JULY 2021 21
FMJ.CO.UK
mandatory; and
the drive across
the world to reach
higher environmental
standards. There is
now wide recognition
that making buildings
smarter adds value by
delivering agility and
flexibility in the “new
normal” – whether
from the perspective
of hot-desking,
agile changes of
use, security and safety, hygiene and infection control,
remote buildings management, or greater e iciency and
flexibility to adapt to volatile circumstances.
The future of o ice occupancy is under considerable
scrutiny at the moment, with many corporations
reassessing their real estate needs in the light of the
pandemic experience. Smart buildings have been seen
to o er important benefits in terms of looking a er
occupant and sta safety through digital, touchless and
remote capabilities. Equally, operating costs are also
under the spotlight and the opportunity to save on energy
costs without having to deploy capital is increasingly
attractive. While there is wide consensus around the need
to make buildings smart, all countries and sectors need
a way of making that conversion financially sustainable.
How can this be done?
The starting point is to use smart technology to
reduce energy consumption in buildings. This produces
hard financial savings that – through smart financing
arrangements – can be harnessed to subsidize or even
pay for overall smart buildings conversion. This can be
done at an enterprise level, or in small incremental steps,
each of which proves its return on investment.
For whole building and multi-building projects,
budget-neutral schemes are available from specialist
financiers to enable conversion. They are increasingly
becoming known as "Building E iciency as a Service"
(BEaaS) arrangements. The integrated solutions provider
introduces technology and systems to create smart
buildings which deliver a clearly predictable level of
energy savings. The reduction in energy costs is then
harnessed to e ectively fund the cost of conversion.
Throughout, the building’s owner has conserved their
own funds for strategically important development
activities – whether commercial growth or improved
public services. In the post-pandemic period, where
cash reserves have been used up and revenues are
experiencing a downturn, the idea of self-financing smart
building conversion becomes even more compelling than
before the crisis.
At a time when building owners and managers are
having to invest in measures to make their buildings
safe and occupiable, and are also being restricted on
the density of occupation, it is arguable that, only smart
buildings will present a su iciently attractive proposition
to potential tenants and occupants. In a budget
constrained environment, energy e iciency savings are
increasingly seen as the ideal starting point for smart
buildings transformation (either as a single investment or
as a series of incremental projects), with smart financing
techniques playing a major role in enabling those future
savings to finance the cost of conversion.
ENERGY MANGEMENT EXPERT’S VIEW
CLARE HAWKINS, HEAD OF ENERGY SERVICES,
EMCOR UK
In recent years, the carbon footprint of organisations has
become a key focus, with companies striving to reduce or
o set their carbon emissions where possible and move
towards a carbon neutral or net zero position backed by
measurable targets
with deadlines.
The emergence
of COVID-19 has
had a significant
impact on energy
management – in
terms of a ecting
the levels of energy
used as buildings
have been only
partially occupied
or shut completely;
on the baselines on
which targets were set as usage unexpectedly changed
and on considering how the workplace will evolve as
people return to work.
Energy management is an area where FM professionals
can play a critical role, especially as many FM
organisations have established specialist energy services
divisions, with experts who can help their customers
create energy management strategies and then also
provide energy services to achieve their goals. Energy
management forms a key part of a carbon reduction
strategy and it is important for customers to understand
the broad scope of energy services to realise the full
benefits. Training and behavioural change programmes;
purchasing options; guidance on how renewable
generation can be financed without the need for capital
investment and ensuring legislative compliance are just a
small selection of the types of energy services available to
customers from their FM provider and which can have an
impact on energy consumption and costs.
In response to the COVID-19 crisis, FM professionals
were able to advise companies on how they could reduce
waste and carbon emissions while ensuring that their
buildings remained fit for purpose. Experts could help
analyse energy consumption data for customers to ensure
that they were only using essential levels of energy and
could create actions plans on how to make reductions
and then continue to monitor and manage the on-going
energy use, using SMART technology where possible.
The impact of the last 18 months has accelerated the
FM CLINIC
Clar e Hawkins
Mark McLoughlin
ADVICE & OPINION
link
/www.fsifm.com
