Indoor air quality needs to be talked about far more than it is

Indoor air quality needs to be talked about far more than it is

An open window indoor air qualityOne of the unintended consequences of the pandemic has been to focus attention on the issue of indoor air quality. But as Sarah Zhang points out in a recent piece in The Atlantic, this is an issue that we have long understood, and not just as a way to reduce the risks of infection. It is essential for our wellbeing. More →

Climate Commission launched to identify green investment opportunities

Climate Commission launched to identify green investment opportunities

climateThe new UK Cities Climate Investment Commission begins work to identify Green Investment opportunities across UK Cities. Cities, investment and innovation experts have launched a Commission which begins the process of identifying a transformational programme of Green Growth for the UK’s cities. More →

Turn your commercial buildings into virtual power plants

Turn your commercial buildings into virtual power plants

A new white paper from OakTree Power explains how an innovative technology called Green Demand Side Response (DSR) can help organisations transform their commercial buildings into a virtual power plant. Paradoxically, commercial buildings not only represent one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gas emissions, but also have the potential to utilise their own electricity as a resource to sell back into the Grid – a process familiar to many domestic homeowners with solar panels or Tesla Powerwalls. More →

SAP partners with The Carbon Community on new scientific forestry research to drive climate change efficiency

SAP partners with The Carbon Community on new scientific forestry research to drive climate change efficiency

SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) has announced it is investing in scientific forestry research with The Carbon Community to enhance nature-based solutions to climate change, and improve the efficiency of carbon removal from the atmosphere. This research reaffirms SAP’s commitment to helping organisations operate sustainably by ensuring these processes are having the greatest impact on the planet. More →

Employees consider leaving jobs if health and sustainability expectations go unmet

Employees consider leaving jobs if health and sustainability expectations go unmet

healthReturning to the office is causing a growing rift between workers and managers according to a new report from NEXT Energy Technologies, Inc. The report claims most employees (74 percent) are willing to leave their jobs if existential issues like health and sustainability are not adequately addressed in the workplace. More →

Trees can’t solve the climate change problem. That’s our job

Trees can’t solve the climate change problem. That’s our job

An image of the Earth to highlight climate changeTo address the climate change challenge, the UK became the first, major, world economy to pass law committing us to reducing all greenhouse gas emissions to Net Zero by 2050. It was a strong signal to organisations and individuals across the UK that it was now time to stop talking and start acting. And start acting we did. Massive changes are already underway to achieve decarbonisation in all sectors of the UK economy. One only has to look at the transition to EV’s, while the way we generate energy has also witnessed a rapid change as we switch from fossil fuelled to renewable power generation. Progress in the built environment is not so good, and sadly, it’s a case of too little, too slowly, and by too few. More →

Three quarters of people returning to the office are actively seeking new ways to travel

Three quarters of people returning to the office are actively seeking new ways to travel

travelThe commute as we knew it may be gone for good, claims new research conducted by DASH Rides. DASH and Sapio Research surveyed over 2,000 city-dwelling, full-time workers, who used to work primarily in the office and now work primarily at home and discovered that three quarters of those returning to the office will be actively avoiding public transport or seeking new ways to travel. More →

The office sector needs to face up to its landfill issue

The office sector needs to face up to its landfill issue

office sector and landfillOver the past ten years, reuse of furniture and furnishings has been extremely limited. Most redundant assets have been discarded to landfill. It’s a brutal fact that it is the easy and less expensive option. Many products sent for recycling often end up in landfill or incineration and so still contributing to carbon emissions. As offices plan for new ways of working, will the surplus products go the same route? More →

Businesses call on Government to put net zero and nature at the heart of planning system

Businesses call on Government to put net zero and nature at the heart of planning system

net zeroMore than 100 business leaders have written to the Prime Minister calling for the net zero transition, nature’s recovery, and climate resilience to be at the heart of the UK’s new planning system. More →

WorldGBC details built environment progress to achieving net zero

WorldGBC details built environment progress to achieving net zero

net zeroWorldGBC has launched the latest annual Advancing Net Zero Status Report, which highlights leadership action from the Green Building Council (GBC) global network towards achieving total sector decarbonisation. More →

New guidance to increase natural settings into urban spaces

New guidance to increase natural settings into urban spaces

The UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) has published its ‘Principles for delivering urban Nature-based Solutions’ (NBS), to help developers and owners increase the incorporation of NBS within the construction and operation of built assets. The report claims that the development and function of the built environment has significant impacts upon both climate and biodiversity, locally and globally, and the pressure for our industry to be part of the solution is accelerating. The recommendations of the Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) have led to a growing requirement to measure and mitigate the physical risks to built assets from climate change, such as flooding and overheating. More →

Pandemic drives shift in attitudes to sustainability

Pandemic drives shift in attitudes to sustainability

The COVID-19 pandemic has elevated consumers focus on sustainability and willingness to pay out of their own pockets – or even take a pay cut – for a sustainable future, according to a new IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV) survey of over 14,000 consumers in nine countries. More →