NEWS
BUSINESS BENEFITS COMPROMISED BY BOX-TICKING APPROACH TO
SUSTAINABILITY, SAYS BIFM Corporate image and increased regulation are main drivers of sustainable practices by businesses Businesses are operating on ‘border’ of compliancy, lacking strategy and effective measurement of sustainable initiatives
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UK businesses are missing out on a range of benefits by operating on the ‘border’ of compliancy when it comes to sustainable business practice, according to the annual sustainability survey from the British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM). The survey, led by BIFM in collaboration with Acclaro Advisory, and sponsored by Open Energi, investigates what aspects of the sustainability agenda organisations are engaging with, and the drivers that are bringing issues to the forefront of business. Despite two-thirds of businesses (60 per cent) reporting that sustainability policies are integrated into their business effectively, 78 per cent cited corporate image as the main driver for doing so, closely followed by an increase in regulation (77 per cent). This suggests a ‘box-ticking’ approach to sustainability instead of businesses embracing and investing in longer-term practices and the advantages of ‘spending to save’.
Despite ambitious sustainability targets forecast over the coming years and increasing demands of regulation forcing energy and waste issues further up the corporate agenda, there also remains too much of a ‘short-term’ view among senior executives and board-level who are choosing instead to focus on ROI of a few years versus the longer-term. Further, the findings reveal that reporting is not done effectively enough and that sustainability measurement tools that are available are not being used correctly, or utilised to their full extent, resulting in a lack of evidence-based ROI. More positively, the increase in regulation is improving engagement between facilities managers (FMs), senior individuals
Servest wins King’s College London
cleaning contract Facilities management provider Servest Group has won a contract with King’s College London to provide cleaning and associated services across its entire estate from 1 September 2014.
www.servest.com
Carillion celebrates second year of successful
partnership with Oxfordshire County Council Staff from Carillion and Oxfordshire County Council in partnership with Capita plc are celebrating their second year of success delivering the ambitious and complex property services contract in Oxfordshire worth £37m.
www.carillionplc.com
Mitie awarded £1m cleaning contract with
Oxford Brookes University Mitie, the FTSE 250 strategic outsourcing company, has been awarded a cleaning contract with Oxford Brookes University valued at £1m over an initial three year period.
www.mitie.com
and the boardroom within their business, where policies tend to get sign-off. Gareth Tancred, Chief Executive of BIFM, commented: “It is encouraging to see that over half of businesses we engaged with are imbedding sustainability into the heart of their business practices. However, it is concerning to see that this is being driven primarily by corporate image and legislative requirements versus a desire to want to be a better and more sustainable business. “As a result, many businesses are missing out on the benefits of
long-term sustainability, such as increased competitive advantage, increased productivity, a reduction in costs and ultimately, more efficiency leading to better performance. “Businesses can’t afford to not be sustainable and in contrast to those who think investment in sustainability requires expensive technologies or significant capital expenditure, there are operational and behavior changes that would make a considerable difference. “Sustainability must be spelt out as a clearly defined requirement within contracts and supply chains, and should be embraced in the ‘culture’ of a business – by all employees regardless of department or job role. As one of the biggest contributors to the UK’s environmental impacts, the FM and property industry has a crucial role in meeting national sustainability targets. We would like to see a firm commitment from businesses to ‘go beyond’ the bare minimum and commit to long-term initiatives that will ultimately prove beneficial for their bottom line, and the wider society.
www.bifm.org.uk
CONTRACTS Mitie awarded £33m contract with Epsom and
St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust Mitie, the FTSE 250 strategic outsourcing company, has been awarded a new facilities management contract with Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, valued at £33m for an initial five years, with the possibility of extending this by up to two years.
www.mitie.com
Mitie awarded significant new FM contract with
Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust Mitie, the FTSE 250 strategic outsourcing company, has been awarded a contract to deliver soft facilities management (FM) services with Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust (RCHT), the principal provider of acute care services in Cornwall.
www.mitie.com
PUBLIC SECTOR ESTATES MANAGEMENT • JULY/AUGUST 2014
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