SOCIAL - BLOG
Dr. Marie Puybaraud www.linkedin.com/in/
mariepuybaraud - Global Head of Research
at JLL Corporate Solutions - Check out my
article and my contribution to the DAVOS
Agenda: Could ‘hybrid working’ usher in a
golden age for workers? - www.weforum.org/
agenda/2021/01/hybrid-working-golden-age-ofthe
worker
RICS @RICSnews - The RICS Research Trust
has become fully independent of RICS. The rebranded
Property Research Trust is free to seek
wider funding from the across the surveying,
real estate and built and natural environment
sectors to support high quality research
proposals that the Trustees judge to be of
highest public value. https://bit.ly/3ay0Bn4
@H_S_E Health and Safety Executive
The Brexit transition period has ended.
Check the new rules and get personalised
actions for your business. Visit https://bit.
ly/2OmsFPk and use the Brexit checker tool.
#CheckChangeGo
Jason Gurd www.linkedin.com/in/jgurd/
Fascinating read. www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-
55843506 - There seems to be a view amongst
some employers that COVID is somehow
inevitable and you can’t do much about it.
Whether that’s true or not, it conveniently
ignores the fact that (as far as the law is
concerned) is a H&S matter. If you fail to
discharge your duty to assess the risks and
implement, monitor and review controls you
may well find yourself in front of a judge....
UK Green Building Council @UKGBC - Our
new innovation insights report is now live!
Focussed on reducing operational #carbon,
our newest resource demonstrates some of the
most #innovate solutions to two widespread
challenges across the #builtenvironment - More
info & download: https://bit.ly/2YCtSXZ
@SodexoDandI - February is LGBT+ History
Month, an annual celebration of the lives and
achievements of the LGBT+ community - this
year’s theme is ‘Body, Mind and Spirit’.
Follow @SodexoPrideUKI to join their LGBT+
History Month Campaign. #LGBTHistoryMonth
#SodexoDandI
18 FEBRUARY 2021
BLOG FROM JASON KNIGHTS, MANAGING DIRECTOR, GROUND CONTROL
GREEN INVESTMENT
IS KEY FOR THE
POST COVID-WORLD
While the latest COVID lockdown may
seem like a setback, the UK can still
recover from this pandemic, but we
need plan for a post-COVID world. So, despite
the huge spending on the COVID response,
investment will still be the way forward for the
UK’s economic recovery.
Government-led funding on infrastructure will
be critical to get the economy moving. There is
much to do; as the UK’s spending on building,
for example on hospitals and courts, has clearly
been insu icient in the last few years. If the move
to longer-term home working means a move
away from the current focus on cities, there will
be much to do to create su icient infrastructure
in rural areas as well as the new transport links
required.
For Ground Control, one of the most
important areas of investment is in our outdoor
spaces. There is a lot that can be done through
investment to protect and improve our landscape,
and with the lockdowns having bought people
closer to nature there is much public support.
This resurgence of interest in our outdoor spaces
has and will continue to bring new opportunity
which we need to capture to counter-balance the
potential for a reduction in demand in o ice and
retail spaces.
This investment can also support preparation
for our changing climate. 2020 is provisionally
the sixth wettest year since 1862 and this
winter has seen flooding across the UK. This is
a problem that is only going to get worse and
there is a lot of work to do to improve the UK’s
flood preparedness. Improving our resilience to
flooding events through investment in inland
water management will be critical to protecting
property but can also deliver other environmental
benefits, such as new habitats and carbon
capture.
For businesses, the recovery must be
people and technology-led. For now, rising
unemployment has meant the fight for talent has
somewhat abated, but in the future flexibility will
be required for us to remain attractive employers
as the mass home working experiment becomes
the norm. It is quite possible that the traditional
business structure with layers of management
will flatten, and command and control will
be less important than communication and
empowerment. We need to think about how our
people work best, whether that is at home, onsite
Jason Knights, Managing Director, Ground Control
or in an o ice or a mixture between. We must
empower them to make decisions and support
customers in the most e ective and e icient ways
possible, but also in ways that suits their work/
life balance. There remains a shortage of skilled
labour in our industry which pre-dates COVID, and
businesses need to put training programmes in
place to create and support our future workforce.
With home working lasting into the long term,
those who have delayed a move to cloud systems
will need to make the change quickly. Employees
in all sectors and functions have learned how
to work remotely using digital communication
and collaboration tools and those who are
le behind are likely to su er most in the new
competitive environment. At Ground Control,
investment into technology has long been at the
top of our agenda but we were still just in time
in upgrading our communication technology
to allow us to continue to serve our customers
e ectively throughout 2020. We all need to be
more prepared for the next shock to our industry
or economy.
Above all, investment needs to be focussed on
a green recovery. The government has included
some measures in grants and tax relief directed
towards green development and alternatives
but there is more to be done, and spending
should be aligned with the UK’s net-zero goal.
All investments should be considered in part
through the lens of their support of positive
environmental outcomes.
The grounds maintenance and landscaping
sector has been resilient; in large part because
of the nature of the work being outdoors and
the ability to social distance, but also through
our quick adaption of new procedures that
keep people safe. The COVID crisis has made
businesses work faster than ever before to adapt
to new challenges; businesses and countries who
can maintain that sense of urgency will have a
huge competitive advantage in the future.
ADVICE & OPINION
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