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Editorial Editor Ryan Lloyd
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EDITOR’S NOTE
Following a year like no other, we are, at the time of writing, taking our first tentative steps towards reopening society. The day most people will have marked in their calendar is 21st June, when the Government hopes to be in a position to remove all legal limits on social contact, but other significant dates, such as 12th April for non-essential retail and outdoor hospitality, and 17th May for remaining businesses in all but the highest risk sectors, are sure to be crucial moments in the professional and social lives of many.
I usually use this space to talk about some of the trends or ongoing debates in the facilities management world. The past year has made this more challenging; it’s difficult to accurately predict what next week will hold, let alone the changes likely to emerge over the coming months. There are however a few points I can touch on that seem to be generating widespread discussion in industry circles.
As we emerge from this – hopefully – final lockdown, attention turns towards the future of the workplace and how FMs can help reshape their organisations in a post-pandemic world. In the corporate sphere at least, some industry experts believe decentralisation, the process of moving offices out of the city centre and into towns or rural areas, is likely to be the word on many lips in the coming months. A hub and spoke model, with a decentralised network of flexible office space empowering people to access the amenities of the workplace closer to home, as well as helping teams return to the professional and productivity benefits of the office, may become the dominant way in which larger organisations work; replacing the long, busy commutes that have become anathema to some employees, with a more flexible way of doing business.
Sustainability and the green agenda is also likely to become a huge talking point – if it’s not already. Chris Moriarty, Director of Insight and Engagement at the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management (IWFM), suggests in his leading feature (page 8), that 2021 will mark the year environmental action becomes a global priority like never before, as the delayed COP26 and a desire to ‘build back greener’ will push sustainability issues up the agenda for government, businesses and employees alike. Buildings account for a staggering 40% of the UK’s overall carbon footprint – rising to 78% in cities such as London, so environmental improvements to offices and other work settings is paramount. With the UK having committed to reaching net zero emissions by 2050, businesses will have a major role to play in achieving this. Many organisations are aiming to go further by announcing ambitious net zero targets of their own, often to be met 20 or 25 years earlier than 2050.
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As Mark Robinson, Group Chief Executive at SCAPE, mentioned in a recent issue, there’s also the question of the role FMs will play in public sector procurement. With government infrastructure investment on the increase – a £900m commitment to shovel-ready projects to be delivered this financial year as part of the Government’s £5bn ‘New Deal’, along with a £4bn levelling up-fund for those regions of the UK in need of stimulus to balance out our economy, FMs are likely to find themselves in a position to influence public sector developments.
Finally, there is an argument to be made that the resilience, verve and steadfast resolve of businesses during the most tumultuous period since WWII stands in direct antithesis to the failings and floundering of the initial Government response. Only an inquiry into the machinations of political decision making will prove the veracity of that claim, but the relative successes of the enforced working from home experiment, combined with the dedication of frontline workers across different sectors, epitomises how adaptable businesses and employees can be when crisis threatens to overwhelm us.
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This brings me back to something I wrote in 2019, about how, “widespread adoption of innovative and cutting-edge technology that enhances working practice will be key to seeing the FM industry through a transitional phase…how it steers itself through the range of cultural, technological and sociological changes, particularly in a time of political and economic uncertainty, will define its position over the coming decades.” The pandemic has obviously placed a new emphasis on this analysis; COVID-19 may well act as a catalyst for enacting real change, reshaping working practices and creating a better society for all.
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www.tomorrowsfm.com Ryan Lloyd, Editor
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