$3.2 Million Gift to Create Steers Center for Global Real Estate’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Solutions Group

The Steers Center for Global Real Estate at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business is proud to announce the launch of the Steers ESG Solutions Group established through a $3.2 million gift from Robert (B’75, P’06, P’08, P’10) and Lauren Steers (P’06, P’08, P’10). The implications of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues on global businesses are topics that CEOs and boards of directors grapple with to identify the best way to incorporate them into their business model.    

“Issues of ESG are vitally important today and will only gain strength overtime across the business landscape,” said Steers. “We believe that the ESG Solutions Group will bring an unbiased, research-first approach to developing knowledge for the commercial real estate industry.” 

The name of the Steers ESG Solutions Group was intentionally selected to suggest a private sector mindset that translates knowledge into practical solutions for the global commercial real estate industry. The group will be led by Steers Center faculty and staff with support from Steers Advisory Services (SAS), a highly successful program that involves undergraduate and MBA real estate students in real-time real estate projects and research.

“Unlike existing methodologies in the market, our focus will be on quantifying the financial impacts to key stakeholders of various ESG initiatives related to commercial real estate,” said Matthew Cypher, Atara Kaufman Professor of Real Estate, and director, Steers Center for Global Real Estate. 

The Steers Center will drive cutting-edge ESG research conducted by the group into both curricular and co-curricular learning activities for its undergraduate and MBA students. This includes applying ESG criteria to the real-world investment activities of the Steers Real Estate Society, a student-led organization that includes analysis and investment in actual real estate investment trust (REIT) stocks and single-asset real estate projects.

“Georgetown University has a long history of addressing topics of social justice among other areas of what we consider ESG, so we see the Steers ESG Solutions Group as a natural extension of our core DNA within the McDonough School of Business,” said Paul Almeida, dean and William R. Berkley Chair.          

For more information, visit globalrealestate.georgetown.edu.