Technology and Trends 15 events offer vision of the future of work

Technology and Trends 15 events offer vision of the future of work 0

TechAndTrendsA series of executive briefings taking place next week in Central London offers you the chance to learn about the next generation of technologies and their impact on the workplace, working practices and office design. Insight readers can enjoy a 15 percent discount by using this link. Tickets are going fast with some sessions already sold out, so we’d encourage you to book as soon as possible. Technology & Trends 2015 offers an expert analysis on new technologies such as the Internet of Things, Bluetooth Low Energy, iBeacons, smart buildings, wayfinding apps and collaboration tools such as  Skype for Business and Surface Hub. Aimed at facilities managers, corporate real estate managers, architects and designers, IT managers and HR professionals, the event takes place at Herman Miller’s National Design Centre. Full details  of the event can be found here.

Promotion: Can discarded plastic bottles foster employee wellbeing?

Promotion: Can discarded plastic bottles foster employee wellbeing? 0

wellbeingEmployee wellbeing, productivity and privacy are hot topics in the workplace right now and AgileAcoustics think they have a unique solution to drive this forward. The company, based on campus at the University of Bradford has developed a range of acoustic panels that use plastic bottles destined for the scrap heap to make offices around the world more pleasant places to work. About 18 months ago they developed a ‘shaped’ wall print made from recycled plastic bottles, and raised £13,000 on Kickstarter. Shortly after Stuart Jones, the Founder met with a Commercial Interior Designer who loved the prints and advised him to look at the acoustic performance. Jones quickly set to researching the prints acoustic performance, and shortly after decided to develop a spin-off product with class-leading acoustics performance.

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Corporate social reponsibility remains a vital part of the business armoury

Corporate Social responsibilityThere is now an unstoppable energy for radical change in the way that companies of all sizes conduct their Corporate Social Responsibility duties. There are compelling economic and social reasons for companies to construct new ways of thinking and practice around CSR that go way beyond just doing something worthy or nice, from building effective partnerships to attracting top employees. Some companies prefer terms like ‘corporate responsibility’, ‘corporate conscience’, ‘corporate citizenship’, ‘social performance’, ‘sustainability’ or even ‘future-proofing’ over CSR. But the core CSR principles are that a business voluntarily commits to embracing responsibility for its actions and to impacting positively on the environment, on society and on consumers, employees and other stakeholders. More →

Ska rating is shaping the future of sustainable office design

t-cmg-01-sideWe all know the ways in which we can ‘do our bit’ at home – turn off the lights when you leave a room, only boil as much water as you need, recycle as much as you can. At work however, it can be all too easy to forget and ignore the impact we have on our environment. Intelligent and inspired office design can not only increase productivity and employee wellbeing, but also be sustainable and provide financial benefits as a result. Although there were established tools for assessing the environmental impact of whole buildings, such as BREEAM and LEED, the certification of fit-outs, especially on existing buildings, had previously been unsatisfactory. To address this, the Ska Rating method was developed by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

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