Meet the Leader: QSix’s Head of ESG Unveils Insights into Sustainable Finance and Corporate Responsibility
Meet the Leader: QSix’s Head of ESG discusses the opportunities presented in well considered, bespoke ESG solutions within real estate
How did you find yourself working in the ESG & Sustainability space?
Corporate and Social Responsibility (CSR) featured within the European equity markets throughout my career. However, it was initially categorised as a stand-alone investment style, which was mainly exclusion based. In the years leading up to the 2020 EU Taxonomy, and post the financial crisis, it became clear that CSR was expanding; morphing into what we now ubiquitously categorized as sustainability and ESG. It was also becoming clear that something around this would be mandatory in some way. Investors found themselves thinking about how anticipated financial-markets legislation might affect their own investment styles and client responsibilities. They wondered what incorporating ESG into their own investment processes, and stewardship conversations, would mean for them. Investment banks started to become especially instrumental in providing clients with ESG and Sustainability support, across a spectrum of financial products throughout public and private markets. It was in this way that I started my own professional ESG/Sustainability focus.
What does your role at QSix entail?
In my role at QSix, I have a diverse range of responsibilities related to ESG. As a relatively small company, it’s important for everyone on the team to be fully aware of our ESG agenda. One aspect of my role is presenting and discussing ESG matters with investors and the Board of Phoenix Spree Deutschland, a company listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange, for which QSix serves as Property Advisor. Additionally, I oversee the ESG workflows for all investment strategies at QSix, providing guidance on relevant and appropriate ESG plans. I also handle stakeholder engagement and feedback and lead the internal ESG Task Force responsible for implementing our ESG approach across the business.
Can you provide an overview of QSix’s approach to ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) and its significance within the organisation’s overall strategy?
QSix is committed to integrating sustainability into all aspects of its business, including investment, asset management, risk management, and employee development. This approach allows us to deliver meaningful value to all stakeholders. In our investment activities, we use our expertise to identify long-term opportunities that are often overlooked. We prioritize sustainable and socially responsible investment strategies that have a positive impact on communities.
Given how diverse and intricate ESG is in the real estate sector, what priorities do you and your team have?
Understanding regulation and how that might evolve and impact our company and its stakeholders. Making sure that we report regularly on the progress that the company is making, and routinely gathering the relevant data to enable us to do so. We engage with stakeholders to understand their thinking and priorities and ensure that the relevant aspects of ESG are appropriately aligned and immersed within the different investment strategies.
What challenges has QSix encountered in its ESG journey, and how has the company addressed these challenges to drive continuous improvement in its ESG performance?
It is important that we strike the right balance in delivering on our ESG ethos and responsibilities whilst we drive a continual focus on investment performance. Our ESG approach has been to understand and to be entirely candid about what we are able to deliver within the context of our business. For example, much of our portfolio in Berlin is made of up of buildings completed before 1948 and the utility-consumption information is tenant controlled. These nuances influence our data-collection and reporting processes, and we ensure that we are diligent and transparent in our decision making and methodologies around this. Our approach has been recognised by the European Public Real Estate Association where, for the past two consecutive years, Phoenix Spree Deutschland has been awarded a gold medal for the high quality of its ESG reporting.
Finally, how do you see the broader ESG landscape evolving, and what advice do you have for other organisations looking to strengthen their ESG commitments and performance?
We will see the landscape diversify as investors and companies become more comfortable with authentically tailored approaches to their ESG commitments and pathways. For companies and investors to best deliver, this needs to start with reflection and veracity. The ESG strategy must be compatible with the businesses’ primary strategy and should be complementary rather than fractious. ESG must also be embedded in such as a way that it can serve as a tangible risk mitigation tool.
It is also crucial that there is complete understanding of the exact nature of the specific commitments and targets prior to implementation. All too often, companies sign up to seemingly long-dated concepts and goals without fully having considered how to objectively quantify the short-term steps they are taking to meet those long-term commitments. The strongest and most credible ESG strategies fully consider all the available frameworks and understand what any commitments entail. They fully evaluate what is possible or not for a given business and are honest and thorough in the explanation of the choices taken.
