Carbon emissions from buildings fall, but more to be done

Carbon emissions from buildings fall, but more to be done

Despite a fall in carbon emissions from buildings as a result of the lockdown, businesses can do much more to cut carbon and save costs during the COVID-19 lockdown reveals latest data from Carbon Intelligence which tracked and analysed energy usage from 300 buildings during this period. More →

EDGE London Bridge will be most sustainable tower in capital

EDGE London Bridge will be most sustainable tower in capital

EDGE, the developer of a number of groundbreaking, energy-efficient office buildings has reveals its designs for its new London project. The name of the new sustainable development at St Thomas Street on London’s South Bank is EDGE London Bridge. The development aims to make the 255,000 sq ft nia (23,500 sq m) tower featuring 26 floors of commercial office space into London’s most sustainable office tower. More →

Government launches “revolutionary” green transport consultation

Government launches “revolutionary” green transport consultation

The government has launched a new intiative to test the introduction of green transport systems and also injected £90 million into funding three experimental  ‘future transport zones’ across the UK aimed at establishing whether smart and green technology can be adopted. The new transport zones in the West of England, Portsmouth and Southampton and the East Midlands will be used to test innovations in the movement of people and goods. One project will trial the use of drones for carrying medical supplies from clinics in the Isle of Wight to hospitals in the mainland. This should cut down the time spent moving supplies by ferry or road while speeding up diagnosis. More →

Commercial property energy use fell by over 3 percent last year

Commercial property energy use fell by over 3 percent last year

commercial property energy useOperational energy consumption in the UK commercial property sector fell by 3.3 percent during 2018/19 compared to the previous year, according to the latest figures from the “in-use” benchmark published by the UK’s Better Building Partnership (BBP). The Real Estate Environmental Benchmark (REEB) compared operational energy performance between 2017/18 and 2018/19, based on 1,038 UK properties covering 11.7m sqm belonging to 31 of the partnership’s 34 member companies. More →

Expectations at work are changing

Expectations at work are changing

New research from Aon, claims that 94 percent of employers believe their employees’ expectations of work experience are changing. In Aon’s Benefits and Trends Survey 2020, employers say their employees expect flexible working hours, the ability to work from home, better awareness and handling of mental health, better approaches to diversity and inclusion and better parental policies. A surprise in this year’s report is the strength of opinion on environmental and sustainability policies, coming in at the seventh most important expectation in its first year in the survey. Fifty-four percent of employers believe that employees want clarity and positivity on this subject.

More →

Attitudes to risk of climate change are shifting dramatically

Attitudes to risk of climate change are shifting dramatically

climate changeBritons suggest climate change is one of the most important issues facing the country in the next 20 years, claims research led by Cardiff University. A wide-ranging survey examining social attitudes to the risks and impacts of climate change suggested the issue was now second only to Brexit for the British public. The survey, carried out by a team of researchers from Cardiff University and Climate Outreach, also highlighted rising public concern about storms, flooding and, in particular, heatwaves, and suggested strong support for policies to address these. More →

UK workers are greener at home than in the workplace

UK workers are greener at home than in the workplace

greenerNearly half of UK workers admit to being greener at home than they are in the office, although more and more are realising the importance of green habits, research by Instant Offices has suggested. With the government committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050, the workspace innovation company has been investigating what more employers can do to help to lead the way by instituting greener practices. More →

Outdoor workers exposed to 15 percent more pollution than average

Outdoor workers exposed to 15 percent more pollution than average

pollutionOutdoor workers in the capital are exposed to 15 percent more pollution than the average Londoner, new research has claimed. Over six months, the Canairy app developed by King College London gathered data from two groups of Londoners, some mostly working in offices and others mostly working outside. Both groups were exposed to high levels of air pollution but those working outside fared worst, being exposed to air pollution breaching guidelines for NO2, particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) and ozone. Some maximum exposures were nearly two thirds higher than recommended World Health Organisation (WHO) limits. More →

Third of people say they will never buy electric vehicle

Third of people say they will never buy electric vehicle

electric vehicleSix in ten new cars must be electric by 2030 yet a third of people have told researchers they won’t ever buy an electric vehicle. The UK government’s current policy is to insist that by 2030, all new cars and vans sold in the UK should be zero-emissions capable – that means battery electric, plug-in hybrid electric or hydrogen. More →

Energy demand in offices should be cut by 60 percent, report claims

Energy demand in offices should be cut by 60 percent, report claims

Following a consultation exercise with industry and an analysis of the projected zero carbon energy capacity of the UK, UKGBC is recommending that the offices sector should reduce energy demand by an average of 60 percent by 2050 to help the UK achieve net zero. More →

Renewable energy should make up half of all supply by 2030

Renewable energy should make up half of all supply by 2030

renewable energyThe share of renewables in global power should more than double by 2030 as part of a ‘decade of action’ to advance global energy transformation, achieve sustainable development goals and a pathway to climate safety, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Renewable electricity should supply 57 per cent of global power by the end of the decade, up from 26 per cent today. More →

Putting the responsibility into personal and corporate social responsibility

Putting the responsibility into personal and corporate social responsibility 0

corporate social responsibilityYou’re probably aware of the experiment performed by Stanley Milgram in which volunteers were asked by men in white coats to administer what they believed to be electric shocks to another person, who they could not see, but could hear, from behind a screen. Around two-thirds of the volunteers agreed to deliver what they were told to be potentially fatal shocks to the subject, who they could hear screaming and begging them to stop. What they didn’t know was the person they were agreeing to inflict this on was in fact an actor. Although now questioned, Milgram’s findings remain the famous of a series of studies that have attempted to highlight the willingness of humans to bow to authority figures and comply with group norms irrespective of what their own morals might tell them.

More →