Search Results for: sustainability

How to flourish in the workplace – Derek Clements-Croome in conversation

How to flourish in the workplace – Derek Clements-Croome in conversation

In the third in our series of wellbeing podcasts published in partnership with Wellworking, I am in conversation with Derek Clements-Croome, one of the world’s leading experts on wellbeing and sustainability in the workplace. We look at the increasingly powerful links between personal wellbeing and green sustainable building design and consider some of the most important yet last talked about wellbeing and productivity issues such as temperature and air quality. (more…)

Does an employee representative on the board mean reduced CEO pay?

Does an employee representative on the board mean reduced CEO pay?

Having an employee representative on the director’s board has absolutely no impact on reducing the pay level of the company’s CEO, according to research from Vlerick Business School. This research claims that contrary to the belief that employee representation on the board reduces high profit margins and greater controls the remuneration of CEOs, giving more ownership and finances to a company’s employees. (more…)

Expectations at work are changing

Expectations at work are changing

New research from Aon, claims that 94 percent of employers believe their employees’ expectations of work experience are changing. In Aon’s Benefits and Trends Survey 2020, employers say their employees expect flexible working hours, the ability to work from home, better awareness and handling of mental health, better approaches to diversity and inclusion and better parental policies. A surprise in this year’s report is the strength of opinion on environmental and sustainability policies, coming in at the seventh most important expectation in its first year in the survey. Fifty-four percent of employers believe that employees want clarity and positivity on this subject.

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New EU AI strategy focuses on ethics

New EU AI strategy focuses on ethics

AIThe European Commission has put forward a strategy to promote the development of AI and robotics while putting people first and defending European values and rights. The strategy acknowledges that AI can open up new opportunities for businesses and bring solutions to challenges such as climate change. However, it aims to address the social, legal and ethical impact of new technology. (more…)

Cuts to government estate save £2bn

Cuts to government estate save £2bn

Public Sector EstateWork to reduce the size of the government estate has freed up land for development, including new housing, and secured more than £2bn over the past year, the Cabinet Office has claimed. The ‘State of the Estate 2018-2019’ report shows the government estate, which is made up of buildings across the country, is now 30 percent smaller than it was in 2010. In the past year, 339 former government sites have been disposed of, totalling 277,000 square metres – the equivalent of 39 football pitches. The cost of running the estate has also fallen by £50 million a year. (more…)

Commercial property market will be shaped by climate change in 2020

Commercial property market will be shaped by climate change in 2020

commercial propertyThe world’s commercial property markets will be defined this year by low interest rates, socially responsible investing, cautious optimism and climate change as well as six other factors according to Avison Young’s 2020 Forecast. The annual report series claims to provide perspective on how global events, trends and indicators impact commercial real estate in a variety of sectors, including capital markets, office, retail, industrial, multi-family and hospitality, among others.

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Executive pay at major firms will today exceed entire 2020 pay for average worker

Executive pay at major firms will today exceed entire 2020 pay for average worker

executive payThe average FTSE 100 boss will have already earned as much by 5pm today as a typical employee will take home this entire year. According to the analysis from the CIPD and the High Pay Centre, those leading Britain’s biggest companies earn 117 times more than the average worker. The CIPD and High Pay Centre are calling on businesses not to treat the new reporting requirements on executive pay as a ‘tick-box’ exercise and to use it as an opportunity to fully explain CEO pay levels. They also highlight the need for firms to provide a clear rationale for why CEOs are paid what they are and what is being done to address the issue of fair pay in their organisation more broadly. They consider this an important step to help build trust in business amongst employees, wider stakeholders and society. (more…)

The tipped out, left out and fallout from a failing workplace culture

The tipped out, left out and fallout from a failing workplace culture

The big workplace news story of the past week or so appears to be one about a toilet seat. Sometimes it’s in the small things we can discern a greater truth. To see a world in a grain of sand, as William Blake wrote. The seat of this much discussed loo is tilted forward by 13 degrees so that after about five minutes it becomes very uncomfortable because people tire of using their legs to stop themselves sliding off. The reason is clearly to stop them ‘wasting time’ on the toilet. (more…)

Occupier priorities are shifting, according to new facilities management trends report

Occupier priorities are shifting, according to new facilities management trends report

what people want from facilities managementCBRE Global Workplace Solutions (GWS) has published the 2019 edition of their Top Trends in Facilities Management report. The latest version of this annual report claims to highlight how changes in occupier needs are impacting FM strategies. The latest trends are broken down into four broad categories: client relationships; contracts; an increasing focus on people and technology. (more…)

Climate change emergency demands more and better action

Climate change emergency demands more and better action

Davos and climate changeFour years after the Paris Climate Agreement, tangible action from governments is falling well short of what is needed to restrict global warming to 1.5° Celsius. Meanwhile, the actions of the majority of businesses that do support emissions reductions also currently fall far short of where they need to be to address climate change. A new impetus for 2020 to raise company ambitions to net zero emissions by 2050 at the latest, is required. These are the findings of a new report, The Net Zero Challenge published by the World Economic Forum. (more…)

No financial incentive to tackle climate change for 90 percent of CEOs, study claims

No financial incentive to tackle climate change for 90 percent of CEOs, study claims

No incentive to tackle climate change?Fewer than 10 percent of UK CEOs have financial incentives in place to be environmentally friendly in their business practices and thus tackle the climate change emergency, according to new research from Vlerick Business School. In fact, the researchers found that only 6 per cent of UK CEOs have in their bonus a KPI focusing on the environment, and less than one per cent have long-term incentives focused on this area. (more…)

World Green Building council launches case study library of best practice

World Green Building council launches case study library of best practice

Green Building

The World Green Building Council has launched a new digital case study library showcasing what it claims is excellence in sustainable development globally, featuring buildings that are net zero carbon and/or enhance human health. According to the WGBC, claims are verified by established certification schemes, rating tools or other third-party systems. Buildings and construction together account for 36 percent of global final energy use and 39 percent of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions when upstream power generation is included. Additionally, people spend 90 percent of their time in buildings, and there is a consistent association between unhealthy indoor environments and negative human health impacts. (more…)