Search Results for: climate

EU commission launches low-carbon contest

by • Architecture, Environment, News, Property, Technology, Workplace design

City hall

The EU Commissioner for Climate Action has today launched a low-carbon contest, calling on creative and innovative ideas from across the EU. The World You Like Challenge is part of the European Commission’s climate action campaign: A world you like, launched at London City Hall [pictured] in October 2012. Commissioner Connie Hedegaard said: “The Challenge is a great opportunity to move beyond mere talking about climate change. By submitting your project, you help us show that building a world we like with a climate we like is both feasible and affordable.” More →

Plenty of innovation in Stockholm. Just ignore the price of beer.

by • Comment, Events, Facilities management, Furniture, Lighting, Products, Workplace design

Nendo Stockholm

They say first impressions count so after landing in Stockholm it was a shame that mine veered towards a personal negative rather than a positive when I discovered that my hotel room interior was purer in design than a polar bear’s coat. To a problem solving mind like mine, this didn’t add up. Surely the cold climate would venture towards a more luxurious, cosy and comforting aesthetic. My second impression inevitably arrived courtesy of a local bar. I could have sworn I’d ordered a 40cl beer rather than the bottle of Bolly the bill suggested. So with those problems dismissed from my mind, it was heartening that the rest of the trip to the Stockholm Furniture and Light Fair was roundly positive.

More →

Cautious welcome for Prime Minister’s green speech

by • Environment, News

Green economy

Environmental experts have given Prime Minister David Cameron’s speech on Monday, when he reiterated his commitment to a green economy, a cautious welcome. The PM, who has come under some criticism for failing to follow up on his promise to make “this the greenest government ever” gave a short speech at the launch of the Energy Efficiency Mission at the Royal Society in London, where he underlined the Government’s commitment to energy efficiency and said that only the greenest and most energy efficient countries would win the global race. More →

Better Buildings challenge for sustainable innovation

by • Architecture, Environment, News, Property, Technology, Workplace design

BPP

A competition to find green solutions that help to improve the performance of commercial buildings has been launched by the Institute for Sustainability, in partnership with the Climate Knowledge and Innovation Community (Climate-KIC) and the Better Buildings Partnership (BBP) – a collaboration of leading London commercial property owners and investors. Because energy efficiency improvement works have focused primarily on mechanical and electrical control upgrades and plant replacement, the competition focuses on innovations which could help improve the environmental performance of the building envelope. More →

Employers overlook flexible working alternative to redundancy

by • News, Workplace

Flexible

Only 22 per cent of UK managers believe their companies are very effective at redeploying employees rather than making redundancies. And according to new global research it’s a worldwide problem, with almost three in ten employers believing their organisations are “not effective”. Mark Hodgson, practice leader of Talent Management in Right Management UK & Ireland said: “The results suggest that businesses aren’t seeing redeployment as a feasible way of making savings and keeping staff. Businesses can’t afford to underestimate the importance of a flexible workforce in this tough economic climate.” More →

Refurbishment projects on the rise for UK architects

by • Architecture, News, Property

RIBA HQ

Projects involving works to existing buildings now make up 64% of architects’ workloads, according to the results of the December 2012 Future Trends Survey carried out by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). This figure, which has been increasing steadily since 2010, suggests that in the present climate conservation, refurbishment and adaptive re-use are important areas for architects to apply their expertise. The Workloads Index for December 2012 was plus-8, remaining in positive territory since October 2012, which continues to suggest a stable market for architects’ services.

More →

Cost cutting measures are on the agenda, but may prove risky

by • Knowledge, News

SawingTreeLimbHeisSittingOnThe latest Office for National Statistics figures released today which show that the UK economy has shrunk might suggest that firms need to cut costs as they try to weather the economic storm. This idea is given credence by a major study into the procurement strategies of organisations which found three quarters doing exactly that. However another study suggests that we may be approaching the point at which further cost-cutting measures will destabilise supply chains, making price reductions counter productive and exposing buyers to a greater degree of risk.   More →

London’s West End now most expensive office location in World

by • News, Property

C4G1T6London’s West End has overtaken Hong Kong’s Central district as the world’s costliest office location according to a new report from property consultancy DTZ.  The annual occupancy cost per workstation in the West End was stable last year at $23,500 (£14,900) but moved from fifth to gain top spot as costs in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Dubai and  Paris fell. Three weeks ago we reported that firms were migrating from the West End to London districts such as Clerkenwell and Shoreditch to take advantage of lower costs and pools of talent in new industries.  More →

Global Gen Y survey highlights national differences

by • Environment, Knowledge, News, Workplace

Gen Y NotNever has a generation of humans been so much talked about as Generation Y. As this millennial army marches into the world’s workplaces and takes the reins of power (or at least control) for the first time, there has been a lot of agonising about how to manage a whole generation of people who are the first to have been nurtured in a digital world. Now a new report from Deloitte into the attitudes of millennials from around the world has confirmed that this is a complex generation of individuals with many universal ideals but with regional characteristics too.  More →

Europe’s commercial property investors opt for safe cities

by • News, Property

German cities dominate the investment prospects for Europe’s commercial real estate sector as investors favour safe havens according to a new report – Emerging Trends in Real Estate Europe 2013. Munich tops the league table followed closely by Berlin in second place and Hamburg in fifth position, with investors taking comfort from each of the cities’ strong local micro-economic climate and resilient property market conditions. London, which is seen by many as Europe’s safest investment, is the largest riser in this year’s report taking third position.  More →

Green retro fitting a ‘best bet’ for 2013

by • Environment, News, Property

EP photo 1

Refurbishing existing buildings to new standards and turning them into good green assets has been identified as one of the best bets for the property sector in the year ahead, according to new research from the Urban Land Institute and PwC. The survey of industry leaders across Europe found the move to ‘reactivate assets’ – refurbish good properties with green credentials – is taking hold. Sustainable properties are increasingly commanding higher rents and values, as governments move to force companies to increase building’s energy efficiency and reduce their environmental footprint.

More →

Greater clarity required for UK infrastructure plan

by • News, Property

1011676_200

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.

More →

«< 42 43 44 45 46 >