Mortgage Association — launched its Green Financing Business first as an initiative in 2010 and issued its first Green Bonds in 2012. In essence, the challenge was how could Fannie Mae help transform an aging housing stock into better, more affordable and more environmentally sustainable homes for Americans? By retrofitting existing properties and building new green-certified proper- ties, Fannie Mae would help create new jobs, cut utility costs, reduce energy and water use, and cut green- house gas emissions. Thus, the company first set out to explore how financing for environmen- tally sustainable projects can support quality, affordable housing in the U.S., Pagitsas said. To learn more, Fannie
Yes, I'm a tree hugger - a tree hugger that sees value in profitable businesses. The two are not incompatible in mymind.
sultant to real estate companies, I knew we could do more,” she said. “[The program] had to be grounded in a mortgage that was easy to use and rigorous at the same time. It wasn’t going to be about green- washing, hand-waving and green paint. It was going to be a mort- gage that delivered a better quality property, a more environmentally sound property, and also a more affordable property.”
Mae established the first Green Rental Housing Task Force, which convened housing, energy efficiency, and mort- gage industry experts to discuss needs and a national strategy. With more than 15 years as an en- ergy and utilities executive, Pagitsas was ready to coalesce the collective knowledge into a meaningful pro- gram that made a difference. “Because of my background in the energy sector and as a con-
W hen Chrissa Pagit- sas first took on her executive leadership role at Fannie Mae in 2010, there was no existing road map to show how she should deliver on her mission: positive environmental and social outcomes through mortgage finance. “When I came on board there wasn’t the focus there is now on green finance,” said Pagitsas, Vice President of Enterprise Envi- ronmental, Social, Governance at Fannie Mae. “We knew that green finance would play a critical role in our support of the housing industry, but there was no blueprint with a specific design. We were working from scratch.” While challenging, the amorphous prompt was veiled good fortune. Ultimately, it afforded Pagitsas the creative latitude that enabled her to take a broader, benevolent tack. Pagitsas said she could step back and evaluate a mortgage product’s offerings, the people it would benefit, and the process to make it happen. “What I thought about when I first started this back in 2010 is how can we get what's called the “triple bottom line” out of a boring old mortgage,” Pagitsas said. “How do we get financial benefit and profitability? How do we get social
Chrissa Pagitsas brainstorming with Samantha Thompson (left) and Abou Bakayoko (right).
investor profits, societal improve- ments, and substantial environmen- tal benefits. But as with many lofty plans aspiring for bold goals, Pagitsas and her team at Fannie Mae would face a variety of challenges. They’d have to overcome not only market complacency and competition, but also the challenge of simplifying a convoluted package of benefits.
benefits with better quality housing that's more affordable for American renters? And how do we get envi- ronmental benefits as a result of energy and water efficiency?” The answers didn’t arrive over- night, Pagitsas said. But, eventually, they culminated into what’s widely regarded as one of the most suc- cessful green financing programs ever: Fannie Mae’s Multifamily Green Financing Business. Through year-end 2018, the program has financed more than 2,000 multifamily properties through $51.7 billion in green mort- gage-backed securities, spurring
AN IDEA TAKES ROOT Fannie Mae — a govern-
ment-sponsored enterprise also known as the Federal National
14 | think realty magazine :: september / october 2019
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