ENERGY MANAGEMENT & SUSTAINABILITY SUSTAINABLE FIT-OUTS
Organisations are increasingly looking to minimise any adverse environmental impact of their operations while seeking to adopt greener materials and create eco-friendly initiatives in both supply chains and commercial spaces. Louise Hickford, Head of Design at Sigma, explains how FM professionals can ensure new fit-outs meet their companies’ sustainability goals.
Though climate change is the biggest sustainability challenge facing the planet today, it is part of a longer list that includes plastic and air pollution, the destruction of natural environments and the recycling of waste.
Together, these global issues have forced governments to act and changed the way that consumers and jobseekers behave. According to KPMG, 56% of consumers now consider an organisation’s environmental and social practices before making a purchasing decision. Indeed, in 2020, 34% of UK consumers chose to use brands with sustainable practices while a further 28% abandoned brands over sustainability concerns.
“In 2020, 34% of UK consumers chose to use brands with sustainable practices while a further 28% abandoned brands over sustainability concerns.”
With banking apps now set to add tools that let shoppers see the environmental impact of their spending, green consumerism is expected to grow considerably over the next few years and this leaves brands with an increased need to improve their sustainability credentials in order to keep existing and attract new customers.
In fact, this goes beyond customer acquisition. In 2019, almost 40% of millennials said they had chosen to work for a sustainable company, while, increasingly, the sustainability of a brand has become a key criterion in whether another brand chooses to buy from it or partner with it.
Aside from the carrot of opportunity that comes with adopting sustainable practices, there is also the stick of regulation. The UK government’s long-term target of net- zero carbon emissions by 2050 has now been updated with a new mid-term aim that seeks to cut emissions by 78% by 2035 compared to 1990 levels.
It is highly likely that to achieve these ambitious targets, the UK government will implement new regulatory demands that impact businesses and their supply
46 | TOMORROW’S FM
chain operations. However, even without legislation, many organisations are now undertaking fit-outs and refurbishments in line with established sustainability standards, such as BREEAM and Ska.
Becoming more sustainable The retail sector’s reliance on imports and exports makes it one of the largest contributors to global carbon emissions, while its use of packaging also makes it a heavy user of plastics. Thankfully, most organisations now recognise their responsibility for the environment and are working towards a more sustainable future by minimising any adverse impact.
When it comes to commercial properties, for example, they now understand the importance of making sure any new fit-outs are water and energy efficient, use green materials, cut carbon emissions and create low waste. Beyond this, however, is a further layer of sustainability that needs to be considered, i.e., where operational restraints and resources allow, using environmentally friendly materials and practices in the re-fit, and working with a sustainable partner to undertake the contracting.
These responsibilities create new challenges for FM professionals who are now tasked with ensuring new building fit-outs are highly sustainable and look great, and that transformation projects align closely with the company’s sustainability principles. These are projects that include everything from the safe removal and disposal of existing fixtures to the procurement and installation of new ones that are not just sustainable but meet the needs of the company going forward.
Working towards sustainability means looking at what can be reused or recycled; adopting low energy technologies, like LED lighting systems; improving energy efficiency through the use of new insulation or windows; installing warehouse management systems that reduce the need for paper trails and make shipping more energy efficient; or deploying systems that ensure the stock quality of foods and other perishable goods to reduce waste.
Indeed, many of the systems now being developed for use in fit-outs are not only intrinsically more sustainable but provide data insights and intelligent processing that enable continuous improvements.
Intelligent lighting and heating systems, for example, provide optimal brightness and temperatures while continuously ensuring that energy use and costs are kept to a minimum. Other systems, meanwhile, can predict wastage, enabling companies to act to prevent it.
What’s more, with regulation increasingly asking for businesses to report on sustainability, these data-rich
twitter.com/TomorrowsFM
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76
