Julie Hirigoyen
Chief Executive, UK Green Building Council
Julie Hirigoyen joined UKGBC as CEO in 2015, and has since been credited with transforming its strategy into a more member-focused, holistic sustainability agenda with a strong focus on impact measurement. At the helm of a fantastic team, Julie and UKGBC have some important achievements to celebrate – including galvanizing industry support for a net zero carbon legislative target in 2019, convening industry consensus around definitions of net zero carbon buildings and circular construction, and influencing government policy at both national and local levels on a range of impact areas including net zero carbon, biodiversity net gain, climate resilience, and waste and resources strategy amongst others. Julie’s own purpose is to support and empower her team to drive effective change, and to act as UKGBC’s spokesperson with the media, members, regulators, and wider stakeholders, as well as forging links with other GBCs across the world.
Julie is a former Commissioner on the London Sustainable Development Commission. She also Chairs the Igloo Footprint Advisory Board, and sits on both the Green Construction Board and Grimshaw’s Stewardship Group. Most recently she was appointed as a Trustee of the purpose-driven charity Blueprint for Better Business. She is the recipient of UCEM’s 2021 Property Award and in December 2019 was named one of three best persons of the decade by Property Week.
Julie was previously UK Head of Sustainability and an International Director at JLL, having come into JLL as a result of an acquisition. JLL acquired Upstream, a leading sustainability consultancy which Julie was co-founder and Joint MD of, in 2007. Having led the Upstream team through the integration into JLL, Julie oversaw further development of cutting-edge sustainability services to property investors and occupiers across the UK and EMEA.