Hines Launches ESG-Centered Unit to Reduce Operational Carbon

Real estate investment firm Hines is thinking green, but not as it pertains to money.

The Houston-based firm has formed a new business unit geared toward ESG investing, which ensures environmental and social factors are taken into account when undertaking a project, the Houston Business Journal reported.

One of the ways Hines is implementing ESG strategies is by focusing on the reduction of carbon emissions when building new developments, targeting net-zero operational carbon by 2040.

The firm will begin investing heavily in sustainable initiatives throughout its portfolio, which spans 28 countries and more than 1,500 properties. To achieve this net-zero goal, the company plans to utilize renewable technologies, such as electrifying building systems that run on a circular system of fossil fuels, the outlet said.

The new unit, called EXP by Hines, is broken down into two sectors: Global ESG and Global Venture Lab. Doug Holte, who was with the company from 1897 to 2009, will serve as the CEO of EXP by Hines.

“EXP is looking beyond the boundaries of real estate to solve complex problems while creating long-term value,” Holte told the outlet.

Peter Epping will lead the Global ESG faction and is responsible for ensuring that Hines’ developments create long-term value while benefiting people in the surrounding communities.

Kathryn Scheckel will serve as the head of Global Venture Lab and is tasked with identifying and accelerating ventures, partnerships and investments that benefit communities where Hines operates, the outlet said.

The formation of the ESG-driven unit stems from Laura Hines-Pierce being promoted to serve as co-CEO along with her father, Jeffrey Hines, who commended his daughter for bringing a fresh perspective to the company.

“In the world we’re in now, where innovation, property tech, ESG, etc., are taking off, there are so many things that, frankly, Laura, from a generational perspective, brings more to the table than I do,” Hines told the outlet.

ESG Investing has been a source of division among politicians at the federal level. The U.S. House of Representatives recently failed to override President Biden’s veto of a republican-led bill that would have banned such practices.

—Quinn Donoghue