Search Results for: climate change

July 21, 2023

Cost of living crisis incentivises people to work from home

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

A new report claims that rising numbers of the people in the UK are choosing to shop and work from home to make every penny count as the cost-of-living crisis continues. These insights mark the launch of the second Virgin Media O2 Business Movers Index – a quarterly barometer that combines anonymised and aggregated UK movement data from O2 Motion, with national polling findings to reveal key trends relating to the behaviour of 2,000 British businesses and 1,000 UK consumers. Together, the data paints a picture of movement patterns and the trends behind them. The second quarter of this year reveals a more cash-conscious image of Britain as more of the UK public change their behaviours to cope with a tough economic backdrop. More →

May 24, 2023

Europe not on track to deliver carbon neutral built environment by 2050

by Jayne Smith • Environment, News, Property

It has been one year today (24 May 2023), since the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) launched a new policy called the EU Policy Whole Life Carbon Roadmap, to help the European Union accelerate total decarbonisation of buildings and construction — the most heavily emitting sector in the world. Now WorldGBC and 12 European Green Building Councils (GBCs) are imploring the EU to implement the Roadmap’s principles at the scale and speed required through the announcement of BuildingLife2, a new project driving what it claims is greater transparency and accountability across the sector as it seeks to achieve the goal of a carbon neutral built environment. More →

May 3, 2023

Around a quarter of jobs will shift over the next five years, WEF report claims

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

Almost a quarter of jobs are expected to switch in the next five years according to a new report from the World Economic Forum. Its Future of Jobs Report for 2023 suggests that employers anticipate 69 million new jobs to be created and 83 million eliminated among the 673 million jobs corresponding to the dataset, a net decrease of 14 million jobs, or 2 percent of current employment. The data is an extrapolation of data from 803 employers employing around 11 million people. More →

April 10, 2023

The allure of workplace bullshit

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Although the legend of Faust is one of the Germanic world’s foundational narratives, its archetypes and themes were already established by the time Goethe codified them in his 1808 play. They have since become universal. The idea that somebody would sell their soul to the Devil to gain something or rid themselves of unhappiness is as resonant now as it was in Renaissance Europe. It has inspired books films and artists to such an extent that its derivatives now have their own Wikipedia page.

March 15, 2023

The UK workplace sector reacts to the Spring Budget 2023

by Jayne Smith • Environment, News, Property, Workplace

Today the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt presented his Spring Budget to the House of Commons. In it he announced what her referred to as his ‘four pillars’ of industrial and productivity strategy, namely: ‘Enterprise’, ‘Employment’, ‘Education’, and ‘Everywhere’. Perhaps the headline element of this announcement was the creation of twelve new investment zones across the UK as well as incentives for older workers to return to the country’s patchy workforce. This includes£63m for programmes to encourage retirees over 50 back to work, “returnerships” and ‘skills boot camps’. Another headline for the workplace sector was the offer of improved childcare arrangements, especially for the parents of very young children, who will see 30 hours of free childcare expanded to include one and two-year-olds. More →

February 21, 2023

What to expect at next week’s Workspace Design Show

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Events

With only a few days until The Workspace Design Show returns to London’s Business Design Centre, on 27-28 February 2023, here is a taste of what to expect. The show brings together striking features, a thought-provoking programme of talks featuring a whole host of speakers, from developers to architects and their blue-chip clients, along with accomplished exhibitors showcasing the latest workplace interiors innovations. All of this incredible content aligns perfectly with the show’s theme, Destination Workplace: Places Where People Want To Be. More →

February 15, 2023

Workspace Design Show returns (and so do we)

by Mick Jordan • Events, Features, Flooring, Furniture, Lighting, Workplace design

A few of you may already know this story. It was some 15 months ago and three old friends met up for the first time in quite a while (well, we had been through lockdowns etc). Having caught up with each other’s news, the subject turned to industry journals, what the three friends felt the market was missing and the possibility of collaborating in the not too distant future. That conversation occurred at the inaugural Workspace Design Show – which the three amigos were all hugely impressed by. The result of that conversation (and a few more chats and meets, of course) is Works. So, here we are, all those months later, pulling together a preview of the 2023 edition of WDS, which – we’re delighted to say – we’re very much a part of. And we don’t just partner with any one, you know. More →

February 2, 2023

Government Environmental Improvement Plan is ambitious but needs a clear plan

by Jayne Smith • Environment, Facilities management, News, Property

The UKGBC has welcomed the ambition and vision of the Government’s Environmental Improvement Plan, particularly the water efficiency roadmap which broadly aligns with UKGBC recommendations. Yet the lobbying group also claims that the Plan falls short of providing the practical targets and policies for the built environment to play its part in halting nature’s decline. Many critical areas of interest to our sector – including planning system reform, policies for environmental net gain, and tangible targets – are insufficiently explained or missing entirely from the Plan. More →

January 26, 2023

The business case for the retrofit of existing buildings keeps getting stronger

by Paul Johnstone • Environment, Facilities management, Features, Property

The news last year that the M&S flagship Orchard House store on Oxford Street in London was to be demolished to make way for a new mixed-use development of shops, offices, restaurants and a gym sparked a very British sort of debate about the pros and cons of retrofit and refurbishment. This is M&S after all. It may not be the cultural touchstone it once was but it remains an institution. But the debate was also about some things you might expect right now, including the ongoing deterioration of Oxford Street, the loss of a landmark building (and an art deco one at that) and the suitability of the ten-storey, mixed-use development that was to replace it. More →

November 4, 2022

Responsible capitalism, and space as a service will shape real estate industry over next 20 years

by Neil Franklin • Environment, News, Property

Europe’s real estate leaders have set out a long-term vision for the industry. In this scenario the most successful firms have adopted ‘responsible capitalism,’ the user is the centre of attention, the cycle of demolition and development has been broken, mixed-use is the norm and multi-disciplinary and in-house teams deliver space as a service across a range of sectors. Emerging Trends in Real Estate Europe 2023, the twentieth annual survey of European real estate sector leaders’ expectations by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and PwC, has looked beyond the year ahead at the trends shaping the industry over the next two decades. This report captures the views of over 900 sector leaders from across Europe. More →

October 5, 2022

Gallery: British Council for Offices announces winners of national awards

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property, Workplace design, Works Magazine

Sunderland City Hall was celebrated as ‘Best of the Best’ at the British Council for Offices’ (BCO) National Awards at the Grosvenor House hotel in London last night, also taking home the ‘Corporate Workplace’ award. The office was joined by six other award winners recognised as leading examples of excellence in office space across the UK. The BCO’s National Awards programme claims to recognises top quality office design and functionality and says it sets the standard for excellence across the office sector. More →

September 22, 2022

Demand for sustainable commercial property rises modestly, but supply side still falls short

by Neil Franklin • Environment, News, Property

Progress is being seen in some aspects of the built environment on the drive to be more sustainable, according to the latest annual sustainability report produced by RICS, however the rate of advancement needs to accelerate significantly and become more widespread. The 2022 RICS Sustainability Report, which collated sentiment from almost 4,000 chartered surveyor contributors, around 1200 of which are from the UK, across commercial and construction sectors globally, shows that some improvement in the push for sustainability has been made in the past year, notably in the commercial real estate sector as demand for sustainable commercial property continues to rise. More →