Want sustainable buildings? Invest strategically in smart technology

Want sustainable buildings? Invest strategically in smart technology

by • Environment, News, Property

Strategic investment, innovative technology, and collaboration are essential for achieving sustainable buildingsStrategic investment, innovative technology, and collaboration are essential for achieving sustainability and value goals in the real estate sector, according to a new report from Colliers. The  report Realising ESG Performance: The Value-Driven Transformation of Europe’s Built Environment [registration] claims to provide insights into how the real estate industry can embrace sustainable buildings and comply with regulatory demands while creating long-term value. More →

Parliament refit could hold back UK net zero efforts for 40 years

Parliament refit could hold back UK net zero efforts for 40 years

by • Environment, Facilities management, News

The £20 billion refurbishment of the Palace of Westminster, could impact the availability of people needed for UK net zero targetsThe extensive refurbishment of the Palace of Westminster, a project estimated to cost over £20 billion, could significantly impact the availability of specialist craftworkers needed for the UK’s net zero targets, according to Historic England. The public body is warning that the project, which could take up to 43 years and require around 3,000 specialist workers annually, would absorb a large portion of the nation’s skilled heritage plasterers, carpenters, and window specialists. This is likely to strain an already limited workforce at a time when the country faces a shortage of traditional building crafts essential for refurbishing older buildings. More →

Generative AI will lead to a threefold increase in greenhouse gases from data centres

Generative AI will lead to a threefold increase in greenhouse gases from data centres

by • AI, Environment, News

Data centres are set to emit three times more carbon dioxide because of generative AIA new report claims that data centres will generate around 2.5 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions worldwide by the end of the decade. This figure is three times higher than it would have been had the rapid rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI) not occurred. The report, published by Morgan Stanley titled Global Data Centers: Sizing & Solving for CO2, suggests that the combined emissions from the construction of new facilities and their energy consumption will amount to around 2.5 billion tonnes of CO2-equivalent by 2030, roughly 40 per cent of the United States’ current annual emissions More →

CIBSE announces new future focussed building performance project

CIBSE announces new future focussed building performance project

by • Environment, Facilities management, News

CIBSE has launched Building Performance Reimagined, a project aimed at transforming the landscape of building engineering and sustainabilityCIBSE has launched what it claims is a ground-breaking initiative titled Building Performance Reimagined [registration], a project aimed at transforming the landscape of building engineering and sustainability. Commissioned by CIBSE and researched by Arup, the Building Performance Reimagined project diverges from conventional engineering paradigms. Rather than focusing solely on system sizing, maintenance or controls, the initiative takes a holistic, future-oriented perspective on building performance. More →

Why AI is not getting the green light for sustainability

Why AI is not getting the green light for sustainability

by • AI, Comment, Environment, SF, Technology

We think of digital solutions such as AI as being more sustainable and eco-friendly. Nothing could be further from the truthWe might think of online and digital solutions such as AI as more sustainable and eco-friendly. We have email signatures reminding us to think before hitting print and are encouraged to send e-cards with seasonal greetings to save the trees. Our overall preference to switch to all things online means that we rarely question, or even consider, the environmental impact of our computers. It’s also how the truly enormous impact of AI has, thus far, stayed off our radar. More →

3 Days of Design proves we don’t know what we’re doing

3 Days of Design proves we don’t know what we’re doing

by • Comment, Environment, Workplace design

We don't know what we're doing. That was what we all learnt about sustainability at last week's 3 Days of Design in CopenhagenWe don’t know what we’re doing. That was what we all learnt about sustainability at last week’s 3 Days of Design in Copenhagen as Denmark’s capital city played host once more to this increasingly influential European Design event. Timed, as it is, in the same week as Chicago’s Neocon, and following on from Milan’s enormous and well-renowned Salone, not even intermittently inclement weather could disguise the noticeably larger audience drawn to Copenhagen this year. More →

Camira original closed loop recycled polyester now contains 25 percent textile-to-textile waste

Camira original closed loop recycled polyester now contains 25 percent textile-to-textile waste

by • Company news, Environment, Workplace design

Global textile manufacturer and designer of commercial, hospitality and residential fabrics, Camira has redefined its original closed loop recycled polyester, X2 for 2024Global textile manufacturer and designer of commercial, hospitality and residential fabrics, Camira has redefined its original closed loop recycled polyester, X2 for 2024. To mark its 50th year in business and enduring commitment to tackling the global textile waste problem, Camira has significantly increased the percentage of textile-to-textile waste in its popular recycled polyester fabric, X2. Originally launched in 2012, X2 now contains 25 percent textile-to-textile recycled polyester, along with 75 percent post-consumer recycled polyester from plastic bottles. More →

Are these the top ten emerging technologies for 2024?

Are these the top ten emerging technologies for 2024?

by • Environment, News, Property, Technology

The World Economic Forum has announced the publication of its annual Top 10 Emerging Technologies Report featuring technologies with the greatest potential to make a positive impact in the worldThe World Economic Forum has published its annual Top 10 Emerging Technologies Report featuring technologies with the greatest potential to make a positive impact in the world in the next three to five years. Among the technologies mentioned in the report are AI (obv), immersive building tech, intelligent materials and microbes that can sequester carbon.  More →

Electric arc furnaces could turn old concrete into zero-carbon cement

Electric arc furnaces could turn old concrete into zero-carbon cement

by • Architecture, Environment, Facilities management, News

commercial propertyConcrete and steel production are major contributors to global CO2 emissions, but a new technology from Cambridge University offers a promising solution: recycling both materials simultaneously. This innovative process involves using old concrete in steel-processing furnaces to not only purify iron but also generate “reactivated cement” as a by-product. When powered by renewable energy sources, this method has the potential to produce entirely carbon-neutral cement, according to the research published in the journal Nature.

More →

Seven industry associations join forces to develop real estate carbon pricing strategy

Seven industry associations join forces to develop real estate carbon pricing strategy

by • Environment, News

Seven real estate industry associations have announced a new taskforce to develop a comprehensive carbon pricing strategy for the sectorSeven real estate industry associations have announced a new taskforce to develop a comprehensive carbon pricing strategy for the sector that takes a value chain perspective and enables pricing to be incorporated into investment decision making and accelerate its adoption. More →

Report sets out nine ways cities can reduce carbon emissions

Report sets out nine ways cities can reduce carbon emissions

by • Cities, Environment, News

A report published by the World Economic Forum’s Centre for Urban Transformation sets out what its authors claim are best practices developed by pioneer cities that are reducing carbon emissionA report published by the World Economic Forum’s Centre for Urban Transformation sets out what its authors claim are best practices developed by pioneer cities that are reducing carbon emissions from urban development projects. As cities grow in population and importance, urban construction will continue to gather pace. It is estimated that the global floor area is expected to double by 2060, the equivalent of building out New York City every month for the next 40 years. The report, Reducing Embodied Carbon in Cities: Nine Solutions for Greener Buildings and Communities, highlights nine innovative solutions for all phases of construction and demolition. More →

Hybrid working ‘allows organisations to cut energy use by a fifth’

Hybrid working ‘allows organisations to cut energy use by a fifth’

by • Environment, Flexible working, News

Hybrid working has enabled UK businesses to cut energy usage by a fifth as they replace large city centre office space with smaller, more energy efficient spaces including flexible workspaces, according to a new report from IWG, whose brands including Spaces and Regus.  surveyed more than 500 leaders and facilities managers at businesses that have adopted hybrid working policies. The findings revealed that average energy consumption in those companies has fallen by 19 percent since the introduction of hybrid working policies, benefiting both the environment and their bottom line. More →

1 2 3 4 5 >»