Shaftesbury appoints new Head of Sustainability

West End landlord Shaftesbury has announced the appointment of Matt Smith to the newly created role of Head of Sustainability.

Smith joins following an extensive career across the construction, property development and asset management sectors.

With over eight years spent in sustainability roles, most recently he was the Interim Head of Sustainability for Real Estate at The Crown Estate.

Shaftesbury said the new Head of Sustainability will focus on further developing and implementing the company’s sustainability strategy and its community engagement.

Among other things, the company intends for its entire portfolio to use 100% renewable electricity in the future.

Brian Bickell, Chief Executive Officer commented: “We are delighted to welcome Matt to Shaftesbury. His extensive experience will be extremely valuable to us as we continue to address all aspects of sustainability across our business.

"We are committed to operating in an environmentally sustainable way and minimising the environmental impact of both our operations, and those of our occupiers”.

Matt Smith added: “I am excited to be joining Shaftesbury, a business which I have respected for some time. I am very much looking forward to working with the team to continue to develop the business and build on its already extensive sustainability credentials.”

Since 2015, Shaftesbury has supported the UN Global Compact principles of sustainability and in 2019, integrated the UN Sustainable Development Goals into their sustainability strategy. 

Shaftesbury has announced a village-wide programme of digital initiatives to provide support for consumers, residents and operators during coronavirus.

Bringing-to-life virtually Chinatown, Seven Dials and Carnaby with a programme of unique digital content created by tenants to entertain, educate and inform