PUBLIC SECTOR SUSTAINABILITY
Department of Health, London
While an organisation’s environmental policies will be assessed and approved at Board level, it is clear in the measures identified by the Carbon Trust in Fig. 1, that sustainable strategies still need employees’ support to succeed. Changes in workplace environment e.g. temperature, have been proven to affect worker happiness and motivation10
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furthermore, adjusting working hours and working practices can cause further disturbance. Employee engagement in energy reduction programmes requires consistent internal education and communication programmes to ensure each individual understands the implications and is sufficiently motivated to participate.
EMCOR UK has recognised that gaining employee buy-in is crucial and has initiated Energy Awareness Days and similar events for clients, where employees at all levels can see the benefits of reducing energy and resource consumption. For example, within the Department of Health in London, EMCOR appointed energy champions for each building, encouraging employees to take charge of their own energy consumption and to adopt energy saving ideas. By introducing and promoting green practices, such as video conferencing and real-time gas and electricity monitoring, EMCOR saved the Department of Health more than £100,000 in the first year of its new contract.
For example EMCOR UK has introduced daytime cleaning rotas which minimise the additional ‘after hours’ energy requirements within buildings as the majority of cleaning is carried out whilst workers are still in the building. There is further scope within working practices themselves. Greater working mobility, with the ability to communicate via WiFi, means the old one-desk-per- worker model no longer applies. At the offices of one of EMCOR’s energy
Sources: 1 United Nations, World Population to 2300, Publication ST/EAS/SER.A/236 and Press Release, 11.3.2009
2 Digest of UK energy statistics 2009, Department of Energy and Climate Change
3 European Commission Energy Roadmap 2050, Brussels COM (2011) 885/2
4 Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Centre, report for the United Nations, 2008.
5 NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies.
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consultancy partners – KPMG - in Canada Square, London, for example, employees work within an open plan, non-assigned desk environment, with a range of alternative areas for individual output and collaboration. Combined with practices such as smart metering and lighting linked to available daylight, this innovative approach to building utilisation has resulted in a 40% reduction in energy consumption and a 50% reduction in carbon emissions.9
6 Dr Aled Jones, Director, Global Sustainability Institute, Anglia Ruskin University
7 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), 28.11.2011. – 11.12.2011.
8 Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT), Department of Energy and Climate Change
9 ‘Buildings of the future, services of today’, Paul Worland, EMCOR UK
10 An improved work environment, such as improved ability for concentration, better
PUBLIC SECTOR SUSTAINABILITY • VOLUME 2 ISSUE 6
As organisations seek to reduce expenditure and comply with increasingly demanding legislation, it is essential for organisations to identify energy-saving strategies and technologies as well as encouraging employee buy-in and involvement. With these larger factors and numerous smaller gains combined, it is possible to achieve substantial savings both in resource consumptions and overall costs. Knowing how best to achieve this is where the FM organisation can excel, allowing the organisation in question to concentrate on what they do best.
www.emcoruk.com
lighting and temperature, reduced noise level, and better air quality, has positively impacted on employee wellbeing and job satisfaction (Oldham and Brass, 1979; Sundstrom, et al, 1980; Carlopio, 1996, Roelofsen, 2002, Wyon, 2004, Lee and Brand, 2005, Vischer, 2007, Newsham et al, 2009; Thomas, 2010; Knight and Haslam, 2010). Improving these factors can further impact on productivity and business performance positively (e.g. Roelofsen, 2002; Vischer, 2007; Thomas, 2010).
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