environmental and energy management experience gained with energy and environmental consultancy RPS Consultants and engineering and design consultancy WSP Group.

Dan has an MSc from Manchester University and a BSc in environmental geology from Sheffield University.

Nina Reid

Director, Responsible Property Investment, M&G Real Estate

Nina has overseen responsible investment within M&G Real Estate for over 9 years, driving its ambitious Responsible Property Investment (RPI) strategy, which seeks to enrich the lives of people and communities by creating and managing world class places which deliver positive value for its investors, society and the environment. Nina and her team work with internal and external stakeholders to ensure that M&G Real Estate’s product range is well placed to drive progress, identify opportunities whilst minimising risk associated with obsolescence and depreciation. She also oversees investor reporting on RPI initiatives, engaging directly with investors to ensure that funds are meeting their sustainability requirements.

With over 15 years experience in responsible investment and real estate, prior to joining M&G Real Estate in 2011, Nina was an associate director within the Upstream Sustainability Services Team at Jones Lang LaSalle. She has an MA in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge and is Practitioner Member of the Institute for Environmental Management & Assessment (PIEMA).

Emily Hamilton

Senior Sustainability Manager, Grosvenor Britain & Ireland

Emily Hamilton is the Sustainability Manager for Grosvenor Britain and Ireland (GBI). In her current role she leads the implementation of ‘Your Contribution,’ the business’ rolling five year sustainability plan, designed to catalyse action and support Grosvenor’s ‘Living cities’ philosophy.  She also co-ordinates the company’s Sustainability Steering Group, has established the Community Governance Committee and sits on the Grosvenor Retrofit Steering Group.

Externally, Emily represents the business on several industry forums including the Supply Chain Sustainability School and the Better Building Partnership. As one of the founders of the BBP, Grosvenor is  committed to the principles of the BBP and working in partnership with the public and private sectors to reduce carbon emissions.

Emily is a Chartered Environmentalist and Member of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (MIEMA) as well as the Global Association for Corporate Sustainability Officers. She holds a masters from University College London in Environmental Policy and Sustainable Development. Emily is committed to championing the role of community engagement in creating and sustaining places, including the role of buildings in delivering greater social value to cities.  

Neil Pennell

Head of Design, Innovation and Property Solutions, Landsec

Neil Pennell is the Head of Engineering and Design for Landsec, 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 Landsec’s 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 Building Operations & Technology Working Group.

Sophie Carruth

Head of Sustainability for Europe, LaSalle Investment Management

Sophie Carruth is the Head of Sustainability for Europe at LaSalle Investment Management, an independent subsidiary of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated with $58.3B assets under management. Sophie is responsible for implementing LaSalle’s European sustainability strategy which focuses on protecting and enhancing investment performance by embedding sustainability into its operations.  Sophie is a member of LaSalle’s Global Sustainability Committee and works with her regional counterparts in the Americas and Asia to deliver LaSalle’s global sustainability strategy.

Sophie started her career as an asset manager and became increasingly involved in sustainability until she was appointed to the newly created role of Sustainability Officer for Europe at the beginning of 2013 as a response to the growing importance of this area to LaSalle and its clients. Sophie is a Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Sophie joined the newly formed INREV Sustainability Committee in 2014.

Abigail Dean

Head of Sustainability, Real Estate, Nuveen Real Estate

Abigail oversees the sustainability strategy, which positions Nuveen Real Estate as a global leader on environmental, social and governance issues, and ensures the business is well placed to pursue growth opportunities, whilst minimising the risk of accelerated depreciation and early obsolescence within Nuveen Real Estate’s portfolio of assets.  She joined the firm in 2016. 

Abigail previously worked at JLL, where she led on sustainability for the property and asset management business, embedding it into core processes and deliverables. Particular achievements include the successful integration of sustainability into procurement and supply chain management, the roll out of a rigorous ISO14001 certified Environmental Management System and the standardisation of deliverables to clients. She began working in the real estate indsutry in 2008. 

Abigail gradudated with a B.A., with honours, in English Literature from The University of Sheffield. She is an active member of the Better Buildings Partnership and sits on a number of their working groups. She has also contributed to the Word Green Building Council’s Better Places for People campaign, by taking part in the Health, Wellbeing and Productivity in Retail working group.

Quinten Babcock

Environmental Manager, Facilities Operations, Estates Management, TfL

Quinten Babcock is the Environmental Manager for Transport for London’s Estates Management Directorate. As one of the founders of the BBP, TfL is committed to the principles of the BBP and working in partnership with both the public and private sectors to reduce carbon emissions and drive best practice.

Quinten joined Transport for London in 2006, and works in the Head Office Facilities Operations department’s Infrastructure & Sustainability team, providing leadership in energy & water management, building services infrastructure asset maintenance and waste & recycling.

Quinten chairs the BBP’s Sustainability Benchmarking Working Group, responsible for our Real Estate Environmental Benchmark outputs for industry. He also sits on CIBSE’s Energy Performance Group committee and is dedicated to improving the benchmarks available for the industry to improve both design and in use energy performance.

Quinten has a first class honours degree in Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering from Leeds University, and began his building services engineering career at Oscar Faber Engineering consultants (now AECOM) in 1999. He spent 5 years working within their Applied Research department working on updates to Building Regulations as well as standard project designs through the use of dynamic thermal modelling simulations, so is well placed to provide advice at both the design and in use stages of a building’s lifecycle.

Sharon Brown

Director, Real Estate Risk and Environmental Impact, Hermes Investment Management

Part of the Hermes Asset Management Team Sharon is responsible for monitoring and directing asset risk management across the Client portfolio through the development of strategic management initiatives and steering groups, working with experienced industry specialists, and engaging with Property Managers to drive compliance and best practice activities. She is also responsible for coordinating the asset protection insurance programme, working with Aon UK Limited, to ensure appropriate cover and value for Clients assets. Since 2016 she has been responsible for managing the Responsible Property Management programmes, driving initiatives and consistency of data, improving cross portfolio consistency and accuracy of reporting. An active member of the Better Building Partnership, in particular utilising her previous knowledge and experience as a conservation manager with English Heritage sitting on the Heritage Buildings Working Group, she is also involved in the delivery of Wellbeing initiatives utilising new technologies to improve workspace management.

Prior to Hermes, Sharon has worked as an Operations Manager for both Land Securities and BNP Paribas, managing key estates in Victoria and St James’s, leading on key developments, driving improvements in stakeholder strategies and delivering key customer engagement initiatives.

Janine Cole

Head of Sustainability, Great Portland Estates plc

Janine Cole is Head of Sustainability for Great Portland Estates plc, a FTSE 250 Real Estate Investment Trust specialising in development and investment of property in Central London.  She leads on the development and implementation of sustainability strategy and reporting on ESG matters across the business.  A key responsibility is to integrate sustainability, wellbeing and community related matters into all aspects of the design, construction and operation of our buildings. As part of her role, Janine is also responsible for the Charities and Community Strategy and for ensuring it’s effective implementation.