Lucinda Lay to strengthen Regional Sustainability team as Biodiversity Net Gain Lead
CBRE’s Regional Sustainability team has been bolstered by the appointment of Lucinda Lay, who joins as Biodiversity Net Gain lead supporting the ESG offering and championing the delivery of nature-positive operations. Working with Regional Sustainability Director Lydia Dutton, Lucinda will be based in Manchester and supports the North and Scotland with a national remit to develop a biodiversity net gain proposition.
Lucinda joins from Mitie where she was both Head of Nature and ESG Programme Manager working across Lloyds Banking Group’s sustainability strategy, supporting their journey to Net Zero Carbon by 2030. At Mitie, Lydia also worked on the expansion into Biodiversity Net Gain and Nature Positive Solutions. Lucinda worked with clients including Sellafield, Magnox and Department for Transport on their journeys to nature-positive operations.
Prior to joining Mitie, Lucinda was Director of Operations for the Innovation Gateway alliance and as Sustainability Programmes Manager for The University of Oxford, was responsible for the design and delivery of a £14.6M CAPEX programme to achieve 33% reduction in carbon emissions across the functional estate by 2020/21.
This key appointment underlines CBRE’s ability to advise on the Environment Act 2021, which introduced a new mandatory need to demonstrate 10% biodiversity net gain from November 2023 onwards for all projects needing planning consent.
A recent biodiversity report “Living Planet 2022’ cited global wildlife populations have plummeted by 69% on average since 1970, highlighting the need to work together to help bring back the thriving ecosystems that provide vital survival services. CBRE will be supporting clients in their response to this through embedding effective biodiversity strategies into their sustainable development programmes.
Lydia Dutton, Regional Sustainability Director, CBRE said:
“As we continue to engage with our clients across the regions there is clear interest and drive to embed ESG in the North and Scotland. Lucinda brings a wealth of sustainability experience which will add significant value and insight for CBRE and our clients.”
Lucinda Lay added:
“Climate change and biodiversity loss are the two significant challenges of the 21st Century. Joining the CBRE ESG consultancy provides me with a new opportunity to push through transformational change within the CRE sector. As a progressive leader with a clear vision to innovate and deliver change, I am excited to build the partnerships needed to make it happen.”
