International property group Grosvenor Americas announced that it has appointed Lauren Krause to the newly created position of Environment, Social & Governance (ESG) Director. As a new member of Grosvenor’s senior management team, she will be responsible for leading the company in its World Green Building Council’s (WGBC) Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment, which includes achieving net zero operating emissions by 2030. Ms. Krause will also enhance Grosvenor’s existing focus on delivering social benefit and lead the Company’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

Steve O’Connell, Chief Executive of Grosvenor Americas, said:

“We created this position to further shape Grosvenor Americas’ commitment to creating positive social impact through our work in the cities where we own and develop properties. This is a progressive step toward helping to future proof Grosvenor and our partners for environmental resilience and to ensure we are doing what we can for socio-economic change — we are very pleased Lauren is leading us in this endeavor.”

Ms. Krause has been with Grosvenor since 2016, most recently as a Senior Development Manager in the company’s San Francisco office, with key roles in a series of strategic acquisitions, community engagement programs, entitlement approvals and delivery of green building designs. She is an active member of the Urban Land Institute, serving on the Executive Board and on a National Product Council. Prior to joining Grosvenor, she was a Development Associate at Carmel Partners, managing large entitlement redevelopment projects in Southern and Northern California.

In her new role, Krause will evolve sustainability and social benefit such that they live at the heart of Grosvenor’s North American business. She will help establish carbon policies for Grosvenor’s portfolio in the US and Canada, which includes a development pipeline valued at $6.2B and 4,740 residential homes. She will also head up Grosvenor’s charitable giving efforts, an initiative which recently saw the Company give $370K to support community-based organizations, key workers and vulnerable groups in Washington, D.C., San Francisco and Vancouver impacted by the Pandemic.

Grosvenor manages over $4.0bn of Investment property and has 4.9m square feet of new development, the majority of which will be targeted, designed, and constructed to LEED Gold standards.

Ms. Krause said:

“Grosvenor has a long history of progressive thinking and meaningful action — I’m delighted to be tasked with shaping our plans to deliver social benefit to our communities, to achieve our aggressive sustainability goals and to advocate for equality, diversity and inclusivity.”