Search Results for: sustain

Google opens new Bay View campus in California – image gallery and video

Google opens new Bay View campus in California – image gallery and video

Google Bay View CampusGoogle has announced the opening of its new Bay View campus in Silicon Valley, representing the company’s first time developing its own major campus.  The Bay View campus was designed by architects Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and Heatherwick Studio, as well as Google’s design and engineering teams, and spans 42 acres adjacent to the NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley. It totals 1.1 million square feet, with 20 acres of open space, two office buildings, an 1,000-person event centre, and 240 short-term employee accommodation units. (more…)

Circular economy accelerator launched to address role of built environment in climate change

Circular economy accelerator launched to address role of built environment in climate change

circular economyThe World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) and its network of over 70 Green Building Councils have launched a Circularity Accelerator — a global programme that sets out to accelerate the adoption of circular economy and resource efficiency principles in the building and construction sector. Last week, the United Nations (UN) reported we have a 50 percent chance of exceeding 1.5°C of global heating in the next five years. Between the UN Climate Summit of COP21 in Paris and COP26 in Glasgow, the global economy consumed 70 percent more raw materials than the Earth can safely replenish. (more…)

Competition for talent is fierce, but employers edge away from pay to attract people

Competition for talent is fierce, but employers edge away from pay to attract people

competition for talentNew CIPD research claims that almost half (45 percent) of UK employers report having vacancies that are hard-to-fill, and almost two thirds (65 percent) anticipate problems filling vacancies in the next six months. The most common response made in the past six months by employers with hard-to-fill vacancies has been to increase pay (44 percent). However, only a quarter (27 percent) of organisations plan to raise wages in response to the competition for talent in the future. This suggests that organisations may be approaching their limit on this ‘quick win’ strategy and are exploring alternative options, such as upskilling people and flexible working, to attract and retain people. (more…)

London office market activity hits post-pandemic high … for smaller, better, greener offices

London office market activity hits post-pandemic high … for smaller, better, greener offices

london officeA study of the London office market from Gerald Eve suggests that there is now the highest number of lettings since before the pandemic with activity focused on smaller requirements and environmentally friendly buildings. Lettings between 10,000 and 20,000 sq ft made up a significant portion of demand with 713,000 sq ft (or 23 percent) of all activity, which totalled 3.1m sq ft in Q1. Tenants are now voting with their feet for best-in-class space, with sustainability at the forefront of decision making. Post-covid requirements continue to shape the criteria for office space as subjective business-linked or staff retention demands rank higher than overall cost in the search for office space. (more…)

ESG ambitions should top organisational agendas

ESG ambitions should top organisational agendas

ESGWhen the idea of ESG (environmental, social and governance credentials) first surfaced nearly two decades ago in a 2005 United Nations report, it was just an acronym businesses were trying to understand and get to grips with. But in the last few years, ESG strategies have gathered steam – it has become integral to C-Suite strategy and business purpose, and is a deal-breaker not just for investors but also for those considering new roles. In fact, a recent report revealed that job-seekers are turning down job offers by companies showcasing weak ESG credentials, a sure sign of the importance of substantive ESG policies for potential talent. Most of the larger conglomerates (if not all) have set targets to reach net-zero by a set date – ranging from as early as 2025 to anywhere within the next two decades. But is this going far enough for employees, stakeholders, future talent, and more broadly, for society? (more…)

Flexible working now arriving at aisle three

Flexible working now arriving at aisle three

flexible working tescoRemote workers might soon be able to do their jobs and shop for groceries at the same time, under a new “Spaces” project between Tesco and flexible office operator IWG. A trial at a branch of Tesco in New Malden that will start later in this month and will accommodate 12 private desks, 30 co-working spaces and a meeting room. The 3,800 sq ft space within the store would normally have been used for electrical goods, music, and other forms of entertainment, most of which are now mainly purchased online. The aim is to make better use of floor space and, if successful, Tesco stores across the country could become flexible working hubs. (more…)

Facilities managers: you never noticed us because we did such a great job

Facilities managers: you never noticed us because we did such a great job

facilities managersGetting all hot under the collar about brushed chrome door furniture is an understandable but classic displacement activity when much of your work is messy, unglamorous and even occasionally dangerous. You work alongside designers and architects and look longingly at their apparent casual trendiness and clean lines, marvelling at the quality of the beech from sustainably managed European forestries (kiln dried to 10-12 per cent moisture content) with which they have specified the side tables in reception. Achingly cool and effortless in a way you feel you’ll never be.

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Nature based solutions have the potential to transform cities and buildings

Nature based solutions have the potential to transform cities and buildings

nature based solutionsThe UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) has launched a new framework to help organisations and planners to recognise the significant value and benefit of nature-based solutions across urban developments. The report claims to reveal the scale of positive outcomes which Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) can deliver, as well as the wide range of stakeholders who can benefit from their implementation across cities and urban areas. (more…)

BCO honours the best workplaces in South of England and South Wales

BCO honours the best workplaces in South of England and South Wales

BCO South West AwardsSix South of England and South Wales workplaces have been recognised at the annual British Council for Offices’ (BCO) Regional Awards. The South of England and South Wales Awards Dinner returned in-person at We the Curious at Bristol Harbourside, recognising the highest quality developments in the South of England and South Wales and setting the standard for excellence in the office sector across the UK. (more…)

Retrofit is essential for the UK’s stock of poor performing commercial property

Retrofit is essential for the UK’s stock of poor performing commercial property

commercial property retrofitThe UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) has published a guide that calls on businesses to retrofit the country’s poorly performing stock of commercial buildings. From 2025, every commercial building in the UK will require an energy performance certificate (EPC) which rates its energy efficiency from grade A to G. The Government is seeking to strengthen these standards and has proposed that all commercial properties being let have a minimum EPC rating of at least ‘B’ by 2030 and is considering a possible interim requirement of level ‘C’ by 2027. Buildings which fail to meet these new standards would require owners and landlords of commercial buildings to upgrade their stock. (more…)

British Council for Offices honours the North’s best workplaces at annual Regional Awards

British Council for Offices honours the North’s best workplaces at annual Regional Awards

Six workplaces across the North of England and Northern Ireland have been recognised at the annual British Council for Offices (BCO) Regional Awards today. The Northern BCO Awards dinner returned in-person to the Kimpton Clocktower in Manchester, recognising the North’s highest quality developments and setting the standard for excellence in the office sector across the UK. (more…)

We need to seize the chance to make our buildings far more intelligent

We need to seize the chance to make our buildings far more intelligent

Even before the pandemic, statistics were making the case for workplaces to be made up of more intelligent buildings. This includes the fact that offices generally operate at around 55-60 percent utilisation, and as we return to the office are currently at 45 percent utilisation. From presenteeism to absenteeism and many other factors in between, workplaces have seldom been utilised by entire workforces at the same time. However, the prevailing approach has been for firms to drive an office setup with one-to-one desking – a seat for every employee, even though five in 10 would not be in at any one time. (more…)