Search Results for: industry

Winners announced for outstanding leadership in sustainable buildings awards

by • Environment, News, Property

City Green Court

City Green Court building in Prague

British Land, Spanish city Vitoria-Gasteiz and the City Green Court building in Prague, Czech Republic, have clinched the top spots in the inaugural World Green Building Council Leadership Awards – Europe Region. The awards, which were announced to coincide with World Green Building Week 2013 – honour leadership and best practice in green building policy, construction projects and corporate initiatives. British Land won the category for Business Leadership in Sustainability; Vitoria-Gasteiz picked up the award for Leadership in City Policy for Green Building award; and office building City Green Court, topped the Leadership in Building Design and Performance category for its sustainability features. (more…)

Construction sector awarded £60m for development of more energy efficient buildings

by • Environment, News, Property

New Government funding announced to develop more energy efficient buildings£60 million to help the UK construction industry design and develop more energy efficient buildings is to be awarded by the Government’s Technology Strategy Board. The projects, which address the challenges of both new and existing buildings, are expected to leverage in an additional £60 million of industry investment and £30 million extra funding from across government and other agencies. The board has already invested £83 million of funding through the Low Impact Buildings Innovation Platform, (LIBIP). It aims to help the UK construction industry deliver buildings with a much lower environmental impact by investing jointly with industry and other funders in projects to bring innovative solutions to a growing market for more environmentally friendly buildings.   (more…)

Open-plan office workers need time out from the madding crowd

by • Comment, Facilities management, Flexible working, Workplace design

Open plan offices

Open-plan offices are now the most popular workplace layout, primarily because they save on space, enable flexible working and, it’s argued, foster better communication and collaboration between employees. Yet open-plan still has some way to go to convince occupants of its merits. According to a recent study published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology, of over 42,000 US office workers in 303 office buildings, workers in private offices remain the most satisfied with their surroundings. However, what constitutes a satisfactory workspace differed, according to the employee’s current office layout. So while noise was the most important consideration for open-plan workers, light and ease of interaction topped the satisfaction list for those housed in cellular offices. (more…)

New standard published on costs of owning and operating buildings

by • Facilities management, News, Property

New guidance published on costs of owning and operating buildingsA new standard is being published by BSI offering expert guidance on estimating the long term costs of owning and occupying a building. BS 8544 Guide for life-cycle costing of maintenance during the in-use phases of buildings extends the guidance already provided by the existing standard PD 156865:2008, for buildings which are already operational, allowing users of the existing guidance to develop the life-cycle plans into the operational phase. To launch the standard, BSI is running a free half-day event on Wednesday 18 September to explain what the standard’s all about and its benefits. You’ll be able to hear case studies from leading professionals who are already using the principles of the standard, as well as a panel discussion with industry experts. Click here for more information.

CBI calls on Government to incentivise businesses to invest in energy efficiency

by • Environment, Facilities management, Legal news, Property

carrot incentiveThe Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has published a new report calling on the Government to adopt a more streamlined and integrated approach to energy efficiency policies, including those relevant for the UK’s commercial buildings. The report also addresses a range of related benefits and obligations for companies to help them cut costs, manage risk and open up commercial opportunities. The report argues that energy efficiency has been neglected for too long, despite the fact that Government figures show a domestic industry that is growing at 4 percent a year, is worth £17.6bn in sales and supports 136,000 jobs.

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BIFM pulls out of much publicised facilities management trade association merger

by • Facilities management, News

I don'tThe British Institute of Facilities Management has announced that it is to withdraw with immediate effect from the merger discussions it had entered into in May with its fellow trade associations, Asset Skills, CSSA and FMA. The decision to pull out was taken at a BIFM board meeting last week. According to a BIFM statement, the plans were not felt to be in the best interests of BIFM members. The decision comes as something of a surprise given that the week before the decision, BIFM was saying that it was delighted with  progress, although some commentators including our own Simon Heath had already expressed their reservations about the whole thing.

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CBI survey gives suppliers chance to have say on UK public sector procurement

by • Knowledge, News, Public Sector

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThe Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is offering private sector firms the chance to take part in a survey detailing their experience of working with UK public sector. It follows a largely damning 2012 report from the same organisation which found that only 7 per cent of firms believed the public sector procurement function was effective. However the same report did find that around 80 percent of respondents were in favour of the UK Government reform programme and so the latest survey is a chance to see whether recent initiatives such as the recent Public Administration Committee report into procurement failings  and the setting up of the Crown Commercial Service have had any impact on private sector confidence in the way the UK public sector goes about its business.

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Proceed with caution when using social media to recruit new talent

by • Comment, Knowledge, Legal news, Workplace

Why you should proceed with caution when using social media to recruit new talent

Time was, not so long ago that a job seeker could choose which aspects of their experience, interests and personality they wanted to reveal on a job application. For the employer this meant wheedling out the right candidates from a pile of written applications, then using the interview process to determine whether the applicant measured up to their requirements. Today, social media not only makes it easier for employers to reach a much wider universe of candidates – it also gives them the opportunity if they choose, to screen potential employees, and this is where legally, ethically and practically, new largely uncharted problems lie. (more…)

Costs of tenders deterring Scottish builders from bidding for public sector work

by • Knowledge, News, Property, Public Sector

Too expensiveConstruction firms in Scotland are increasingly reluctant to bid for public sector building work because of the spiralling costs of tendering for work, according to a new survey from the Scottish Building Federation. The SBF claims that the cost of tendering for public sector contracts has sky-rocketed in the past five years – and is now equivalent to £94 million each year as firms vie for a share of the £2 billion worth of public sector construction contracts awarded annually in Scotland. The survey claims that the annual cost to construction firms of participating in public procurement is now 4.4 percent of the total value of contracts, with builders reporting an increase of between 20 percent to 50 percent on most projects over the last five years.

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UK construction and manufacturing buoyant but mixed picture in global property market

by • Knowledge, News, Products, Property

Construction savingsThere are signs that the UK’s faltering economy is on the road to recovery.  Construction activity in the UK jumped sharply in July to hit its highest level in over three years, according to the latest Markit/CIPS  survey of purchasing managers. This may have been driven primarily by a surge in house building, but even the recently moribund commercial construction sector saw an increase in activity. However a new report from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors has highlighted that while the UK may have reason to smile, the picture of global commercial property markets is very patchy.

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Government gets around to tightening energy efficiency standards for buildings

by • Environment, Facilities management, News, Property

Government to tighten energy efficiency standards for buildings

The Government has confirmed it’s to strengthen energy efficiency standards for new homes and non-domestic buildings. The toughened up measures announced today in Parliament covering Part L of the Building Regulations will mean a six per cent cut in carbon emissions for new build homes, and a nine per cent cut for non-domestic buildings. According to the government, the small increase in construction costs will be “heavily outweighed” by subsequent energy savings. There have been criticisms however, over the length of time it’s taken for the changes to be announced as a consultation on the proposed changes closed over a year ago. (more…)

Hospitality giant receives second LEED certificate for sustainable HQ

by • Company news, Environment, Furniture, Lighting, News

 Wyndham Worldwide HQ wins second LEED silver award

Wyndham Worldwide, one of the world’s largest hospitality companies, which counts the Travelodge and Ramada chains amongst its brands has received a second silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program for its New Jersey-based headquarters. One of the green initiatives was the introduction of a sustainable purchasing policy that encourages the purchase of ongoing items such as lamps, electronic goods and furniture, to be environmentally friendly, conserve natural resources, minimize waste and reduce toxicity. (more…)

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