PGIM Real Estate, the real estate investment and financing arm of Prudential Financial’s investment management business, announced today the appointment of Julie Townsend as ESG Lead for Europe and Asia Pacific.

In her new position, Townsend will oversee the ESG strategy and implementation across the business’ European and Asia Pacific regions and will build upon the firm’s sustainability targets. She will also work with the firm’s local investment teams to implement and manage corporate and asset-level ESG strategy and will lead ESG reporting and assessments.

Townsend will report to Christina Hill, Global Head of ESG and Head of Americas Asset Management. Hill, said:

“We are fortunate to have been able to attract a skilled and experienced ESG leader such as Julie, who will be a pivotal member of our growing team as we continue to accelerate our sustainability efforts in the years ahead.”

Townsend joins PGIM Real Estate after serving for 15 years at CBRE, most recently as Head of Environmental Consultancy, responsible for leading all aspects of environmental sustainability advisory services, across all aspects of the property life-cycle.

According to PGIM Real Estate, the addition of an ESG lead for Europe and the Asia Pacific further strengthens the firm’s commitment to ESG investing. In May 2021, the company announced a goal to reduce operational carbon emissions of its global portfolio of managed properties to net zero by 2050.

Townsend, said:

“With a history dating back more than half a century, PGIM Real Estate is one of the most renowned brands in the global property industry. I am extremely pleased to join a group of such scale and experience and am looking forward to helping make a difference as we continue to build upon the already strong ESG foundations.”