Jana Bour has transformed her early dreams of advocacy into a career shaping Europe’s sustainable policy and impact agenda. From the European Parliament to EPRA and now Impact Europe, she has influenced frameworks like the EU Taxonomy, guided real estate through SFDR, and championed AI-driven impact investing. Blending technical expertise with purpose-driven leadership, Jana shares insights on simplifying regulations, scaling impact enterprises, and turning Europe’s Green Deal ambitions into real-world results, bridging the gap between ambition and implementation.

The Social Digest: Jana, your career has taken you from the European Parliament to Impact Europe, with significant roles in sustainable finance and policy advocacy. What inspired you to focus on impact-driven policy, and how did your journey lead you to your current role?

My journey into policy and impact was somewhat incidental—driven by a deep desire to help create a better world. I’m incredibly grateful that I’ve found a way to do this through my full-time work.

Along the way, many doors opened that I hadn’t even thought of knocking on. If you had asked me 20 years ago whether I aspired to lead Impact Europe’s policy work in Brussels, I would’ve said—no way! I initially wanted to become an attorney, to advocate for others and bring justice where there was injustice. That was my dream.

What I’ve come to realise is that, through policy, I can still advocate—just at a different scale. Today, I’m privileged to engage with European leaders and help shape policy and frameworks that guide capital toward solutions that create positive impact for people and the planet.

The Social Digest: At EPRA, you led strategies related to the EU Green Deal and Sustainable Finance agenda. Can you share a key achievement from that time and its impact on the real estate sector?

Absolutely. As early as 2016, when the European Commission launched its High-Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance, I recognised a major opportunity for the listed real estate sector. I saw that aligning with sustainability could both strengthen its investor base and contribute to decarbonising Europe’s poorly performing building stock—a win-win.

That realisation led to the development of EPRA’s sustainable finance agenda. We engaged early, which is crucial in EU policy—early engagement shapes better outcomes. One key achievement was advocating for the inclusion of real estate activities in the EU Taxonomy, overcoming initial resistance. This created a clearer path for capital to flow into net-zero buildings and retrofits.

Later, I launched an internal SFDR working group to help investor members navigate evolving disclosure obligations. Importantly, our success was built on the commitment and ambition of EPRA’s Sustainability Committee—industry leaders who set high standards and worked constructively with policymakers.

What I also learned is that sustainability regulation must strike a balance—ambitious yet practical. Flooding the market with unnecessary reporting can be counterproductive. It’s about raising the bar, not raising barriers.

The Social Digest: The EU Green Deal is a cornerstone of Europe’s sustainability efforts. From your perspective, what are the most critical components for its success, and what challenges remain?

A lot has changed politically since the European Commission first presented the Green Deal, and rightly so — the focus has now shifted toward making it practical and implementable. Sometimes, less is more: overwhelming markets with excessive regulation can create resistance and confusion rather than drive progress.

Unfortunately, we’re seeing a troubling trend. In response to the backlash over regulatory complexity, some politicians are trying to escape the mess not by improving or simplifying regulation, but by proposing to abandon the Green Deal altogether. That would be a serious mistake. What I would like to see instead is a clear recognition that while the ambition of the Green Deal was rightly set high, the first wave of regulation came too fast and too complex. We need to take responsibility for that and work towards finetuning the rules, not abandoning the mission.

Creating good legislation takes time. It’s not just about drafting rules; it’s about calibrating them to be balanced, simple, and impactful. We must truly simplify the legislative framework — without watering down its core environmental and social objectives.

One of the key challenges ahead is maintaining unity and ambition across 27 Member States. Europe must learn to regulate in a way that is efficient, understandable, and fit for purpose — a principle already embedded in the concept of “Better Regulation.” But simplification should never come at the expense of climate ambition or social responsibility. It’s about enabling implementation, not lowering standards.

We also face pressure from traditional industries resisting transformation. But the role of policymakers is not to give in to the status quo — it is to create clear, navigable pathways for those driving the transition, including impact-driven companies and investors. These actors are ready and eager to contribute solutions. The Green Deal should be the platform that empowers them, not a casualty of political fatigue.

Ultimately, the success of the Green Deal will depend on political accountability, long-term thinking, and the courage to evolve — rather than retreat — when challenges arise.

The Social Digest: You formed and steered the EPRA SFDR Working Group. Can you explain what the SFDR is and how your work helped shape sustainable finance practices in real estate?

The SFDR—Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation—was designed to bring transparency to how investors integrate sustainability into their decisions. It’s currently under review, with new proposals expected this autumn.

Although SFDR was meant as a disclosure regime, it quickly became a de facto labeling tool. This unintended shift created gaps the Commission is now trying to address—particularly around product categorisation and greenwashing.

At EPRA, I had the privilege of working with highly committed sustainability leaders. Together, we launched a working group to help the real estate sector engage with SFDR requirements and align internal practices. My role was to translate market realities into policy narratives, showing regulators why and how the sector was stepping up.

Legislation evolves, and so does the market. The key is continuous dialogue—bridging the gap between ambition and implementation.

The Social Digest: Impact Europe is exploring how AI can support positive impact. How do you see AI influencing impact investing, and what steps are needed to ensure it aligns with social and environmental goals?

AI presents both a tremendous opportunity and a complex challenge. According to the EU Competitiveness Compass, several initiatives under the Apply AI Strategy are now in motion—like the TechEU Investment Programme, AI Factories, and the upcoming Cloud and AI Development Act. These aim to mobilise capital and scale infrastructure across the EU.

But there’s a clear message emerging behind closed doors: Europe must move beyond funding apps. We need to invest in core technologies and industrial applications of AI. This is where impact investing comes in—applying AI to decarbonisation, healthcare, education, and public services.

Europe’s strength lies in its diverse data ecosystems, yet its capital markets lack the depth and risk tolerance to support AI scale-ups. That’s where we come in—advocating for deeper, more mission-aligned capital to flow into early-stage ventures, ensuring public funding is paired with social and environmental accountability.

The Social Digest: The EU’s new scaleup strategy, including the ’28th regime,’ aims to simplify cross-border growth. What are the opportunities and risks for impact-focused startups in this framework?

The biggest opportunity is scale. This framework could help impact-focused startups grow faster across Europe—ultimately reaching the IPO stage and unlocking new capital sources.

But there’s a risk: we focus on innovation and growth without considering impact. Innovation, in itself, is not always positive.  That’s where policy can play a pivotal role—embedding impact into how we define success. Europe is a values-based continent, but those values are often missing when it comes to investment frameworks.

We need to reimagine what scale looks like—not just financial returns, but measurable impact. As they say, you can’t build what you can’t imagine. My mission is to help policymakers envision a Europe where innovation and impact go hand in hand.

The Social Digest: You’ve built partnerships with organizations like WorldGBC and RICS. How do strategic collaborations enhance advocacy efforts, and what lessons have you learned from these partnerships?

Strategic partnerships are essential in advocacy. They allow us to pool expertise, build coalitions, and speak with a stronger, united voice. With WorldGBC, for example, we advanced common goals on building performance and emissions. With RICS, we worked on valuation frameworks that integrate sustainability.

The biggest lesson? Collaboration works best when there’s mutual respect and clearly aligned goals. Each partner brings different strengths—whether technical insight, credibility, or networks. When combined thoughtfully, they can shift policy debates and drive market change faster than any single actor could alone.

The Social Digest: With your legal background in European Law, how do you balance technical expertise with the need to communicate complex policies to diverse stakeholders?

I learned this the hard way—in the European Parliament, where I was thrown into the deep end. A young, ambitious lawyer suddenly navigating political waters. It was eye-opening.

Over time, I realised the key is a growth mindset. You need to dive deep into the technical detail to understand it fully—but then surface and translate it clearly for different audiences. You can only influence policy if you both understand and are understood.

The Social Digest: What do you see as the biggest barriers to scaling impact-driven enterprises in Europe, and how is Impact Europe addressing these challenges?

One of the biggest barriers is the fragmentation of the European market — legally, fiscally, and administratively. Impact-driven enterprises, including social enterprises, often face high entry costs when trying to scale across borders. Unlike traditional high-growth startups, they are typically more mission-focused and less inclined to compromise impact for speed or profit, which makes accessing capital even harder under the current system.

Another major challenge is that the investment ecosystem isn’t yet designed to value impact on equal footing with financial return. There’s a lack of appropriate capital — especially patient, risk-tolerant capital — and still too few mechanisms that reward long-term, measurable social and environmental outcomes.

Policy frameworks often don’t reflect the unique needs of these enterprises either. Social enterprises, in particular, frequently fall through the cracks of both innovation and business policies. They are neither fully recognised as commercial ventures nor sufficiently supported as part of the social sector. That makes it hard for them to access funding, procurement opportunities, or support programs.

At Impact Europe, we’re tackling these challenges by advocating for stronger policy coherence that recognises and supports all forms of impact enterprises — including social enterprises — across EU initiatives. We’re also driving reforms in financial regulation, such as the SFDR, to better align capital with genuine impact. At the same time, we’re building vital bridges between impact investors and policymakers, making a clear case for tailored instruments like blended finance, improved metrics, and cross-border scale-up support to strengthen and grow the entire impact ecosystem.

And very importantly, amplifying the voice of pioneers — those funders and entrepreneurs already proving that business and impact can go hand in hand.

Europe has enormous potential to lead in values-based entrepreneurship. But to realise that potential, we need to mainstream support for those who put people and planet at the heart of business — not treat them as the exception.

If you’re passionate about shaping this future, I warmly invite you to Impact Week 2025, taking place 18–20 November in Malmö. It’s where Europe’s impact community gathers to exchange ideas, challenge the status quo, and design actionable solutions together.
Join us and be part of the change.

The Social Digest: For professionals aspiring to influence EU policy or impact investing, what’s the best advice you can offer based on your experience in advocacy and policymaking?

First, it’s important to acknowledge that there are many ways, styles, and approaches to influencing EU policy — and not all of them are necessarily grounded in integrity. Some focus purely on lobbying for narrow interests, others seek short-term wins at the cost of long-term vision. But for those of us committed to creating meaningful, positive change, there’s a different path — one rooted in purpose, integrity, and deep understanding.

My advice is this: stay curious, stay informed, and stay true to your mission. Influence doesn’t come from volume or tactics alone — it comes from credibility, built over time through meaningful relationships, well-reasoned arguments, and a willingness to listen as much as to speak. The EU policy space is complex and often slow-moving, but if you focus on solutions, bring evidence, and stay persistent, your voice will be heard.

Also, don’t underestimate the importance of empathy. The best advocates I’ve met are those who can connect the dots between technical complexity and real-world impact — who can speak to both the hearts and minds of policymakers. Learn to translate the technical into the tangible.

And finally — don’t wait for perfect alignment or full confidence to act. Start where you are, with what you know, and build credibility through action. Influence comes not just from knowing the rules, but from caring enough to shape them for the better.

This interview was conducted by Ansh C Vachhani, The Social Digest on 10/10/2025. If you have any interview recommendations or have a story that you want to share with our readers, get in touch with our editor Vedant Bhrambhatt, at editor@thesocialdigest.com