As well as financial support, power purchase agreements (PPA)
with renewable generators should be made more accessible for
small or low energy consuming companies. This could be done
through the use of energy baskets, which are an ideal choice
for businesses whose energy usage is not always high enough
to secure a standalone PPA agreement with a supplier. These
would allow a group of businesses to pool their tradeable volume
with other small customers to improve their buying power by
purchasing renewable energy in larger quantities to the benefit of
all involved. This is an emerging market, but we need to see large
and rapid market growth in this sector to ensure every commercial
energy consumer has the ability to easily procure green energy
directly from renewable generators, as well as the ability to
manage it accurately and e iciently.
Additionally, on-site PPAs is another area that could be
subsidised further by the government, with renewable energy
being generated on-site and any surplus being stored in a battery
or sold back to the grid. Investing in tech generally should be
a priority, as energy continues to transition away from being a
commodity and moves at an increasing pace towards becoming a
technology.
Awareness and education around climate change have increased
in recent years, but there must be a continued and enhanced focus
on this by the government. Wider and more accessible education
aimed across the business community as well as the general public,
sponsored by the government, will lead to more action. It is easy to
delay resolving issues and ignore them if the dangers and impacts
of how we currently live are not being constantly reiterated.
In summary, definitive action towards minimising the carbon
footprint of the built environment needs to be facilitated by
increased access to renewable energy and more funding from the
government, which we hope facilities managers will see following
COP26. To drive improved collective industry action and to ensure
that everyone is fully aware of the implications of climate change,
it must remain front-page news until we have made significant
progress across the world.
THE RICS FM
CHAIR’S VIEW
RORY MURPHY,
COMMERCIAL
DIRECTOR, VINCI
FACILITIES & CHAIR OF
THE FM PROFESSIONAL
GROUP BOARD WITHIN
THE RICS
The headline goal of
COP26 is to secure
net zero by 2050, and
countries are being
tasked with submitting
ambitious targets for reducing emissions by 2030. Countries
need to specifically consider, phasing out coal, curtailing
deforestation, accelerating the switch to electric vehicles and
encouraging investment in renewable energy sources. These are all
ambitious targets and are pointed very much at policy makers and
Governments but those of us that work across the built and natural
environment can make a significant impact by just focussing on
the headline goal of achieving net zero (net zero means reducing
22 OCTOBER 2021
emissions in line with latest climate science and balancing
remaining residual emissions through carbon removal credits).
The overarching principles of a sustainable approach to the built
environment are no di erent to the principles we need to apply
to our own personal lives - do we need that new product? Can we
make do with what we have? Can we adapt how we do things?
How resilient are our processes? Can we recycle? Can we minimise
waste? Can we reduce or substitute our resource demands for
energy and water? The challenge for FM professionals is no
di erent, but what COP26 will deliver, is the necessity for all of us
to measure our current impact, set specific science-based targets
for the future and then monitor and track our progress towards
achieving the targets we set.
The development of a plan is the first step and then the
opportunities for improvements will flow. The impetus that
will be created by COP26 may well lead to a ‘green revolution’
in our sector, driven by the necessity to clearly understand the
performance of assets, something we have done within the
FM sector for many years. The need to measure, mitigate and
improve building performance will require a rich and robust data
set, it will need a full understanding of the complex relationship
between the asset, it usage and the requirements of the end
users and wider stakeholders, allied with a detailed knowledge
of how that building's performance can be improved through
expert adaptation in to the future. Investment will be key, and FM
professionals (and their customers) will need to take a longer-term
view of the solutions required and have a clear understanding of
what government support or funding may be available.
COP26 may well be a catalyst for change, but we are already
seeing an increasing demand for greener assets and the linkage
between an asset’s performance in terms of ESG and its value.
In the most recent RICS Global Sustainability report around 60
per cent of respondents indicate an increase in demand from
occupiers for greener building stocks whilst across Europe 75
per cent of respondents noted an increase in investor demand
for similar assets. This focus on the sustainability performance
of the built environment is seen as driving a ‘green premium’
where demonstrable improved sustainability performance will
drive higher rent. Those assets that are not improved from an
environmental perspective, but which also do not consider the
wider socio-economic impact of their existence will decrease in
value and eventually become stranded assets as investors and
owners alike look for property types that enhance their portfolio
and their own sustainable approach to business.
FMs have a fundamental role to play in supporting our sector
strive for net zero – and we should also stress that as a sector we
should be addressing the wider UN Sustainable Development
Goals as well – and this challenge comes with huge opportunities
to benefit from a ‘green revolution’ that not only supports our
environmental imperatives but also has the potential to drive
economic and social improvements across all our communities.
Do you have a question that you’d like
answered by the FMJ Clinic?
Email: sara.bean@kpmmedia.co.uk
FM CLINIC
Rory Murphy
ADVICE & OPINION
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