Search Results for: performance

Green retro fitting a ‘best bet’ for 2013

EP photo 1

Refurbishing existing buildings to new standards and turning them into good green assets has been identified as one of the best bets for the property sector in the year ahead, according to new research from the Urban Land Institute and PwC. The survey of industry leaders across Europe found the move to ‘reactivate assets’ – refurbish good properties with green credentials – is taking hold. Sustainable properties are increasingly commanding higher rents and values, as governments move to force companies to increase building’s energy efficiency and reduce their environmental footprint.

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New research highlights trends in technology market

image: ../art/MacBookProDesktop_2x.pngA new report from Deloitte has highlighted what it believes are the key trends in the market for telecommunications, media and technology as part of its annual TMT Predictions research project. Amongst other things it predicts a slowdown in the uptake of Bring Your Own device polices, the enduring appeal of the laptop,  a change in the way we protect our data and devices, and the annual market for smartphones hitting one billion units for the first time as 4G takes off in the UK.

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Greenest commercial building in the world opens for business

The Bullitt Center, proclaimed as the greenest, most energy efficient commercial building in the world, is opening in Seattle. The goal of the Bullitt Center is to change the way buildings are designed, built and operated to improve long-term environmental performance and promote broader implementation of energy efficiency, renewable energy and other green building technologies. Tenant are now moving into the six-storey, 50,000 square-foot building located at the intersection of Capitol Hill and the Central District in Seattle, Washington. More →

It pays to check the green credentials of manufacturers

Generation from Knoll

Generation from Knoll

There is a theory that when companies talk about issues such as corporate social responsibility they are doing so because it helps them to achieve their business goals. This is the coldly rational thing to do according to people like free market guru Milton Friedman who argues that companies should not actively pursue altruistic ends unless that pursuit is ultimately in the interest of their shareholders. As Friedman puts it: ‘Hypocrisy is virtuous when it serves the bottom line. Moral virtue is immoral when it does not’.

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Clarification complaints on changes to EPCs

EPC_header_image_contentpageimageImportant changes to the requirements regarding Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) are effective from tomorrow – 9 January 2013.

But according to RICS (The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) many of these changes have not previously been discussed and RICS has been asking the DCLG for clarification on some of the amendments, including whether or not listed buildings are now excluded. More →

Coalition’s mid-term review given green thumbs down

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The government may have reiterated its commitment to the green agenda in its Mid Term Review, which was published this week, but green groups remain resolutely unimpressed by its overall environmental record. Summarising the Coalition’s green initiatives so far, including the trebling of support for low carbon energy up to 2020 and the encouragement of green investments through the Green Investment Bank, the review stated: “We promised to be the greenest government ever, and we will fulfil that commitment.” More →