Lewis Ingall
Senior Managing Director
Client Service & Marketing
In a business where changing market conditions are as much a constant as unexpected challenges, what differentiates a leading company is how it navigates these challenges to meet its goals. We embrace an environment of intellectual honesty as a cornerstone of our foundation. What does this mean? It means that we thoughtfully plan each step of our evolution, communicating transparently and respectfully. And we put all hands on deck, bringing our best investment, management, and research expertise together in one nimble, multi-disciplined team.
We are active in three key segments of the global real estate property and capital markets, with over $52 billion in assets under management. Our private and public market investment teams are based on the ground in North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific to execute investment strategies across the risk/return spectrum for our clients.
Our three complementary business units foster a creative atmosphere within Heitman that translates into an information exchange, helping the firm stay abreast of changing conditions in all areas of real estate across the globe.
In our investment decision-making and management processes, we aim to achieve the following ESG goals:
- Environmental (“E”): Assess environmental exposures associated with the location of investments and improve environmental resource efficiency through operational best practices, including implementation of innovative technologies and strategies
- Social (“S”): Operate such that all investment decisions align with our firm’s values and that these values are transmitted through our employees to the stakeholders associated with our investments
- Governance (“G”): Uphold strong ethical and corporate governance standards through transparency and integrity, and by working or investing with firms that have demonstrated the same
We track over 475 assets using ULI Greenprint’s Measurable software as part of our Environmental Management System (EMS). We have completed over 200 projects and audits related to energy, water and waste, ranging from energy retro-commissioning, installation of onsite solar and fuel cells, LED lighting installation, drip/smart irrigation upgrades, recycling programs, tenant education and health & wellness events. In 2017, we benchmarked nearly $11 billion of our assets under management to the global real estate sustainability measure, GRESB.
Our business practices take into account the social and governance responsibilities of our operations. We have a dedicated and experienced group of professionals who are responsible for ensuring that our business is in compliance with all regulatory requirements under which our operations are governed. We incorporate responsible governance into our investment process by selecting service providers and operating partners who display strong ethical and respected corporate governance practices and meet our high standards for transparency and integrity. Additionally, we are supportive of the Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA) and similar organizations that stress the importance of responsible governance.
We are investing today taking into account the future. Environmental forces pose risk to physical investments in the short and long term. We recognize the long-term impact of climate risk to assets in our portfolios; therefore, we believe that risk should be managed and limited. Heitman takes a measured view when investing in high-risk areas and implements property- and portfolio-mitigation strategies.
Heitman believes in the importance of collaborating with leading real estate industry organizations to continually improve our ESG program by monitoring industry best practices.
Our firm is a member of ULI Greenprint Center for Building Performance, which brings together real estate investment managers to create and provide environmental tracking standards and benchmarks for real estate assets around the globe. ULI Greenprint provides a platform to share sustainability best practices between its members and maintains relationships with innovation partners that present technological advances and provide opportunities for members to test pilot in their portfolios.
We are also a member of the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB), mentioned above, which focuses on fund ESG policy, management, measurement and implementation. We actively engage and participate with GRESB on fund benchmarking and on new modules, such as health and well-being and resiliency.
Working to improve our communities is an extension of our company’s purpose. While many Heitman employees make the most of our corporate donation and matching contribution programs, their commitment to community service often goes beyond simply writing a check. In all of our regions, our employees take pride in coming together and devoting their time and energy to community projects such as cleaning up playgrounds, painting classrooms, and restoring interim housing facilities for the homeless. This dedication carries over into our business practices, as we operate in a manner such that all investment decisions align with our firm’s values and that these values are transmitted through our employees to the stakeholders associated with our investments.