Search Results for: financial

MIT survey shows link between sustainability and profitability

by • Environment, Knowledge

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 →

A Field Guide to Workplace Terminology

by • Comment, Facilities management, News, Property, Technology, Workplace design

As the ecosystem around the workplace industry grows ever more complex, so too does the language we use to describe it. In an attempt to bring order to chaos, guest writer Simon Heath presents here a glossary of terms, acronyms and abbreviations to help you navigate these linguistic waters. (For example Business Intelligence – A commonly used oxymoron.) For more of Simon’s worldly, wise and witty writing on all things work and workplace related, visit his blog at https://workmusing.wordpress.com. More →

New York state of mind to increase building energy efficiency by 20percent

by • Environment, Facilities management, Lighting, News, Technology

Build NY

In one of the most ambitious green initiatives in the United States, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has issued an Executive Order directing state agencies to increase energy efficiency in state buildings by 20 percent in seven years. He also announced Build Smart NY, a plan to  strategically implement the Executive Order by accelerating priority improvements in energy performance. The largest and most inefficient buildings will be addressed first and undergo comprehensive whole-building improvements, including new lighting fixtures and controls, heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems and automated energy management systems. More →

Survey reveals world’s speediest and highest lifts

by • Architecture, News, Workplace design

Taipei 101Building information database provider Emporis has unveiled what it believes to be the world’s speediest lifts in a new survey. The company found that the fastest in the world were those in the Taipei 101 tower (above) manufactured by Toshiba. A Mitsubishi lift in Japan’s Yokahama Landmark Tower was named as the second-fastest, while the Otis manufactured lifts in Dubai’s 828m-high Burj Khalifa share third place with three other buildings. The results are inevitably clustered given the limitations of the human body to withstand rapid ascents and descents. More →

Economic boost for UK builders with Green Deal launch

by • Environment, News, Property

energy efficiency The Green Deal launches today to help improve the energy efficiency of the UK’s built environment by enabling householders and businesses to secure the up-front capital to make energy efficiency improvements to their buildings. Refurbishing existing buildings to new standards and turning them into good green assets has recently been identified as one of the best bets for the property sector in the year ahead and today UK-Green Building Council’s Paul King said the launch of the energy efficiency scheme could help create jobs and stimulate economic activity.

More →

Global Gen Y survey highlights national differences

by • Environment, Knowledge, News, Workplace

Gen Y NotNever has a generation of humans been so much talked about as Generation Y. As this millennial army marches into the world’s workplaces and takes the reins of power (or at least control) for the first time, there has been a lot of agonising about how to manage a whole generation of people who are the first to have been nurtured in a digital world. Now a new report from Deloitte into the attitudes of millennials from around the world has confirmed that this is a complex generation of individuals with many universal ideals but with regional characteristics too.  More →

Global trust demands business acts as force for good

by • Knowledge, News, Workplace

Edelman_blogs-02-620x315

Government trails business, media, and non-governmental organisations as the least trusted institution worldwide. The 2012 Edelman Trust Barometer reveals trust in government fell a record nine points to 43% globally, and in 17 of the 25 countries surveyed, government is now trusted by less than half. “Business is now better placed than government to lead the way out of the trust crisis,” said Richard Edelman, President and CEO, Edelman. “But the balance must change so that business is seen both as a force for good and an engine for profit.” More →

Reversal of usual state of affairs as offices turn into homes

by • News, Property

After years in which we have gradually seen technology and flexible working practices transform our homes into offices, the UK Government has reversed this apparently natural order of things by introducing legislative changes to the planning system that will allow developers to convert office buildings into blocks of flats without asking councils for planning permission.  The intention is to address the UK’s housing shortage and stimulate the economy. It’s also a sign that many offices are empty as both a consequence of  the downturn and changes in the way they are designed and used. More →

Europe’s commercial property investors opt for safe cities

by • News, Property

German cities dominate the investment prospects for Europe’s commercial real estate sector as investors favour safe havens according to a new report – Emerging Trends in Real Estate Europe 2013. Munich tops the league table followed closely by Berlin in second place and Hamburg in fifth position, with investors taking comfort from each of the cities’ strong local micro-economic climate and resilient property market conditions. London, which is seen by many as Europe’s safest investment, is the largest riser in this year’s report taking third position.  More →

Mayfair office plan gets green light

by • News, Property

hanover-sq-4018Westminster Council has granted Legal and General Property (LGP) planning consent for a new West End office in London’s Hanover Square, expected to become one of Mayfair’s most sought after squares following the completion of Crossrail. The redevelopment will comprise a 56,000 sq ft high office-based scheme, arranged over two basements, ground and seven upper floors. The office element will provide typical floors of 8,200 sq ft, whilst there will also be two retail/restaurant units on the ground floor, totalling 9,300 sq ft and fronting Hanover Square.

More →

Business spending to grow for two years, forecast Ernst & Young

by • News, Property

Business spending will grow tentatively over the next two years, according to a new report from the ITEM Club, an economic research group established by Ernst & Young. It predicts that overall spending by businesses will grow by just over three per cent this year and a further 8.1 per cent in 2014. This is good news following a number of recent economic forecasts but means that spending will remains some way short of its pre-downturn peak. The ITEM Club also called on the UK Government to do more to stimulate growth. More →

Workplace transformation strategies are an essential element of CSR

by • Facilities management, Knowledge, News, Workplace, Workplace design

CNGLogo

Adopting 21st-century workplace practices that meet the needs of employers and employees is an important form of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), according to a new corporate real estate (CRE) industry advocacy statement by CoreNet Global. The report finds the nature of work is “changing dramatically, transcending the traditional definitions of productivity to include the concepts of enabling work, employee engagement, employee satisfaction and employee wellness, framed around an emerging ‘work-life support’ business model.” More →
«< 108 109 110 111 112 >