Doug spoke as part of a webinar organised by the Urban Land Institute’s Sydney District Council. Other panelists were Natalie Devlin, Chief Experience Officer for Charter Hall; Angela Crossland, National Social Sustainability Manager for The GPT Group; and Sarah Mathews, CEO of the B.I.G. Foundation and Head of Marketing and Communications at EG.

With a growing interest in the social dimensions of sustainable development and the key concept of social value, the webinar shared the ULI’s global survey into the role that the real estate industry can play in creating social value. It featured an interview with Sarah Forster, The Good Economy, and Dr Eime Tobari, COCREATIF, the researchers of “Zooming in on “S” in ESG: a roadmap for social value in real estate.”

Opportunities for the Australian real estate industry to create social value were explored at both a system and place level. Levers of change such as more investment in community and social housing and inclusionary zoning were identified at a system level. At a place-based level panelists shared several examples where they are contributing to social value creation. For example, Uniting has now repurposed two decommissioned aged care facilities, one in Waverley and the other in Leichhardt, into housing for homeless people as short-term transitional accommodation. Sarah Mathews shared EG’s approach to connecting the community at the Flour Mill of Summer Hill through music and community-led initiatives to support others during the pandemic.

Panelists agreed that you cannot operate a successful business in a failed world. There is an inherent link between financial returns and people and places – a shared value proposition which is being recognised by more responsible and sustainable investing. With investors and developers sharpening their focus on the social aspects of sustainability, Angela Crossland spoke of the direct connection between cohesive, resilient and economically successful places and the performance of investments and assets.

A shift from shareholder to stakeholder value was explored. Natalie Devlin emphasised that the pandemic has “changed the way we listen,” with employees, tenants and community partners. The role of empathy and understanding was highlighted as being critical to the concept of understanding value and what is important to each stakeholder.

The financial valuation of social and environmental impacts or monetisation was also discussed. In line with the ULI’s global survey, it was noted that quantified social impacts are important for cost / benefit analysis, conversely, the panellists didn’t believe it was as important to calculate a SROI (social return on investment). They cautioned against ‘social washing’ and marketing driven approaches.

Emphasis was placed on starting with outcomes and focusing on evidence and progress, not perfection. Feedback from stakeholders and clients and their experiences were considered important measures of social value.

Partnerships were noted as another important measure of social value. Fundamentally, to create social value greater levels of collaboration and partnerships will be needed. There is much the real estate sector can learn from not-for-profits who inherently have collaboration in their DNA. It is a great time of opportunity for this industry. The power of collective action – together with government – is imperative for this industry to put people and places at the heart of development and investment.