Search Results for: carbon

September 21, 2015

Powering positive change theme for World Green Building Week 2015 ⁰

by Sara Bean • Environment, Events, Facilities management, News, Property

The theme of this year’s World Green Building Week which runs from 21–25 September is Powering Positive Change. The week brings together Green Building Councils from around the world to create a public conversation about the role buildings play in a sustainable future. Hundreds of events worldwide with the aim of demonstrating global diversity and a collective mission to create sustainable built environments. This is achieved through a variety of activities – including workshops and panel discussions, exhibits and building tours. There are over 30 events in the UK and you can view a calendar of them here. The flagship International Climate Negotiations 2015: Catalysing Action on Buildings will look forward to the international climate negotiations in Paris (COP), and the role which the construction and property sector can play in delivering carbon cuts and supporting national commitments.

September 9, 2015

‘Climate smart’ cities could generate global savings of $17 trillion ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, Environment, Facilities management, News, Technology

Newly published research claims that investing in public and low emission transport, building efficiency, and waste management in cities could generate worldwide savings of US$17 trillion by 2050. The Global Commission on Economy and Climate, an independent organisation comprising former finance ministers and leading research institutions from Britain and six other countries, found climate-smart cities would spur economic growth and a better quality of life – at the same time as cutting carbon pollution. These investments could also reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 3.7 Gt CO₂e per year by 2030, more than the current annual emissions of India. With complementary national policies such as support for low-carbon innovation, reduced fossil fuel subsidies, and carbon pricing, the savings could be as high as US$22 trillion according to the report.

September 3, 2015

People are holding more meetings, including at weekends claims report ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Technology

The increasingly globalised nature of work, greater workforce mobility and the development of new technology are the main forces influencing the way people meet, claims a new study from Blue Jeans Network, a US based provider of video-conferencing systems. The firm’s State of the Modern Meeting Report , draws on its own data from more than five million online meetings in 177 countries to explore the way meetings are evolving. One of the report’s more intriguing claims is that weekend meetings have become far more frequent over the past two years with an increase of 49 percent in the number of meetings taking place on Saturdays, and an 84 percent increase in those taking place on Sundays. The report suggests that while on-site video-conferencing is becoming more popular, around a quarter of meetings have at least one video caller who is away from the office.

August 18, 2015

That story about sexist air conditioning systems…roundly debunked ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Facilities management, Wellbeing, Workplace

The main story of the silly season so far has been that one about the inherent sexism of air conditioning systems from a week or two back. Based on a study published in the esoteric journal Nature Climate Change, it appeared that standards for heating and ventilation in building systems were founded on the metabolic rate of an average man which suggested women were toiling away in unconducive, if not exactly unbearable, conditions. This was a compelling tale picked up worldwide by major media outlets including The New Yorker and The Daily Telegraph. There were only two problems with it all. Firstly, the original study was extremely flimsy, based on a tiny sample and ignorant of some basic facts. Secondly the science behind it has now been roundly rejected by ASHRAE, the main US body responsible for informing debate on such matters.

July 26, 2015

Insight Weekly on robots at work, agile working, workplace trends and more

by Mark Eltringham • Facilities management, Newsletter, Workplace, Workplace design

In this week’s issue; how the majority of managers are more than happy to welcome robots into the workplace; a survey reveals how much extra work autonomous workers put in each week; Mark Eltringham argues we need to keep a sense of perspective about how important our work is; a groundbreaking UK public sector estate scheme is rolled out nationwide; a recent series of events draws out the key workplace trends from this year’s NeoCon exhibition; a new OECD report calls for more action on the emerging digital workplace; Sara Bean reports on the calls for the Government not to abandon its pledges on zero carbon buildings; and a survey reveals that the vast majority of women don’t feel they are discriminated against at work. Subscribe for free quarterly issues of Work&Place and weekly news here, follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.

July 19, 2015

Weekly Insight on gender pay, green buildings, agile working and more

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Facilities management, Newsletter, Workplace, Workplace design

In this week’s issue; Mark Eltringham argues that the focus on a mythical gender pay gap, as repeated by the Prime Minister, obscures the real issues women (and a growing number of men) face; more evidence emerges to crush another myth, this time the one that equates the health impacts of sitting with smoking; the UK’s ‘greenest Government ever’ abandons its zero carbon buildings plans; Simon Heath questions the reported impact of robots on workplaces; Sara Bean on how firms are leaving remote working employees to fund their own kit; the under-reported and ongoing allure for employees of filthy lucre over flexible working opportunities; and the enduring suspicion of wearable technology in the British workplace. Subscribe for free quarterly issues of Work&Place and weekly news here, follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.

June 24, 2015

CTBUH announces winners of best tall buildings awards for 2015

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Case studies, Cities, News, Property

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat has announced the winners of the Best Tall Building Awards for 2015. The winners were selected from a pool of 123 entries based on an evaluation by a panel of industry experts. The organisers claim that not only do the winners exemplify best practice they also advocate ‘improvements in every aspect of performance, including those that have the greatest positive effect on the people who use these buildings and the cities they inhabit’. Many of this year’s winners demonstrate a commitment to sustainability, especially those that make use of greenery to enhance the looks and environmental credentials of the building. The organisers also note that buildings are better integrated into their surroundings which ‘has been a long-needed requirement’. The Best Tall Buildings have been named from 33 countries in four competing regions.

June 24, 2015

Construction work completes on UK’s greenest commercial building

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Environment, News, Property

Morgan Sindall has completed construction of what is claimed to be the UK’s greenest commercial building, the Enterprise Centre at the University of East Anglia. The building boasts record-breaking sustainability credentials including both BREEAM Outstanding and Passivhaus accreditations. It has been designed to maximise the use of low embodied carbon materials over a projected 100-year life span. The building incorporates an innovation lab, a 300-seat lecture theatre, flexible workspaces, teaching and learning facilities, as well as business ‘hatcheries’ and incubator units for small businesses and start-ups in the low carbon sector. The developers believe that by placing like-minded academic and private sector occupiers side by side, the centre will foster innovation, stimulate smarter ways of working, promote industry standards and create new sustainable supply chains.

June 17, 2015

Eight sustainability megatrends that will impact on UK real estate

by Sara Bean • Environment, Facilities management, News, Property

The ‘Big Eight’ sustainability megatrends that will impact on real estate over the next 15-20 years have been identified in a new report by JLL. Analysing a total of 40 themes, JLL’s Upstream Sustainability Services team claims to have pinpointed eight interconnected trends which are most critical. These are the low carbon economy; technological innovation; urbanisation; land and resource scarcity; workforce transformation; changing demographics; health and wellness; and transparency and social value. According to the report these trends present opportunities as well as risks. Forward-thinking companies which are able to unpick and manage climate change and extreme weather risk, build resilient supply chains, exploit the latest developments in technology, and anticipate the needs of the modern office worker or consumer will stay competitive and succeed.

June 12, 2015

‘Trailblazing’ firm wins Gold Award for sustainable buildings

by Sara Bean • Environment, Facilities management, News, Property

Environmental engineers Max Fordham have been named Gold Award winners in the 2015 Ashden Awards which champion sustainable buildings. The firm, which was the recipient of the Ashden Award for Sustainable Buildings, works with architects to minimise the energy requirements of new buildings. This results in buildings that can meet many of their own lighting, heating and air conditioning needs through measures such as harnessing natural light and ventilation. Its work on new buildings – such as the Hive [pictured] can cut carbon emissions by up to 50 percent. Demand Logic, a clean tech company that helps large buildings make big savings on their energy bills, won the 2015 Impax Ashden Award for Energy Innovation for a cloud-based system which plugs into the management system of commercial buildings and detects what it calls ‘energy insanities’ where, for example, energy sapping systems such as boilers are left on when not needed.

June 11, 2015

Government urged by top organisations to combat climate change

by Sara Bean • Environment, Facilities management, News, Property

In an open letter to the Financial Times, 80 UK businesses, including Willmott Dixon, Cisco, E.on, Kinnarps, UK-GBC and BT have joined with the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) to call on the government to take action to combat climate change. It calls on the administration to; seek a strong global deal in Paris in December which limits temperature rises to below 2°C; set an ambitious 5th carbon budget to drive forward UK emissions reductions (covering period 2028-32) and establish a long-term framework for investment in the low-carbon economy. WWF-UK Chief Executive David Nussbaum said: “British business is ready to step up. From construction and energy to retail, the best British enterprises know that green growth is the future. They take on board that it’s no longer credible to base a sustainable economy on fossil fuels, so the Government should put us on track for a low-carbon world.”

May 19, 2015

Experts more sceptical about Government’s BIM 2 deadline

by Mark Eltringham • Facilities management, News, Property, Technology

Construction firms are increasingly pessimistic about the UK Government’s ability to meet its deadline for the adoption of Level 2 Building Information Modelling (BIM) in centrally procured projects. According to the latest BIM survey by law firm Pinsent Masons, nearly three quarters (71.3 percent) of respondents believe the 2016 deadline is now ‘unachievable’ compared to around 64 percent last year. The survey found there remains a positive attitude towards the use of new technology in construction in spite of the fact that only half of respondents had even heard of the core Digital Built Britain strategy. Nearly all (94 percent) were aware of the BIM2 target and when asked about the implications of new technology for construction, 58 percent believed it would have a high impact, 29 percent thought it would be medium, while just 3 percent said low.