Zagga has appointed former head of the World Economic Forum’s Sustainable Development Investment Partnership in ASEAN, Nikki Kemp, as independent chair of its ESG advisory committee.
Ms Kemp has decades of experience across corporate and institutional banking in Australia, UK, and the Asia-Pacific region with HSBC and ANZ, as well as having co-founded an energy efficiency fintech.
She has also served on various not-for-profit boards and committees for sustainability and social development agendas for children and youth.
Zagga chief executive and co-founder Alan Greenstein said: “We are delighted to have Nikki take on this key role. ESG is a, and will become an increasingly, crucial consideration for funders and investors, and we want to ensure that Zagga exceeds expectations in this regard.
“Nikki is perfectly placed to assist Zagga in developing and implementing its ESG agenda and to keep us up to date with best practices and trends.”
Ms Kemp said: “Once seen as a virtuous endeavour or a fad that compromised investment returns, ESG has increasingly moved from periphery of investment objectives towards its core. ESG positively impacts the financial performance of investments alongside societal and environmental outcomes.
“Institutional investment, pension funds and private high-net-worth funds are increasingly seeking alternative assets, and there is a growing realisation of appropriately embedding ESG within alternative asset classes to gain a more holistic view of risk and responsible investment. Real estate and illiquid assets are highly exposed to ESG risks.
“It is important therefore, that we engage collaboratively with investors and developers to mitigate ESG risk and enhance performance in this early stage of property development.”
