Search Results for: sustainability

FMs must overcome engagement barriers to sustainability implementation

Engagement still barrier to successful sustainability implementation

There is overwhelming support for sustainability to be embedded into business operations, but still some challenges in its successful delivery, according to the 7th annual Sustainability in Facilities Management survey from the British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM).  Of the top five barriers to implementation success, three related to engagement; engagement overall, amongst senior management and middle management. The report also found that many FMs are not targeting the areas of highest priority relating to behaviours or processes which have the highest impact, but tend to focus on technologies. More →

New Construction Strategy focuses on sustainability and efficiency

New Construction strategy focuses on sustainability and efficiency

An industrial strategy for construction‘Construction 2025’ is being launched by the Coalition Government today which aims to tap into the considerable growth opportunities predicted for the global construction market. The strategy has been developed in partnership with the new Construction Leadership Council, jointly chaired by Business Secretary Vince Cable and Sir David Higgins, Chief Executive of Network Rail, formed to help oversee the delivery of the action plan and its strategic priorities. The strategy’s vision to 2025 includes ambitions for a 50 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in the built environment, and an equal reduction in the trade gap between total exports and total imports for construction products and materials. More →

Net-Zero buildings top measure of sustainability success

the Crystal

Net-zero commercial buildings, i.e. those that produce at least as much energy as they consume should be the long-term aim of corporate energy strategies, says a CoreNet Global statement. “Smart and responsible energy policies and practices reduce corporate carbon footprints and greenhouse gas emissions, (and) we encourage our members’ companies to drive energy efficiency to optimal levels with net-zero buildings as a top measure of long-term success.” The global real estate association calls on governments around the world to incentivise building owners, investors and occupiers who proactively reduce their carbon footprints. More →

MIT survey shows link between sustainability and profitability

money-grows-on-treesA report published today by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan Management Review and The Boston Consulting Group has found that more than half of companies see a rise in profits when they embrace a more sustainable business model. In addition to the link between sustainability and profitability, the number of companies reporting a profit from their sustainability efforts rose 23 percent last year, to 37 percent of the total, according to the report entitled The Innovation Bottom Line. The survey of 2,600 managers and executives around the world, also found that nearly half of respondents said their companies had changed their business model as a result of sustainability opportunities.  More →

Crown estate announces details of latest London commercial property developments

Crown estate announces details of latest London commercial property developments

The Crown Estate has unveiled details of its pipeline of commercial property developments in London’s West End.The Crown Estate has unveiled details of its pipeline of commercial property developments in London’s West End. According to The Crown Estate, the first three projects, which have a Gross Development Value of over £430 million, will deliver 250,000 sq ft of office, leisure and retail space in the heart of the Capital, which it claims will help to stimulate the renewal of the West End, attract global investment and contribute to the wider success of London. More →

Something for the weekend? Why, if it isn’t the new issue of IN Magazine

Something for the weekend? Why, if it isn’t the new issue of IN Magazine

t's a bit of a bumper issue. The digital edition of the new IN Magazine is available for you here.It’s a bit of a bumper issue. The digital edition of the new IN Magazine is available for you here. Inside you will find: Peggie Rothe of Leesman talking about how to optimise the workplace experience (and why you need t do it); Jo Knight cutting through yet another layer of sustainability BS; Stephanie Fitzgerald grappling with AI; a look back on the new direction for office design heralded thirty years ago by three new products; and a recent look back on Clerkenwell Design Week; a visit to an installation that shows how Sheffield is reinventing itself; a look at what happens when firms monitor staff (they monitor the firm right back); alternatives to our conception of the working day; how firms are building new relationships with remote staff; how Mark Eltringham can’t even be happy reading a book he agrees with; and the final word on the most complained about aspect of work.      More →

CIBSE announces new future focussed building performance project

CIBSE announces new future focussed building performance project

CIBSE has launched Building Performance Reimagined, a project aimed at transforming the landscape of building engineering and sustainabilityCIBSE has launched what it claims is a ground-breaking initiative titled Building Performance Reimagined [registration], a project aimed at transforming the landscape of building engineering and sustainability. Commissioned by CIBSE and researched by Arup, the Building Performance Reimagined project diverges from conventional engineering paradigms. Rather than focusing solely on system sizing, maintenance or controls, the initiative takes a holistic, future-oriented perspective on building performance. More →

3 Days of Design proves we don’t know what we’re doing

3 Days of Design proves we don’t know what we’re doing

We don't know what we're doing. That was what we all learnt about sustainability at last week's 3 Days of Design in CopenhagenWe don’t know what we’re doing. That was what we all learnt about sustainability at last week’s 3 Days of Design in Copenhagen as Denmark’s capital city played host once more to this increasingly influential European Design event. Timed, as it is, in the same week as Chicago’s Neocon, and following on from Milan’s enormous and well-renowned Salone, not even intermittently inclement weather could disguise the noticeably larger audience drawn to Copenhagen this year. More →

A new renaissance in leading change at the most disruptive time in history

A new renaissance in leading change at the most disruptive time in history

We need to seek answers that are not the status quo or at least go beyond the status quo when it comes to leading changeLast January, we talked about the three biggest disrupters of our time: technology, UN sustainability goals, and societal shifts. These three disrupters have put us at a cultural crossroads we have not experienced for 100 years. As a result, we need to think differently when it comes to decisions about leading change. The world will not look, feel or be the same in 10 years time – we will not interact and live the same as we do now. The world will be very very different. According to Dex Hunter Torricke, “The next 10 years are going to be the most disruptive we have ever experienced.” More →

Ultrafabrics celebrates 25th anniversary with new and improved bio-based Volar Bio collection

Ultrafabrics celebrates 25th anniversary with new and improved bio-based Volar Bio collection

Ultrafabrics proudly commemorates its 25th anniversary of excellence in the industry with the reintroduction of its Volar Bio collection which now has a 66 percent mix of recycled, rapidly renewable and bio-based content – a remarkable achievement in sustainable innovation. More →

British Council for Offices Chief Executive Richard Kauntze to step down in summer 2025

British Council for Offices Chief Executive Richard Kauntze to step down in summer 2025

After soon-to-be 25 years of serving as Chief Executive for the British Council for Offices, Richard Kauntze will be stepping down in summer 2025. His successor will be appointed by the BCO Presidential Team in due course. More →

Are these the top ten emerging technologies for 2024?

Are these the top ten emerging technologies for 2024?

The World Economic Forum has announced the publication of its annual Top 10 Emerging Technologies Report featuring technologies with the greatest potential to make a positive impact in the worldThe World Economic Forum has published its annual Top 10 Emerging Technologies Report featuring technologies with the greatest potential to make a positive impact in the world in the next three to five years. Among the technologies mentioned in the report are AI (obv), immersive building tech, intelligent materials and microbes that can sequester carbon.  More →