Heidi Creighton
VP, Sustainability
Skanska USA Commercial Development
My session, Addressing ESG in Real Estate Development, Design and Construction, will focus on climate- based upgrades to design and construction, along with the premiums that should be developed in alignment as part of an ESG strategy. My co-presenters and I will also focus on piloting new technologies and techniques for efficiencies and carbon reductions, embodied carbon considerations, green building certifications, and healthy building certifications, many of which we are implementing at Skanska USA Commercial Development. I think it will be a key session to attend, as I see embodied carbon, climate resiliency, and social equity as some of the rising themes in ESG in the year ahead.
Skanska recognizes the long-term advantages of proactively tackling ESG issues are substantial, and partners with companies who demonstrate commitment and leadership in these core areas as they will remain the true differentiators. I hope that REITworks attendees this year will feel inspired to advocate for more sustainable, healthy, resilient, and equitable approaches within their organizations’ work.
Lane Jost
Head of ESG, US
Edelman Smithfield
As momentum for ESG continues to grow globally and across stakeholders, surgical communication has never been more important. Voluntary reporting frameworks reign supreme but with the SEC entering the arena, data harmonization and regulatory compliance are beginning to play a bigger role in ESG
In Building a Roadmap for ESG Thought Leadership, Steve Rochlin of Impact ROI and I will address the great temptation to oversell a firm’s ESG story and trajectory to meet this new demand, and how that is a mistake. Regulators such as the SEC are actively enforcing greenwashing with significant fines. To rise up and develop a leadership voice, the relationship between ESG and leading business KPIs, risks, and opportunities must animate a firm’s unique ESG content—in reports, the 10K, and across social channels. Articulating how ESG commitments support core business goals can help firms avoid green or broader issue-washing claims and tell a credible and authentic ESG story.”
Merryl Werber
SVP, CAO, & Controller, US
Merryl Werber
I’ll be co-presenting my session, SEC Comment Letter Trends and PCAOB Updates, with Hero Alimchandani of Deloitte & Touche, Robyn Werner of EY, and Paul Westbrook of Kimco Realty Corporation. Beyond the title, the session will focus on the lessons that my co-presenters and I learned from 2021 critical audit matters and how attendees can prepare for 2022 year-end. I’m most looking forward to teaching attendees about SEC comment letter developments and comment trends in the real estate space, as well as about PCAOB developments and changes to PCAOB focus areas when reviewing accounting firms.
I look forward to REITworks every year, but this year in particular, I’m excited to network in person once again, as well as to learn about new ESG trends and gain insight into potential changes to the SEC proposal. “