Search Results for: carbon

Orgatec 2014 focuses on collaboration, quiet and wellbeing in the workplace

by • Comment, Events, Furniture, Workplace design

Anna King reports from the biennial office furniture and interiors fair Orgatec, which took place recently in Cologne: Collaboration seemed to be king once again at this year’s Orgatec trade fair in Cologne, so much so that you’d be hard pressed to find a conventional workstation amongst the thousands of products on display. Even ergonomic task chairs in the traditional sense were thin on the ground. Senator’s offering was typical in its focus on collaborative work and the provision of work settings. As well as the Ad-Lib Scholar range for educational establishments, it presented the Ad-Lib Work Lounge multipurpose chair, both the work of British design studio PearsonLloyd. This upholstered model complete with headrest is available on glides or castors so it can slot into a multitude of workplace scenarios. Shown in some rich shades such as moss green and turquoise, it comes complete with a fold-down worksurface for brainstorming or other group working.

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EU’s targeted 2030 greenhouse gas cuts receive lukewarm welcome from industry

by • Environment, News

greenhouse gas renewable energyThe states of the European Union (EU) have reached an agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2030, compared with 1990 levels. The EU says it aims to meet the new target in the most cost-effective ways possible. The EU has also set itself the target of generating 27 percent of energy from renewable sources over the same period. The new target is set to remain independent of any more ambitious cuts set by individual member states suggesting that the EU sees the new targets as being a minimum ambition. The new targets will also take account of the EU’s internal energy markets and the degree of integration of members states. The EU, in its announcement, claims that the market for renewable energy is dependent on a well integrated internal energy market, co-ordinated at regional level. The new announcement has been broadly welcomed by industry sources albeit with some significant caveats.

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Work begins on ‘living laboratory’ to test eco-build products

by • Environment, Facilities management, News, Property

Work begins on 'living laboratory' to test eco-build productsAccording to Constructing Excellence, buildings collectively account for around half the UK national output of carbon dioxide. To help address this, work has begun on the construction of a new £1.4 million ‘living laboratory’ at the Eden Project in Cornwall, where new eco-build products can be installed, tested and monitored. The Green Build Hub (GBH), is designed as a training centre that encourages inward investment by specialist green suppliers by enabling them to showcase and test innovative products. The project, by the Cornwall Sustainable Building Trust (CSBT), made possible by an investment of £1.1 million from the European Regional Development Fund Convergence Programme, aims to deliver a BREAAM ‘Outstanding’ building that acts as a resource of specialist green building knowledge. The GBH design team includes Gilbert & Goode Ltd, Ward Williams Associates, PBWC Architects, Hoare Lea, CDEC Ltd and TClarke Ltd; with an expected completion date of June 2015. (more…)

Case study: A public sector building that lights the way ahead for others

by • Case studies, Facilities management, Public Sector, Workplace design

The new offices of Wiltshire County Council, Trowbridge

The new offices of Wiltshire County Council, Trowbridge

Last year, I had the pleasure of producing a case study of the new offices of Wiltshire County Council for Mix Interiors magazine. Given that the building was this week shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Better Public Buildings Award and had already won an award from the BCO, we thought this seemed a good time to retread its corridors of power…. The recession has led the UK government to develop a number of new approaches to public sector buildings. But some of the UK’s local authorities are way ahead of the new thinking. Even so, there was a time, not so long ago, when nobody worried too much about the shape of the rooms that led off the corridors of power. But the pressure on UK public finances has politicised the design of the UK’s public buildings, with the government launching a wide range of initiatives to improve the efficiency of the way public sector acquires, designs and runs the places it calls home.

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New speculative office scheme announced for Slough Trading Estate

by • Facilities management, News, Property

New speculative office scheme announced for Slough Trading EstateA new 68,000 sq ft speculative office scheme has been announced for Slough Trading Estate, arguably the most famous trading estate in the country; home to Ricky Gervais’ ‘the Office’. Although Slough began life as an industrial trading estate, it now accommodates  numerous corporate offices, and is one of the UK’s most popular headquarter locations for multinational companies, including Mars, Stanley Black and Decker, O2, and LG. The latest development forms part of the ongoing redevelopment of the Trading Estate to ensure it continues to remain a draw for business. The new site, at 234 Bath Road has already secured planning permission and is due to commence in November with completion set for Spring 2016. According to developer SEGRO the offices will feature large floorplates offering grade A office accommodation ranging in size from 22,000 sq ft – 68,000 sq ft, which can be let to a single company or multiple occupiers. (more…)

Corporate social reponsibility remains a vital part of the business armoury

by • Comment, Environment, Facilities management, Insight promotion

Corporate Social responsibilityThere is now an unstoppable energy for radical change in the way that companies of all sizes conduct their Corporate Social Responsibility duties. There are compelling economic and social reasons for companies to construct new ways of thinking and practice around CSR that go way beyond just doing something worthy or nice, from building effective partnerships to attracting top employees. Some companies prefer terms like ‘corporate responsibility’, ‘corporate conscience’, ‘corporate citizenship’, ‘social performance’, ‘sustainability’ or even ‘future-proofing’ over CSR. But the core CSR principles are that a business voluntarily commits to embracing responsibility for its actions and to impacting positively on the environment, on society and on consumers, employees and other stakeholders. (more…)

Keeping remote employees motivated is key to successful flexible working culture

by • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace

Flexible working has barely been out of the news since the latest government changes. But while allowing employees to work remotely can do wonders for staff retention, motivating them and keeping them in the loop presents a new problem. Although self-starting employees feel that they have more control over their work and fewer distractions, it can also lead to a sense of isolation. It is important for retention that you not just offer a flexible working option to employees, but that all the staff make an effort to continue allowing them to feel like a part of the team. The four best practices that will help you motivate employees that telecommute are: ensuring you build trust between those who telecommute and their colleagues from the start; establish regular communication between remote and in-office staff; manage goals, expectations and outcomes and take steps to establish that remote working is made part of the company culture. (more…)

Climate committee exposes limited progress on energy efficiency of buildings

by • Environment, Facilities management, News

Climate committee exposes limited progress on energy efficiency of buildingsIn its latest progress report to Parliament, the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), the statutory body set up to advise the government on meeting long-term carbon goals, says that progress has been limited in energy efficiency improvement in the commercial and industrial sectors and previous good progress in residential energy efficiency fell away with the new policy regime in 2013.While there are specific examples of organisations that have made progress, much potential remains unexploited. This is because the policy landscape is complex and has mixed incentives. It recommends that policies should be simplified to lower administrative costs while, at the same time, improving delivery. There is a need to strengthen incentives and at the same time rationalise the number of policy instruments, leading to lower administrative costs as well as better delivery. (more…)

Breathing space? Why our office air could be harming us

by • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace design

Why our office air could be harming usAs reported last week, the vast majority of office workers might prefer to work outdoors; but the office is where we spend most of our working lives. Indeed, for an average of eight hours a day, five days a week, office workers can reliably be found in the same surroundings – at a familiar desk, with familiar colleagues, within a familiar building. Perhaps as a result of this, too few of us stop to consider the risks of working indoors, assuming that the danger of serious harm is the sole preserve of outdoor working sites. Nonetheless, office work contains risks which are entirely its own. For example, while outdoor workers benefit from physical exercise, sunshine (occasionally), and fresh air, office workers perform their daily duties in a space where air is continuously recirculated, posing numerous dangers.  Indeed, indoor air pollution is actually a major public health problem, posing a myriad of risks as dangerous particles accumulate in office air.

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Lack of joined up thinking hampers efforts to reduce commercial property energy consumption

by • Environment, Facilities management, News, Property

SunriseA new report commissioned by the Green Construction Board, Property Industry Alliance and UK Government claims that efforts to tackle energy consumption in commercial property and reduce the associated emissions of greenhouse gases needs a new approach to the way policies are understood, monitored and enforced. The warnings come in a paper produced by Deloitte which suggests that while the associated potential for savings and a wide range of environmental and economic benefits are beyond question and the Government has the will to make them happen, there is a lack of cohesive thinking in current policies and legislation coupled with a shortfall in innovation and investment. When the report was commissioned last year, it was done so on the basis that buildings remain the UK’s largest contributor to carbon emissions, with energy use in non-domestic buildings accounting for 17 per cent of the total.

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UK public sector estate now reduced by 2 million square metres over three years

by • Facilities management, News, Property, Public Sector

Public sector estateThe UK Cabinet Office has today issued the latest edition of its regular State of the Estate Report which shows that the government has reduced the size of the public sector estate by 2 million square metres since 2010 – which it claims will boost economic growth and save a cumulative £1.2 billion with more savings in the pipeline. Now in its third year, the report also shows that: during 2013 there was a 500,000 sq m reduction in the size of the estate; £240 million was saved on running costs, against a 2009 to 2010 baseline; there was a 7.6 percent reduction in the cost of office space per employee; office space per employee was down from 13 square metres to 11.9 square metres; carbon emissions were down by 14 percent; and waste produced was down by 15 percent. The reductions are a core element in the Government’s plans to consolidate and modernise the public sector estate.

Property sector calls for introduction of mandatory energy standards

by • Environment, Facilities management, News, Property

Property sector urges government to introduce mandatory energy standardsAhead of the Queen’s Speech today, business leaders from some of the UK’s biggest property owners, developers and occupiers are urging the Government to end the “prevarication” around the introduction of mandatory energy standards for privately rented commercial buildings, amid concerns there is “significant opposition” to them within the Coalition. The UK Green Building Council has released the text of a letter sent to Prime Minister David Cameron by the heads of major companies including Legal and General, Whitbread, Land Securities and Marks & Spencer on the Government’s proposed minimum energy performance standards (MEPS). It argues that commercial buildings are responsible for around one fifth of the UK’s total carbon dioxide emissions. (more…)

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