Tamara Chernomordik - Senior Director of ESG at Kimco Realty

Tamara started her career in management consulting, but always knew she was destined for a career in sustainability. She left her job in consulting and went back to school to earn her Master’s in Civil Engineering with a focus on Sustainable Infrastructure. After graduation, she went to work for the ESG team at Prologis and eventually found her way to Kimco where she leads their ESG team as their Senior Director of ESG.

See Tamara’s interview below to learn more about her career path in ESG and what advice she has to those looking to enter the sustainability space.

What led you to pursuing a career in sustainability?

I feel like this has been a long time coming. I grew up accompanying my father on his ethnobotanical research expeditions, so I grew up learning about conservation and sustainability. It is something I’ve carried with me throughout my childhood and my career. One of the things that really drew me to real estate in this field is that ~40% of greenhouse gas emissions stem from real estate globally. I think that there is such a good opportunity in this space to make a big impact. 

How did that lead you to joining Kimco Realty?

I spent the early part of my career in management consulting and I really wanted to make sustainability the main focus of my work. In order to have a more scientific background on these topics, I left consulting and got my Master’s in Civil Engineering with a focus on Sustainable Infrastructure. It was a really great program, it provided a deep dive into the comprehensive problems surrounding climate change, lifecycle assessments and sustainable building materials.

As I was graduating from that program, I connected with my previous boss at a different REIT and spent five years there on their ESG team. This position at Kimco opened up with a great opportunity to lead the program and be with a company that has been focused on sustainability for over a decade. It was very serendipitous and good timing. 

Can you tell us what you do as Senior Director of ESG?

I am responsible for driving forward the ESG strategy for Kimco. Kimco has been focused on this for a really long time, so it really is a wonderful  place for me to come in and help lead the program. At Kimco, ESG is truly integrated into the business and the culture, so I work with every team in the company on various ESG related initiatives.

My responsibilities span across a variety of things: sometimes that means engaging with our investors, our tenants, or our employees on what ESG means to Kimco and how we can achieve our goals. Sometimes it is synthesizing ESG data and focusing on our ESG reporting efforts. Every day is different, and I love that about my job.  

Can you break down Kimco’s portfolio for us?

Kimco is North America’s largest publicly traded owner and operator of open-air grocery-anchored shopping centers, this also included mixed-use assets. We do operate nationally with a large number of our properties on the coasts and in the sunbelt.  

How does technology fit into your strategy for achieving your ESG goals?

We have 16 publicly facing comprehensive ESG goals that really span across E, S and G. A couple of examples I can provide include our Scope 1 and 2 science based targets for greenhouse gas emission reduction, which is 30% by 2030 from a 2018 baseline. It also includes our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) goal to increase the proportion of diverse employees in management to 60% by 2030. It also includes a community focused giving goal of $1 million annually of giving and in-kind giving to benefit small businesses and charities in the diverse and unique communities where we work. 

So when it comes to technology, it is essential from every aspect. From a data perspective, the data requirements of ESG are vast and they are growing. We are constantly looking into the best systems and processes to help us capture what the full picture of ESG looks like for us. From a building/real estate perspective, the investments in technology is how we achieve some of our goals, such as LED lighting and controls, they help us achieve our Scope 1 and 2 targets. It not only helps us achieve our goals, but helps our tenants run their businesses with minimal interruptions. 

Have you been able to find a single technology to help you manage your ESG goals?

It really depends, there’s not one singular technology that will increase operational efficiency and solve your equity problems. ESG is really broad, and the technology solutions are just as broad at the moment. When it comes to a data perspective, we are essentially getting data from every system across the organization and I think that area is really going to evolve over the next few years. When we look at technology to retrofit existing buildings in our portfolio, we are investing in our properties all the time. These investments can include capital projects, like LED lighting and control retrofits, roofing updates, cool roofing material, or any other retrofit as they are needed for each unique asset. 

What is a sustainability initiative that you’ve implemented at Kimco that you are most proud of?

If I can focus on ESG as a whole, my favorite program so far has been expanding our governance structure and launching our employee focused community council. 

We have our goals that we want to achieve and our leadership team is helping to drive them along. Having buy-in and participation from across the entire business, at every level is how we are going to achieve our goals. 

What advice can you give to someone who is looking to pursue a career in sustainability?

The best advice that I can give is to keep reaching out to ESG and sustainability professionals. 

When I was looking to get into the space, I had help and I am always looking to help the next generation of ESG professionals get into the industry. This is probably one of the best times ever to be looking for a career in the ESG and sustainability space, as a lot of teams are expanding and other companies who historically haven’t had ESG teams are hiring. 

A career in the sustainability space can look like many things, there are opportunities in retail, REITs, and even consulting. It helps to talk to as many people as you can so you can figure out what you like and don’t like, and figure out what you want to learn more about. 

Are there alternative paths other than going back to school that you would recommend to someone who wanted to learn more about sustainability?

For me, going back to school was the right choice. When I was looking into programs there were not a lot sustainability focused masters degrees. Over the past couple of years, I have seen a huge expansion of the types of programs that are available spanning across bachelor’s, master’s and MBA’s. 

From a personal perspective, I love learning, I consider myself to be a forever learner. However, I do not think it’s necessary to go back to school to get a career in sustainability. A good starting point would be to talk to people so you can get a better understanding of the types of roles that are out there and then figure out if getting a certificate or a degree makes sense for what you want to do. Everyone’s path into sustainability is going to be different.