Search Results for: environmental

Six key workplace and property announcements from this week’s budget

by • Cities, News, Property, Public Sector, Technology

BudgetIn yesterday’s budget announcement, the Chancellor maintained the Government’s focus on regional devolution and investment in both physical and digital infrastructure. In truth, there was little surprising in the announcements, many of which had been signalled in advance and were rooted in existing policies. Some of them arrived fully formed, such as the devolution of powers related to business rates. Others, including the much talked about and overdue investment in regional infrastructure such as the cross country fast rail link, were fleshed out. Given that this is a budget with both eyes on the forthcoming general election, it’s a shame that some announcements lacked detail. Here are six of the key announcements that will affect the workplace, technology and property sectors.

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New guidance helps businesses engage staff in a sustainability strategy

by • Environment, Facilities management, News, Workplace

Green bizWhile any far-seeing organisation might develop environmental and corporate social responsibility initiatives, it is important to ensure employees are fully informed and committed to their employers’ aims. The Global Environmental Management Initiative (GEMI) argues that while the leadership may set expectations, it is employees and managers who make it happen. To aid this process, a new toolkit, the  GEMI Quick Guide for Engaging Employees in Sustainability: has been designed to advise corporations on how to successfully engage and motivate employees to participate in their sustainability strategies. The guide explores potential ways of fostering employee connections to sustainability, implementing an engagement strategy, and understanding the role of corporate culture within it.

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BREEAM consults on new scheme for refurbishment and fit-out projects

by • Environment, Facilities management, News, Workplace design

Newham CC new officesA draft of the part of the BREEAM sustainability assessment schemes which deals with refurbishment and fit-Out, has been published for consultation. Launched this week at MIPIM, the consultation will close on 10 April 2015. The draft document can be downloaded from the BREEAM website here. All interested parties, buildings owners and investors, designers, construction industry professionals, BREEAM assessors and other stakeholders are invited to send their comments to breeam@bre.co.uk with the subject: “Comments on draft BREEAM International RFO 2015”. The draft publication of of the scheme comes four months after the launch of the UK Refurbishment and Fit-Out 2014 scheme. BRE claims that this has been adapted for an international market to take account of a range of local and regional standards, conditions and climates.

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The latest issue of the weekly Insight is now available to view online

by • Facilities management, Newsletter, Workplace, Workplace design

Insight_twitter_logo_2In this week’s issue; A new study from IBM challenges some of the most commonly held myths about Generation Y and lays down a few uncomfortable truths for employers; Our regular columnist Simon Heath likes this year’s shortlisted Design Awards entries, but not the way they are described; the Government sets out to define what makes a good public sector property design and management specialist; a call for greater understanding of how more women could develop and stick with STEM careers; some good news about fit notes workplace absence; the Green Building Council challenges developers to take a lead in environmental property; and the latest moves to shift London’s traffic, cyclists and pedestrians to new underground routes. Sign up to for weekly updates via the subscription form in the right hand sidebar and follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.

Leading role for property sector in promoting ‘green infrastructure’ says UK-GBC

by • Environment, Facilities management, News, Property, Wellbeing

Key role for property sector in promoting 'green infrastructure' says UK-GBCThe property industry can play a leading role in protecting and enhancing national features and biodiversity. That is according to a new report by the UK Green Building Council Task Group which presents the business case for “green infrastructure”, the term used to describe natural and semi-natural features ranging from street trees and roof gardens to parks and woodland. Demystifying Green Infrastructure finds that introducing green infrastructure into the built environment offers a range of business opportunities, including an increase in the value of land and property, as well as social and environmental benefits. Aimed primarily at developers and occupiers, the report also identifies risks from failing to incorporate adequate green infrastructure into projects, such as delays in planning, increased costs and reputational damage.

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Fit note linked to sharp reduction in long term work absences

by • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

fit-noteThe much discussed ‘fit note’ legislation introduced in the UK in 2010 may have resulted in a sharp reduction in the number of people taking long terms absences from work, according to a new study, which also revealed a starkly growing number of people taking time off work to deal with mental health issues. Researchers from the Institute of Psychology, Health and Society at the University of Liverpool claim to have found evidence that the UK ‘fit note,’ which replaced the ‘sick note’ in 2010 in the UK, is linked to fewer people taking long term sick leave of 12 or more weeks. A report based on the same study published in the journal Occupational & Environmental Medicine also found that the proportion of people off sick with depression, anxiety, and stress has increased noticeably.

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Government making progress in flexible working and green tech

by • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Public Sector, Technology

flexible workingThe Government has published the latest edition of its ‘Greening Government ICT Strategy’ report, which looks at how central public sector bodies in the UK are addressing environmental issues directly associated with hardware as well as related issues such as travelling to work, the use of property, working cultures and the delivery of services. For the first time the report includes details of energy consumption. The main commitments of the strategy are the ongoing shift to cloud based ‘digital by default’ operations and a focus on the flagship the Way We Work (TW3) flexible working programme which aims ‘to ensure that civil servants have the modern tools they need to enable them to work effectively together and with customers. New greener digital technologies and working practices will help do just that.’

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Market for smart cities set to triple worldwide over next five years

by • Cities, News, Technology

According to a new report, the global market for smart cities will grow by nearly a factor of three from $411.31 billion in 2014 to $1,135 billion by 2019. The not so snappily titled report, “Smart Cities Market by Smart Home, Intelligent Building Automation, Energy Management, Smart Healthcare, Smart Education, Smart Water, Smart Transportation, Smart Security, & by Services – Worldwide Market Forecasts and Analysis (2014 – 2019)”, has been published by MarketsandMarkets, and claims to define and segment smart cities into various sub-segments of technologies, solutions, services and regions with in-depth analysis and forecasting of revenues. The authors also claim that the report identifies drivers and restraints of this market with insights on trends, opportunities, and challenges.

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Fresh completes a new installation for Teleperformance in Gateshead

by • Company news, Facilities management, Workplace design

Baltic QuayInterior design and fit-out firm Fresh Workspace has completed a 30,000 sq ft turnkey project at Baltic Place Gateshead for Teleperformance, the world’s largest contact centre and outsourced customer service providers. Teleperformance, which also occupies several sites in The Watermark Gateshead, commissioned Fresh to carry out the fit-out of three floors of the landmark Baltic Quays building on South Shore Road. The project was completed within a 12 week programme of work with a fixed end-date. Works incorporated a range of mechanical and electrical alterations and additions including the provision of a stand-by generator, cooling and fresh air. The full fit-out comprised the specification and installation of partitions, doors, power and data cabling, new furniture, flooring, feature lighting and security systems.

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Focus on the wellbeing of the occupants of the office, not that of the building

by • Comment, Facilities management, Wellbeing, Workplace

The design of the office has a big impact on health and wellbeingIf you ask a typical corporation about their real estate strategy you will most probably hear a lot about rationalisation, minimising cost and synergy. Real estate strategy should include all these but a cost-cutting approach can be very short-sighted. Staff costs usually account to about 90 per cent of the business operating cost, while any improvement in staff’s productivity will have a stronger and more positive outcome than any cost saving on a building. The recently released World Green Building Council (WGBC) report Health, Wellbeing & Productivity in Offices developed with the support of JLL, Lend Lease and Skanska, clearly shows that the design of an office has a strong impact on the health, wellbeing and productivity of its occupants. It describes the impact of acoustics, interior layout, look & feel, amenities, air quality, thermal comfort, location, daylight and user control on occupants. But it doesn’t stop there.

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Green manifesto challenges next government to deliver low-carbon economy

by • Environment, Facilities management, News

Alliance issues green manifesto for the next governmentOn the eve of the Autumn Statement, an influential business-led coalition of businesses, NGOs, industry associations and cross-party politicians has called on the next Parliament to tackle a range of environmental challenges affecting the UK economy and the built environment. The Aldersgate Group Manifesto identifies six target areas it says the next government must meet to build a growing, sustainable and resilient UK economy. It must accelerate the move to a competitive low carbon economy; prioritise energy and resource efficiency; improve our understanding and the state of our natural capital; equip the UK’s workforce with the right skills to benefit from the opportunities offered by the transition to a sustainable economy; increase financial flows towards low carbon and other environmental projects; and ensure the UK continues to benefit from progressive European environmental standards whatever the UK’s future relationship with the EU. (more…)

EU institutions are not implementing their own green building policies

by • Environment, Facilities management, News, Public Sector

Green building at the EUAccording to a report on EU news site euractiv.com, the various institutions of the European Union have been ‘unambitious’ in terms of delivering energy efficiency as part of their own buildings strategies. That is the key finding of a new study from the European Court of Auditors. which claims that green building standards and initiatives developed and promoted by the EU are not consistently employed for new buildings or as part of major renovation projects carried out by bodies such as the European Commission, European Parliament, EU Council and other institutions. The special report reveals shortcomings in the approach of these bodies, calls on the EU Commission to propose a common policy for reducing the carbon footprint of EU institutions and bodies and proposes the setting of an overall reduction target for greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2030. The report claims that it is through the design processes of a new building, or for a major renovation, that the greatest impact can be made on its energy performance and this should be the focus of its proposed new approach.

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