July 3, 2014
EU sustainable building proposals will raise green credentials of property
EU proposals to raise the sustainability of new and renovated buildings by increasing resource efficiency and improving information on their environmental performance have been welcomed by the World Green Building Council. Under the proposals, set out in Communication “Resource efficiency opportunities in the building sector”, builders, architects, product manufacturers, or anyone wanting to rent or buy a building will have access to better information about its environmental performance. The Commission will develop a framework for assessing environmental performance with the aim of providing a tool which can be used across Europe, by both private actors and public authorities in the development of sustainable building stock. The first set of indicators should be available in two to three years. Efforts to recycle construction and demolition waste, and to re-use it when constructing new buildings or renovating existing ones, will also be made easier under the plans.
May 28, 2014
Money alone isn’t enough to attract and hold on to Gen Y employees
by Jessica Pryce-Jones • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace
The retention of Gen Y employees is key for all organisations. No organisation wants to invest in their next generation of management only to find that they leave, and someone new needs to be trained. But the 20-30 year old workers of Gen Y exhibit a new-found job mobility. Which makes for a ticking time-bomb of potential cost and disruption to their employers. The iOpener Institute has gathered and studied questionnaire responses from over 30,000 professionals across the world, gaining insights into how employers can retain their Gen Y talent. The research clearly shows that while pay and financial rewards are important to Gen Y (i.e. they are not prepared to be under-paid for their work), there is no significant correlation between increased levels of pay and greater talent retention.
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