(HONG KONG) – Hines, the international real estate firm, has appointed James Morrison as head of Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) for the firm’s Asia Pacific (APAC) region.
Morrison’s appointment strengthens the firm’s longstanding commitment to ESG and will ensure new initiatives focused on addressing carbon emissions and social equity across the built environment are embedded across APAC for the benefit of its clients. He is part of the firm’s global ESG team, led by Peter Epping, who was appointed to global head of ESG last June during the firm’s unveiling of a new strategy .
Morrison will be responsible for driving a comprehensive ESG agenda across the Hines APAC platform including coordinating carbon reduction standards and initiatives, defining social programs that foster meaningful engagement with stakeholders, and ensuring adoption of transparent and accountable governance frameworks such as GRESB and The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. With his experience in the integrated facets of real estate management, Morrison will continue to focus on integrating ESG into the day-to-day business of Hines .
Morrison, head of ESG - APAC at Hines commented, “I’m excited to take on this new role and continue to expand and enhance our ESG agenda in APAC. ESG is at the front and center of commercial real estate, and we aim to lead the industry bysetting ambitious targets for our ourselves and our projects throughout the region.”
Ray Lawler, CEO of Hines APAC added, “Jim has played an integral part in implementing sustainability measures across our projects in China. In this newly elevated role, he will drive our ESG strategy forward and bring greater emphasis to the most important challenges the region is facing.”
Morrison previously held the role of senior managing director/China country head for the firm. He began his career at Hines in 1987 leading landmark investment and development projects in Hines’ west region. In 1997, he moved to China to initiate Hines’ development projects in Beijing and Shanghai.
During his tenure leading Hines China, Morrison and team worked to bring Hines’ best practices to a range of property types, including multifamily serviced apartments, high-end condominium, hotel, and core downtown high-rise office/retail projects. He worked closely with Hines’ Conceptual Construction Group and the Central Operations and Engineering team to ensure each project established new market standards for energy efficiency, air quality, placemaking, tenant activation, community engagement and transparency. This market-leading philosophy will continue to extend Hines’ ESG mission across APAC.
Over the past year, the firm has commenced several other development projects across the region, each with emphasis on a strong ESG agenda and environmental certifications. The 60-story One Museum Place in Shanghai set sustainability standards with LEED® and WELL Platinum certifications, implementation of the RESET standard and comprehensive reporting to GRESB. In addition, 36 Wellington in Australia will be Hines’ first T3 project in the region. Located in Collingwood, one of Melbourne’s most rapidly evolving inner-city commercial submarkets and with over 20,000 square meters of rentable area, the project will feature low embodied carbon structural elements and solar power generation and will target market-leading environmental certifications.
About Hines
Hines is a privately owned global real estate investment firm founded in 1957 with a presence in 255 cities in 27 countries. Hines oversees investment assets under management totaling approximately $83.6 billionÂą. In addition, Hines provides third-party property-level services to more than 367 properties totaling 138.3 million square feet. Historically, Hines has developed, redeveloped or acquired approximately 1,486 properties, totaling over 492 million square feet. The firm currently has more than 171 developments underway around the world. With extensive experience in investments across the risk spectrum and all property types, and a foundational commitment to ESG, Hines is one of the largest and most-respected real estate organizations in the world. Visit www.hines.com for more information. ÂąIncludes both the global Hines organization as well as RIA AUM as of June 30, 2021.
