HONG KONG (19 May 2022) – The Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) Randall Lewis Center for Sustainability in Real Estate announces that Jenny Zhang has been appointed as the ESG and Decarbonisation Director – Asia Pacific. ULI is the world’s oldest and largest multidisciplinary real estate organisation whose work is driven by more than 45,000 members worldwide.

Zhang will report directly to Marta Schantz, the senior vice president for the ULI Greenprint Center for Building Performance. Zhang will be responsible for leading environment, social, and governance (ESG) in the Asia Pacific region and will be integral to ULI’s efforts to deliver on its global mission priority to decarbonise the real estate sector, accelerate the path to net zero, and increase building value across the built environment. By customising global research, tools, and training programs for the Asia Pacific audience and developing programming on ESG topics for major ULI regional conferences, Zhang will help advance ULI’s net zero carbon initiative and thought leadership in the Asia Pacific region.

“We are very excited to have a ULI Greenprint lead in the Asia Pacific region to work with our member leaders to accelerate their progress on decarbonisation, resilience, and other key ESG goals,” said Billy Grayson, executive vice president for Centers and Initiatives at ULI. “Given her background in decarbonisation and passion for making a difference on ESG issues, we know Jenny will be an excellent addition to our global efforts to advance sustainability in the real estate industry.”

“There’s a huge appetite for decarbonisation and ESG priorities in the real estate community across our region,” said David Faulkner, ULI Asia Pacific President. “But organisations often lack access to adequate technology, data, and training to implement effective strategies. Jenny Zhang has the skills and experience needed to bridge that gap and take ULI to the next level by developing new trainings and customised learning opportunities for our members. I’m thrilled to welcome Jenny to the ULI Asia Pacific team and evolve our net zero mission priority.”

The ULI Greenprint Center for Building Performance is an industry-led initiative composed of real estate owners, investors, financial institutions, and other industry stakeholders that seeks to lead the global real estate industry toward improved environmental performance, focusing on energy efficiency as well as reduced carbon emissions, water, and waste. A core focus of Zhang’s role will be building and supporting ULI Greenprint members in the Asia Pacific region, cultivating the local network, and supporting the recruitment of new ULI Greenprint members in the region.

“I see myself as a builder of everything from products to teams to ecosystems and I love working at the intersection of technology, design, and finance to drive decarbonisation in various industries,” said Zhang. “I am excited to join the impressive team at ULI and further progress ULI’s thought leadership in the real estate sustainability and decarbonisation space. I’m also grateful to be part of the growing team in the Asia Pacific region, and I look forward to accomplishing even more milestones with ULI Greenprint.”

Most recently as a founding member of Carbonbase, Zhang helped corporate clients in the energy, logistics, real estate, and manufacturing sectors to manage millions of tons of carbon emissions every year and built digital solutions to incentivise individuals and companies on their journey toward carbon neutrality. In addition, as sustainability product manager, Zhang has extensive experience in carbon footprint studies and carbon management software development for market-leading projects.

Prior to Carbonbase, Zhang spent six years in Deloitte advising on international merger-and-acquisition transactions totalling over US$12 billion. She is a licensed CPA and a trainer in social impact assessment as well as design thinking. She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with a double major in business and fine arts.

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About the ULI Greenprint Center for Building Performance

• The ULI Greenprint Center for Building Performance is a research center focused on climate mitigation, making the business case for green buildings by tying carbon reductions to increased asset value. ULI Greenprint also includes a worldwide membership alliance of leading real estate owners and developers committed to improving the environmental performance of the global real estate industry, striving to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2030 and to achieve net zero carbon operations by 2050. ULI Greenprint is organised within the ULI Randall Lewis Center for Sustainability in Real Estate, which also oversees ULI’s Urban Resilience Program and the Building Healthy Places Initiative. For additional information, visit uli.org/greenprint.

About the Urban Land Institute

• The Urban Land Institute is a nonprofit education and research institute supported by its members. Its mission is to shape the future of the built environment for transformative impact in communities worldwide. Established in 1936, the Institute has more than 45,000 members worldwide representing all aspects of land use and development disciplines. For more information on ULI, please visit uli.org or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
• ULI has more than 2,600 members in the Asia Pacific region. For more information on ULI Asia Pacific, visit asia.uli.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter.