January 21, 2013

Cabinet for Core Cities looks to reshape the English economy

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property, Public Sector

A newly formed Cabinet of Core Cities met for the first time in Liverpool on Friday, seeking to reshape England and call on the Government to work with it to maximise the economic potential of the regions by creating a more balanced economic structure for the country and develop policies that would create jobs and investment. The cities represent the urban centres of Manchester, Nottingham, Newcastle, Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Bristol and Sheffield.

January 16, 2013

Greater clarity required for UK infrastructure plan

by Sara Bean • News, Property

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The National Audit Office has called on the UK government to provide greater clarity to taxpayers and consumers on how it will meet its national infrastructure plan. The government expects £310 billion to be spent by 2015 and beyond on new infrastructure projects in sectors such as energy, rail, roads, water, waste, flood defences and digital communications. The government is looking to private companies to own and finance around 64 per cent of the £310 billion, with the burden of funding likely to shift towards the public as consumers rather than taxpayers.

January 15, 2013

Greenest commercial building in the world opens for business

by Sara Bean • Architecture, Environment, News, Workplace design

The Bullitt Center, proclaimed as the greenest, most energy efficient commercial building in the world, is opening in Seattle. The goal of the Bullitt Center is to change the way buildings are designed, built and operated to improve long-term environmental performance and promote broader implementation of energy efficiency, renewable energy and other green building technologies. Tenant are now moving into the six-storey, 50,000 square-foot building located at the intersection of Capitol Hill and the Central District in Seattle, Washington. More →

January 15, 2013

Urban design ideas needed for Vauxhall missing link

by Sara Bean • Architecture, News, Workplace design

RIBA has announced the launch of a new international design competition for Vauxhall on London’s South Bank. The Business Improvement District (BID) for Vauxhall is seeking ideas to improve and enhance the public realm, providing the ‘Missing Link’ between the New US Embassy Quarter and the South Bank’s cultural hub. The competition is open to architects, landscape designers, urban designers and students worldwide. As with the New York ‘High Line’ competition multi-disciplinary design teams are encouraged. More →

January 14, 2013

JLL’s CEO new Chairman of the UK Green Building Council

by Sara Bean • Architecture, Environment, News, Property

Jones Lang LaSalle’s Andrew Gould has succeeded Dan Labbad, Group CEO of Lend Lease, as Chairman of the UK Green Building Council. He takes up the position at a time when business leaders are increasingly focused on the need to show leadership on climate change and recognise the opportunities for green growth in the UK. The UK Green Building Council is an industry-led campaign group, part of a global network of Councils that are active in over 90 countries worldwide. More →

January 11, 2013

Only one in five FDs see suppliers as strategic partners

by Mark Eltringham • Knowledge, News

Only one in five finance directors see their suppliers as ‘strategic partners’, according to a survey of finance leaders in the UK and Ireland carried out by Expense Reduction Analysts (ERA). The report also revealed that 77 per cent of companies work on a short term basis when procuring products and services and resort to a defensive cost-cutting mentality when money is tight. More →

January 10, 2013

Record global temperatures still a threat say Met Office

by Sara Bean • Environment, News

Global warming

Following media reports that “global warming has stalled” – despite the fact that Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology is predicting temperatures there could reach a record 52C – the Met Office has warned we will continue to see near-record levels of global warming over the next few years. The publication this week of an experimental decadal global temperature prediction showing global temperatures over the next five years are likely to be a little lower than those forecasted in December 2011 was widely reported as “reopening the climate change debate”. More →

January 9, 2013

It pays to check the green credentials of manufacturers

by Mark Eltringham • Environment, Furniture, Workplace design

Generation from Knoll

There is a theory that when companies talk about issues such as corporate social responsibility they are doing so because it helps them to achieve their business goals. This is the coldly rational thing to do according to people like free market guru Milton Friedman who argues that companies should not actively pursue altruistic ends unless that pursuit is ultimately in the interest of their shareholders. As Friedman puts it: ‘Hypocrisy is virtuous when it serves the bottom line. Moral virtue is immoral when it does not’.

January 4, 2013

Chance to visit London landmark The Crystal

by Sara Bean • Environment, News

The Crystal, which was built by Siemens to showcase sustainable design and construction, is the venue for a couple of major events in February. Achieving BREEAM Outstanding, the Crystal opened at Royal Victoria Docks in London last September to provide a hub for discussions and dialogues about how to create a sustainable urban future. The Crystal will also be home to the Workplace Futures 2013 conference, organised by i-fm.net on the 12 February, and will include an opportunity for delegates to attend the building’s interactive sustainable exhibition prior to an evening networking session. More →