David Taylor catches up with FORE Partnership managing partner Basil Demeroutis to hear about the firm’s new B Corp status, ambitious net zero targets and aims to help raise the public perceptions of development by pursuing social good…

David Taylor: Hi! How are you? And what have you been up to recently as a firm?

Basil Demeroutis: Hi! Yes, it’s a complex question, ‘how are you?’ in these times, but I think, generally speaking, well. Of course, like everyone, that’s peppered with good days and bad days. But I think generally speaking, yeah, fine!

DT: Great! I wanted to talk to you about your firm, especially to do with becoming a B Corporation. Could you outline what that is, for people that don't know, and also how rigorous the process was? And how you will apply it going forward?

BD: Sure. A B Corporation is an independent certification that companies across all industries are applying for, not just real estate, and it's unique in the way that it covers all aspects of a company's business and operations, both environmental and social. At its core it is looking to identify companies that are willing to put people and planet alongside profit – not ahead of profit, but alongside profit – and end this notion of shareholder primacy. To really look at those three things: people planet and profit in equal measure.  

It’s a rigorous process; it took us over a year to get through. And B Labs, who run the B Corporation certification process, look at the policies, procedures, real-life case studies, how you treat your staff, in our case with a real estate portfolio, how we run our investments, buildings, how energy efficient they are, how socially impactful they are – before giving you the final certification. I think what’s different about the B Corp is that it requires that you embed in your corporate charter, your bylaws and corporate governance documents a commitment to put people and planet alongside profit. And so there's really no getting around it. It's not a file and forget process whereby you get a checklist and move on. It’s really an ongoing, living, breathing process that you as a firm agree to adopt. 

DT: What was the moment where you decided to go down this route? What was the inspiration?

BD: You know, we've been thinking about it for quite a while. I think it was really finding a time when we had the resources to dedicate to going through this application process, which was a happy consequence, I suppose, of lockdown. We’ve known other B Corps through my previous work with the school foundation and Jeff Skoll’s family office [Skoll is a film producer and was the first president of eBay], and so it's been something that I’ve been trying to do for a decade or so. So I just thought it was the right moment for us to undertake it for ourselves.

DT: And similarly, you're embarking on quite an ambitious target in terms of net zero. Could you talk about that for a moment?

BD: Yep. I think again, hand in glove with our commitment to being a B Corp, we made our net zero carbon declaration over the last year. I think our view of that was that we need bolder, more ambitious targets for ourselves and for the industry than those that are currently out there. Certainly, the UK's targets for 2050 are a worthy ambition. And there are others in the industry looking to bring that forward to 2030. But there's such an urgency in our mission we felt like even that wasn't good enough. And so we set ourselves a target of being net zero carbon by 2025.

Equally importantly, as part of that ambition, we want to make sure that we advocate for a transition to that zero carbon that is particular and just. And that, for us, is a key factor. So: not only do we need to get to a low carbon transition to a low carbon economy, we need to do so in a way that’s fair and equitable for all stakeholders, which for us is really essential.

DT: Do you think that both of these initiatives will give you a competitive advantage as well?

BD: I think it’s part of the narrative of what makes FORE Partnership so different and a different kind of investor and landlord. I always think of certification as the evidence that you're doing something right, as opposed to an outcome in and of itself. So if we're able to evidence the fact that we are net zero; that we are a socially equitable firm; that we do take communities and climate and put them on the same level as profit - and someone has independently come in and said that that's actually true – I think that's helpful. And I think it short circuits a lot of noise that's out there in the market, be that from investors or tenants or otherwise. We’e really trying to navigate this really complicated topic of ‘what does good look like?’. I think that's ultimately what these tools are best used for.

DT: So, with your scheme TBC London, next to Tower Bridge, could you first of all just outline what's special about that? I know it's 100% electric and zero carbon but in terms of the B Corporation elements to it, what is there that's the purpose-driven side of that, please? (laughs)

BD: Yeah, great question. I think there's a lot of people now doing amazing things on the net zero of things - low carbon buildings. I think that it's the way that we integrate both the social outcomes as well as the environmental outcomes in a joined-up fashion. So for us we don't do environmental on Tuesdays and communities on Thursdays. It’s a Monday to Friday, 9 to 5 task for us to think about how we create the buildings of the future and the future of real estate in a way that's low carbon and socially inclusive.

In terms of the building itself, of what makes it different, we have created, for example, what we are calling an urban village hall. It’s a significant 3,500 square foot space within the building that we're going to co-curate with the community to help achieve the social outcomes that are most desperately needed in the community. So we’ll be working with social enterprises around programmes or upskilling initiatives or things around food poverty - anything really that the community feels is important. Oftentimes, community groups are starved for resources or for space to hold meetings to come together, and so we think that creating such space within the building will aid and assist these community groups doing important work.

I think what's extra interesting and exciting for us is the way that we integrate that the tenants that are in the building, and it’s our ambition that companies coming into the building looking for their own purpose in a way will have the ability to come down into this community space and share in the activities that we're putting on with these local community groups and social enterprises. 

DT: Well, it sounds really great and laudable. I suppose my last question would be: do you think this kind of way of working will raise the profile in terms of the public's view about developers as more socially conscious and aware?

BD: Yes, I hope so. Look, at the end of the day, I remember seeing a survey suggesting that property owners were somewhere towards the bottom end of the respectability and trust scale, even below politicians dare I say it…

DT: (laughs) And journalists!

BD: (laughs) I don't know about journalism…

DT: We’re pretty low! (laughs)

BD: The flight to the bottom! But I think there needs to be something that we should do as an industry to win back the trust of the community. Because, at the end of the day, there is a huge amount that we ought to be able to help with communities from the obvious - the massive capital that's flowing into the local communities. In most of our projects we’re spending 50%, 60%, 70% of the CapEx spend in the immediate local community in which our building sits. From the positive contributions that we can have to the city, and to the streets of neighbours around the building. Again, whether that’s offering free space or highlighting the knock-on ongoing economic contribution that our tenants and occupiers have, to just the positive benefits of great design and beautiful architecture that surrounds you every day as you walk to from your place of work or your home.

I don't think we do enough as an industry to advocate for the positive benefits that we do, and we're oftentimes stuck in this antiquated vision of landlord versus tenant; master versus servant. I think that if it's not already completely gone from our psyche  the hope is that that is the case very soon.

DT: Well, maybe it's part of the post-Covid recovery future that more organisations will think this way?

BD: I think so, and I think it's an absolute necessity if we’re going to have a kind of a sustainable recovery that comes out of this.

DT: Yeah. Brilliant. Well, thank you very much for your time. I'll be interested to see TBC in the in the real world – IRW! (laughs) - when it comes about. When is it going to be complete?

BD: It’s slated to be complete at the end of 2022. We’ve got another couple of years yet, but my understanding is it will be one of the first post-COVID buildings to start on site, so it'll be interesting to see how it's received.

DT: Well, good luck with it. Nice to speak to you! Bye

BD: You as well. Cheers then. Alright. Bye!