NEWS & ANALYSIS FMJ.CO.UK
ASSOCIATION NEWS
RICS WELCOMES URBANIST AND CHAMPION
OF BUILT ENVIRONMENT AS FELLOW
Jonathan Mann -FRICS, FRTPI and
Executive Director at Rockwell
THE CLIMATE AGENDA IS CERTAINLY HOTTING UP IN 2021
8 JUNE 2021
One of Britain’s
foremost
urbanists Jonathan
Manns, has
been elected to
Fellowship of the
Royal Institution
of Chartered
Surveyors (RICS).
The appointment
of Manns, aged 36,
who is Executive Director of Rockwell Property,
comes less than three years aˆ er he was
awarded Fellowship of the Royal Town Planning
Institute (RTPI) – a membership class held by
less than 0.5 per cent of chartered planning
professionals. At that time, he was believed to
be the youngest ever Fellow of the RTPI and his
latest RICS appointment makes it probable that
he is now the youngest person to have been
appointed as a Fellow of both organisations.
Leading London-based real estate developer,
Rockwell are strong advocates for the role of
the RICS and other similar organisations which
champion best practice in the built environment.
The RICS exists to regulate the property
profession worldwide in the public interest.
Chartered Fellow status is the Institution’s highest
membership grade and exists as an international
measure of distinction to identify those who
have made an exceptional contribution to the
profession in the eyes of their peers, business
and the public. Fewer than 20 per cent of all
chartered surveyors ever achieve Fellowship and
the average age of a RICS Fellow currently stands
at 67.
Speaking of Mann’s Fellowship, a spokesperson
for the RICS said: “Jon’s role in the profession,
media coverage, academic research and
publications mark him out as an outstanding
surveyor. He is outstanding against all the
characteristics of RICS Fellowship but particularly
his achievements in public life, as a long-standing
champion of the industry with an exceptional
profile and someone who has made a lasting and
positive impact on communities and the built
environment.”
Jonathan Manns FRICS, FRTPI and Executive
Director at Rockwell added: “Property and
built environment professionals are in a unique
position to support the creation of thriving,
sustainable and inclusive communities. I’ve been
exceptionally privileged to be involved with a
range of initiatives and debates, from local to
international level, which have supported this
and helped to make a meaningful diˆ erence. I’m
proud of the legacies these have le‘ and having
this contribution to both the industry and public
life recognised by the RICS.”
Said Paul Bagust Global Property Standards
Director at RICS: “I am absolutely delighted to
welcome Jonathan to RICS. As we look forward
it is recognised that the built environment will
play a central role in how our communities
will recover and thrive. It is essential that we
have powerful leaders and advocates to ensure
the role of professionals is recognised in this
evolution.”
Climate change and sustainability more broadly
have been high on the IWFM agenda for some
time now, and all signs indicate that 2021 is set
to be the year when organisations – and consequently
our profession – up their game in line with the greater
ambition and urgency being shown by governments
across the world.
Even though the challenges of the pandemic persist for
all of us, not least as we grapple with the shape that the future of work is taking,
we do have a break in the clouds now, meaning more of our attention can return
to this other pressing crisis. With the COP26 summit in Glasgow in November
on the horizon, governments are announcing a range of initiatives. The UK has
increased its ambitions by committing to a 78 per cent reduction in carbon
emissions by 2035, relative to the 1990 base level. The recent Biden Climate
Summit also saw the US announce a 50 per cent reduction in carbon emissions
by 2030, compared to 2005 levels.
But how eˆ ective is our profession in driving and supporting the sustainability
agenda and action against climate change? This is what IWFM intends to find
out this month as we ask the workplace and facilities practitioners whose work
makes a diˆ erence to sustainability outcomes to answer the long-standing IWFM
Sustainability Survey 2021 in partnership with Inenco.
The 2020 Survey showed us that sustainability is seen as important in virtually
all respondents’ organisations. Many also believed it had a positive eˆ ect
on their business operations in the previous 12 months; yet despite this, our
profession still experienced significant barriers to developing and embedding
sustainable practices in many organisations.
Over two-thirds of respondents believed their sustainability policies and
targets would change as a result of COVID-19 with the eˆ ects of remote working,
travel policies, wellbeing and video conferencing facilities coming to the fore.
Now we can find out if those predictions are materialising.
To ensure that we addressed today’s most pressing challenges and
incorporated the impacts of COVID-19, we have reviewed and updated the
Survey to include key sustainability themes that we workshopped with a
number of sustainability professionals. First among them, as you might expect,
being net zero. How widespread are net zero targets? How are they changing
organisations’ approaches to sustainability? What does this mean for our
profession? Key questions to address in this pivotal year.
Next, we have the response around the return to the workplace and the shi‘ to
hybrid working. How are they influencing sustainability plans or indeed how are
sustainability plans influencing them?
Lastly, skills and capability. As the sustainability agenda has evolved, have
appropriate knowledge, skills and understanding kept pace or are there
widening gaps to fill?
If sustainability is relevant to your
role, please take part in the 2021
Sustainability Survey in partnership
with Inenco before the end of June by
visiting the IWFM website. You will find
it on the Sustainability hub, which is
listed under ‘Insight’.
Peter Brogan, Head of Research and Insight