The Church Commissioners for England have appointed Paul Jaffe, formerly of British Land and LaSalle Investment Management, as Real Assets ESG lead.

In this role, Paul will oversee ESG-related activities for the Church Commissioners’ property, land and infrastructure investments, working closely with the Responsible Investment team. 

The Commissioners’ real assets portfolio includes significant UK land holdings, including agricultural land, strategic land and forestry operations, in addition to commercial and residential real estate, infrastructure and indirect investments.

In Paul’s previous role at British Land, he oversaw the execution of placemaking and environmental initiatives and community projects across a £1.8 billion campus in the West End of London, helping bring parts of the campus to BREEAM Outstanding. 

Prior to British Land, Jaffe was a fund management director at LaSalle Investment Management. Paul is a chartered surveyor and has a Master’s degree from the University of Cambridge’s Institute for Sustainable Leadership. 

John Weir, head of real estate at the Church Commissioners, says: 
“Paul’s appointment underlines the Church Commissioners' commitment to responsible investment, outlined in the pillars of Respect for the Planet and Respect for People, putting best practices at the heart of our investments in real assets. Paul will enhance our focus on environmental stewardship and the creation of social value across our diverse real assets portfolio.”