National MarketingTranswestern recently promoted Josh Richards to Corporate Director, ESG, a new position that expands his former role as Director of Sustainability for Asset Services. In honor of Earth Week, the Connection asked Josh to share a bit about his responsibilities and how our personal and collective decisions impact the world around us.
What’s different about your new role?
Long before I came to Transwestern, the company had been recognized as a leader in energy and sustainability, and the firm’s work for years has been instrumental in driving value for our clients’ assets. Over time, the industry evolved to place a broader emphasis on the environmental, social and governance issues surrounding real estate decisions. Similarly, team members, clients and partners consider these important factors in determining where they work and with whom they do business.
This new role enables me to work across the Transwestern family of companies to identify, track and communicate ESG goals – and our performance against those goals. Additionally, it allows us to develop integrated programming that advances the brand and mission of Transwestern and its clients, as well as create partnerships and uncover resources that will help us elevate our performance.
What are the challenges ahead for ESG?
Every challenge is really an opportunity. One opportunity can be working with clients that have different levels of commitment to ESG – whether due to interest, financial constraints, or investor focus. For example, office owners were early adopters of sustainable building materials, whereas the industrial sector, for the most part, lags other product types. Transwestern is known for its flexibility and customized approach, so this is an area where we can excel by crafting solutions scaled to fit our clients and their unique portfolios.
Education is another opportunity. Understanding how environmental, social and governance issues are related requires us to consider the goals and perspectives of many stakeholders. Transwestern is tackling this from many angles – including ongoing operational improvements across our managed portfolio; robust DEI initiatives; and a firmwide commitment to detailed, transparent reporting. There is a great deal of interest, and the momentum is only growing. Keeping our team members sharp on ESG and supporting our clients with educational resources are key to our continued success.
Can you share an education example that relates to all of us?
Given that it’s Earth Month, many of us are thinking about how our actions impact the physical environment. We rolled out a national, multifaceted campaign both internally and in our managed properties encouraging everyone to examine their “footprints” more closely. Yes, one footprint is environmental. But as individuals and companies, we also have social, economic and digital footprints. Understanding how each impacts the world around us is the first step to making improvements. You can view an element of that campaign here.
Because Transwestern has such an engaging, vibrant culture, our property teams make this learning fun, including prizes and giveaways for tenants. Hopefully many team members also join in the daily trivia and learn something they can implement in their daily lives.
Josh Richards
Corporate Director – ESG
Asset Services
Houston, Texas
