BE Offices’ CSR Manager announced as ESG Leader of the Year at the inaugural Property Week ESG Edge Awards 2024.
BE Offices are delighted to have been recognised through their CSR Manager, Julie Tucker, at the awards ceremony which took place on 12th November at the Hilton Bankside, celebrating organisations who are implementing effective ESG strategies in their daily business operations.
On announcing the award, it was stated that ‘Julie’s passion for sustainability and ESG is well articulated and evidenced in the many supporting testimonials. Her devotion for driving ESG and her commitment to climate action extends way beyond her day job through the myriad voluntary roles she takes on and her determination to really make a difference through purposeful action.’
Those testimonials include:
“Julie’s determination, joy and passion for this work are a breath of fresh air and have kept our team motivated and helped us to support even more London businesses.”
“Julie’s commitment to using her role and the leverage it gives her to address the climate crisis has been evident since our first meeting. She is passionate and uses her networks wisely to build wider support for transformational change at a local and regional level.”
“When Julie is passionate about something she gives 1000% of herself,”
“Julie is a true powerhouse of CSR with an energy for change and the sort of attitude which makes you believe the impossible is possible.”
This is Julie’s third award in the space of a year having already been the proud recipient of the Lord Mayor’s Dragon Award for Social Impact Leadership at the end of 2023, and winner of the Chairman’s Cup at the Clean City Awards 2024. Julie was also previous the runner-up Sustainability Leader of the Year at the UK Green Business Awards 2023 and a finalist at the 2023 World Sustainability Awards. And, in recognition of the work she does in the City of London, she was also recently honoured with the Freedom of the City.
BE’s ESG lead, Julie is responsible for sustainability and social impact, while also working with the HR team on matters of governance. Chair of BE’s Green Group, Julie unites representatives from every department to expand on BE’s already exceptional green credentials; zero waste to landfill since 2015, motion sensor lighting to reduce consumption, £1m+ investment in LEDs, operating on carbon-neutral servers, elimination of single-use plastics, cycle-to-work scheme, chemical-free cleaning products and more. Julie also instigated BE’s ongoing support for international reforestation projects, through B-Corp organisation, Treeapp, whose tree-planting partners are scrutinised by forestry experts to ensure projects adhere to strict criteria surrounding ethics, transparency and use-of-funds.
Determined to meet the highest ESG standards, Julie secured commitment from BE’s board to pursue B-Corporation certification, appreciating that the rigorous process of the business impact assessment ensures BE’s commitment to a more inclusive, equitable and regenerative economic system for the benefit of all people and the planet.
One of Julie’s most high-profile environmental endeavours is participation in the Mayor of London’s Business Climate Challenge, joining the pilot at BE’s Borough building, working with Better Bankside BID and achieving a 28% emissions reduction. Julie added two buildings to the scheme within the Camden Climate Alliance footprint, when the programme was extended, and became a principal advocate for the project, regularly speaking on the GLA’s behalf and supporting participating BIDs in securing new businesses to the programme.
As ambassador for City of London charity, Heart of the City, which supports SME’s in responsible business practice, Julie supported the development of their climate action toolkit and training course, currently being used by 900 SME businesses. Julie promotes the resources, particularly when engaging with clients on sustainability. BE clients are primarily SMEs, recognising the requirement for business decarbonisation, but typically without the expertise to even start the process. Julie supports them through group and one-to-one meetings. She is particularly gratified when BE’s environmental credentials are cited among the principal reasons for clients selecting BE workspace.
Known for her inextinguishable energy and enthusiasm for climate action, when the Culture Mile established steering groups to create a new BID, Julie was invited to co-chair the Sustainable Environment Steering Group. The remit encompassed air quality, greening, transport strategy, energy use, freight/deliverables and walkability. Julie has also been supporting the Lord Mayor’s Appeal and City Giving Day initiative since 2018, acting as an active advocate.
Recently Julie became a volunteer for Climate Ed, teaching climate action workshops to primary school children. She has conducted 13 workshops in three different schools so far, reaching 120 children. She is also a leadership coach for a head teacher from a school with a high proportion of children from low-socio-economic backgrounds through not-for-profit, Inspiration for All. In addition, Julie spends 30-minutes a week providing literacy tutoring to a primary school child through literacy charity Chapter One.
Taking her environmental expertise home, Julie is a trustee of environmental charity EcoJudaism and part of a local community eco team, leading on environmental education projects and activities.
Julie counts her successes as changing the habits and behaviours of colleagues, clients and other people she encounters, using her communication and networking skills to raise awareness and encourage others to climate action. Also, successfully persuading co-workers to use their volunteer leave to work on environmental projects such as tree planting and beach cleaning, achieving a 520% increase in the use of employee volunteer days in 2023. Julie has even trained with Thames21 to be a certified river action leader.
