In the reaction to the rising demand in real estate, regulations, market expansions and ESG risks together with the global changes JLL decided to set up a 7-person specialized team on Sustainability Services and ESG. This comprehensive team under the leadership of Steffen Walvius (Head of Sustainability Services), will focus on clients corporate ESG consulting, portfolio sustainability assessments, and strategic advice for green and healthy buildings. Part of the international team is Steffen Walvius, Martin Vejrazka, Tomas Pospichal, Michaela Loova, Stefanie Schmidt, Attila Kopanyi, Celeste Cai.

JLL decided to have a sustainability consulting department as the topic of sustainability and ESG in real estate is evolving rapidly and the real estate sector will have to go through a number of changes to meet the EU's climate ambitions. The companies will face many challenges as sustainability initiatives and regulations focus on the whole supply chain too. Both landlords and tenants are affected and need to take major steps. New regulations and initiatives can be a big challenge for companies in the property market and we see a lot of demand for this type of service to help guide companies. 

"I see more companies jump on the sustainability bandwagon. When I started, it was just the top performers that had an environmental strategy and reporting systems in place. Now, many other companies are beginning to realize it is not a trend, but critical to address environmental and social issues. The stakeholder pressure, risk mitigation and increased regulation move all investors to strongly focus on ESG issues. Also, local players in the CEE want these services because they realise regulations are coming in hard, and also want to be able to serve regulated stakeholders," said Steffen Walvius, Head of Sustainability Services at JLL.