Home Property Australia Natasha Mulcahy: Pioneering sustainable solutions to secure ROI and property longevity

Natasha Mulcahy: Pioneering sustainable solutions to secure ROI and property longevity

  • June 26, 2024
  • by Sponsored
CBRE’s Director of ESG Consulting Services for the Pacific Natasha Mulcahy

Natasha Mulcahy is still reserved about wearing the title of ESG expert. In her honest opinion, no one is really quite there yet.

“If you did a PhD in every core ESG topic, you’d be studying for more than 100 years. I haven’t got that long, so I’m learning on the job.” 

She will, however, admit that her unique experience sets her apart in a field often dominated by engineers and academics. 

“Communication and problem solving are where I add value,” she says.

From negotiating major infrastructure deals to guiding the development of an award-winning $1.1 billion urban renewal project, taking on unique challenges has become her specialty. It’s also why she credits that renewal project as her biggest career achievement to date.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to work on some amazing projects, from Moreton City’s first dedicated university precinct to some of Australia’s largest master-planned communities. But Brisbane’s West Village renewal was definitely the most rewarding because it was so hard fought to reach the final result.”

As CBRE’s Director of ESG Consulting Services for the Pacific, Natasha’s role is to work with clients to develop sustainability strategies and solutions alongside complex project delivery.

Her extensive experience working across industry and government has allowed her to create successful projects that have delivered triple bottom-line results – a rare trifecta of net positive outcomes spanning economic, social and environmental fronts.

When it comes to blueprinting a better future though, Natasha believes there’s more to embracing environmental targets than just the immediate benefits of return on investment.

“It’s also about ensuring the future of your building and your organisation. When you’re talking about climate change risk, there’s physical risk and there’s transition risk. Physical risk covers natural disasters like flooding; transition risk covers the move to a net zero economy. How will the building keep up with stakeholder expectations? Is the building resilient? How will the building move on from fossil fuels towards renewables?

“Our team is taking the abstract and complex, and creating clear plans at the organisation, portfolio and asset level.”

Rising to the role of sustainability

Developing sustainability strategies and goals for a diverse client base is now Natasha’s expertise at CBRE. Whether it’s in a property’s early lifecycle or midway, it’s her job to slot in, consult, and deliver real and tangible results for occupiers and property owners.

“Being able to work with both property owners and tenants is fantastic. It’s about identifying the drivers for both sides and delivering the right commercial outcomes.”

Championing sustainability in commercial property wasn’t always as straightforward though, especially when it came to her unconventional path towards becoming the Pacific Director of ESG.

“I actually graduated with a business degree majoring in marketing and PR and then completed my masters. It sounds counter-intuitive because marketing is all about consumerism – a big contributor to climate change.”

However, it was there that she would end up penning a 50,000-word thesis on environmental consumerism, a study that would lead her to seek a more purpose-driven career. As the pieces came together, Natasha soon found herself working in economic development for the City of Brisbane.

“It was the most fun I’ve ever had in my career. Our role was to attract foreign and interstate investment into the Brisbane region to create jobs, and that’s what drew me into property. I never thought about a career in property before that.

“I was working on an expansion and refit of a heritage-listed brewery which allowed me to understand the Brisbane City plan and town planning principles.

“I enjoyed the site selection component of the work – finding the right properties for clients from new greenfield sites to existing buildings.

“It was here that I realised I loved property.”

Her transition to sustainability came through a stint at Australia’s largest diversified property group, Stockland. A simple encounter with the proven concept of ‘right time, right place’ allowed her a chance to be mentored by what can only be described as Australia’s A-listers of sustainability. Names like Siobhan Toohill, Amanda Steele, Ramana James, Margot Black, Greg Johnson and Davina Rooney.

“It was just incredible,” Natasha says. “I don’t think you’ll ever see a sustainability team like that in the industry again.”

Exploring the real benefits of sustainability

Natasha’s wealth of experience allows her to answer the industry’s most pressing questions today. Questions like: What are the benefits for commercial property owners, occupiers, or stakeholders in pursuing ambitious environmental initiatives?

“It’s all about increasing value and reducing risk. What’s really changed in the last two years is the clear financial benefits from improving sustainability credentials.

“Sustainability linked loans are booming. For example, we completed the Green Star certifications last year for Scape Australia. It’s a KPI in their sustainability-linked loan along with moving to 100% renewable energy.

“For other clients, we are preparing their first ESG strategy as they can’t get access to institutional capital from Europe without it.”

And then there’s the incoming mandatory climate disclosures which is set to impact Australia’s largest organisations from next year.

“This is a once-in-a-generation change to our financial system. Assessing climate-related risk won’t longer be an option for business.”

But it’s not all about managing downside risk. Natasha also sees clear investment potential in Australia when it comes to capitalising on sustainability with a forward lens. 

“If we’re looking at commercial property more broadly, absolutely there’s big opportunities. If you’re in industrial or retail and you don’t have solar on your buildings, you’ll want to ask yourself ‘why not?’

“You’ve got a big roof space that’s the perfect environment for solar with daytime electricity users underneath. And we do solar feasibility studies for clients using intelligent software to run analysis on that.

“And then in terms of commercial office buildings, we’re looking at electrification along with electric vehicle infrastructure. Those two areas need to be looked at in parallel as they’ll have impacts on each other and infrastructure demand.”

Ensuring client success the right way

Natasha has never been a town planner or an engineer. Compared to her industry peers, she’s taken the unconventional path to reaching sustainability’s upper echelons – and that’s essentially the secret to her record for delivering client wins.

“Coming from a business background has really helped me put on a client lens and understand their view,” she says.

“It’s about finding the win-win, or shared value. I don’t try to convince anyone of my point of view; I find the benefit to the client and identify what’s in it for them. Even if we’re working for the landlord, we also find benefits for the tenant and common goals that can increase the wins for everyone.

“I’ve seen the huge change in demand for environmental professionals. For the first decade of my career, I was on the sidelines knocking on doors. Today the feedback I get is ‘Here’s our target’, ‘How do we get there?’ and ‘What budget do we put towards it?’

“I feel a bit more popular now,” she says. “Luckily, the love for what I do hasn’t changed.”

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