NEWS & ANALYSIS FMJ.CO.UK
WORKPLACE FUTURES
BETTER LIVES
As FM Consultant Lucy Jeynes
remarked in her brief sum-up
of the first live Workplace Futures
event since early 2020, what wasn’t
covered; Brexit, COVID and hybrid
working was a clever move. Rather
than dwelling on the events of the
past two years the programme
focused on the area of most
critical importance to the sector,
sustainability.
Yetunde Abdul, Head of Climate Action
for the UK Green Building Council,
began by briefing delegates on the
UKGBC’s Whole Life Carbon Roadmap.
This includes a range of actions aimed
specifically at FMs on accessing,
monitoring and implementing measures
that help meet net zero carbon targets.
She reflected there is more openness
from organisations on their progress
than previously, which is needed if we’re
to hit the 2030 target.
Georgia Elliott-Smith, MD of
sustainability at Element Four spelt out
the main reason why all of us need to
question how our goods and services
are delivered. “There is no such thing
as cheap”, she said, “somebody is
paying the cost, so if you are getting
something cheap ask yourself what is
10 MARCH 2022
the actual cost?”
Aside from ethical motivations she
welcomed the news that following the
recommendations of the Task Force
on Financial Disclosures (TFFD), large
UK-registered companies will have to
disclose climate-related financial data
from April 2022. This move could soon
mean that FM is more strategically
important than ever for clients to help
demonstrate their emission reduction
plans and sustainability credentials.
SOCIAL VALUE
Sustainability goes hand in hand with
societal impact said Guy Battle, CEO of
the Social Value Portal who confirmed
that social value is changing how we
look at our buildings. The birthplace
of Environmental, Social, Governance
(ESG) was social value he said, with the
former about minimising harm and the
latter maximising impact. While he was
pleased that the IWFM collaborated
with the portal to launch the FM social
value framework he warned that not
enough FMs “quite get it yet” and haven’t
grasped the opportunity for social value
in benefitting their businesses.
One organisation that has embraced
social value is Eric Wright FM, which as
its MD George Lilley explained, pursues
a ‘profit for purpose’ agenda, which
ploughs money back into the Eric Wright
Charitable foundation to support a
range of charities. People want to make
a di™ erence, he said, and by engaging
with employees you can help them
make a positive contribution to their
community.
Describing the benefits of addressing
social value and diversity and inclusion
in the workplace, Sophie Ransome and
Kelly Dolphin of Atalian Servest said
begin with an analysis of the makeup
of the workforce to determine where
improvements can be made. For
Atalian Servest this resulted in a range
of actions, including the launch of
CHROMA, a diversity and inclusion (D&I)
platform, which 78 per cent of colleagues
agree has improved the firm’s diversity
and inclusion approach.
GOING GREEN
There are many definitions of
sustainability, Chris Havers, Programme
Director at the Sustainable Facilities
Management Index remarked, but
ultimately, it’s about delivering an
equilibrium between the delivery of
services without negative impacts.
There remains a lack of understanding
of the impact of FM in the operational
management of a building, he warned,
which is why the sector needs to
get involved more in the lifecycle
discussions.
Reliable data is the key to measuring
sustainable progress said Reid
Cunningham of BAM FM. The biggest
challenge is in reporting Scope 3
emissions, but it’s essential, when you
consider that typically, between 60 and
90 per cent of an organisation’s green
house emissions are estimated to be
within scope 3.
Old arguments that net zero isn’t
commercially viable is a misnomer as it’s
essential for business said Matt Dracup
of Mitie. Whether it’s about satisfying
groups of stakeholders/investors or
addressing the higher costs of energy,
net zero plans are a reason to step
back and look at ways of making your
business leaner he said.
An area where societal and sustainable
activities combine is food waste - and
Claire Atkins Morris of Sodexo’s call to
action was: “do you have a commitment
to reduce food waste?” Food waste
redistribution and sharing skills can
make a di™ erence to a community she
said so are you monitoring or tracking
food waste and are you enabling
consumers to make an informed choice?
In his discussion on ensuring better
employee engagement by building
it into collaborate arrangements and
employee contracts, Jeremy Campbell
of EMCOR UK reminded delegates: “We
employ some of the lowest paid people
in any industry so if we’re not paying at
least the living wage, shame on us.”
Rounding o™ the presentations, James
Bradley the COO of Churchill Group
considered the need for longer term
thinking in ESG and discussed why FM
has responsibility to help its clients
achieve it. He concluded that facilities
managers could provide benchmarks for
achieving ESG.
The conference lived up to its promise
to tackle the complexities of FM
sustainability: be it social, environmental
or commercial, but the main message
of the day came from James Stander of
Sustainable Advantage. Doing the right
thing is good business.
www.workplace-futures.co.uk
Following a two-year hiatus, Workplace Futures 2022, deftly chaired by Martin
Pickard, delivered a thoughtful, forward thinking agenda on how FM can help
make all our lives better
/www.workplace-futures.co.uk
