WELLBEING SUSTAINABILITY AND ASSURANCE
DIRECTOR’S VIEW
JONATHAN GAWTHROP, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR EMCOR UK
ESG is incredibly broad so one
immediate challenge is the
definition. When one organisation
talks about ESG it might be focusing
on the route to net zero; another
might be concentrating on social
value.
A good anchor point for all
businesses are the UN’s 17
Global Sustainability Goals. They
encompass everything from health
and wellbeing to gender equality,
and clean energy to sustainable
communities. The goals are a
blueprint for running an organisation with purpose and a great frame
of reference.
Not every organisation can touch all the goals, but all organisations
can touch some of them. The challenge for business leaders here,
and the opportunity, is to identify which goals are relevant. It will be
much more impactful to work on the achievable goals rather than
trying to meet too many.
Resources are another challenge – both people and finances.
A successful ESG strategy requires an individual or a group that
can take the company on the journey. There needs to be a level of
seniority so that the strategy has an influence within every facet of an
organisation. This can be easier at large FM companies but tougher at
SMEs. Business in the Community can be a great help here.
There must be overall corporate ownership of activities so that
it doesn’t just become the responsibility of one person or group.
However, it can also be impactful to make sure that all employees
have some kind of ownership or buy-in, perhaps at a local level.
People care about ESG. The trick is to find the balance between
corporate ownership while ensuring that all employees have a stake.
The FM relationship model presents yet another challenge and
opportunity. Our sector relies heavily on supply chains – in some
cases, up to 50 per cent of work within a contract might be carried
out by partners. It’s vital that we keep a constant dialogue with
our customers to ensure that we choose partners with the right
ESG credentials. This links closely to Global Goal 17, which calls for
strengthening partnerships for sustainable development.
As we work with more supply partners that are leading in ESG, we
24 MAY 2022
can learn from them and apply this to other contracts. Some of the
customers that we work with are quite mature in their ESG strategies;
others not so much. We can learn from the mature businesses and
educate the others. Not only will this help FM companies improve
their ESG work, but it can also be a selling point into new business.
While ESG is about running a business with strong ethics and
purpose, there are of course financial considerations. We are
currently experiencing a demand for talent in the sector and younger
generations want to work for an employer with a demonstrable
purpose and credentials in ESG.
For those at the start of their ESG journey, my advice is to
review the UN Sustainability Goals, determine who can take
responsibility for your strategy, and give them the resources to
achieve their goals.
INTEGRATED FM PROVIDER’S VIEW
MAURO ORTELLI, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF 14FORTY
The ESG journey, does not
come without its challenges.
Incorporating new technology
across the industry, although
o en appearing costly, is key to
progressing sustainably.
In FM, some of the biggest
industry-wide di iculties come
from managing buildings
with changing headcounts.
This has especially been the
case since the pandemic with
many companies now opting
for hybrid working systems.
Ordering the correct quantity of food and supplies to avoid excess
waste can be complicated when the number of people attending a
workplace is unpredictable. To mitigate this, our teams continually
analyse past food waste against sales and uses this data to rebalance
menus. We are also promoting the use of pre-ordering
technology for which we have a proprietary mobile app to facilitate.
With catering playing a key role in so FM services, providing
planet-conscious menus is crucial. Our new menu concept, ‘Plenty’,
is designed to reduce food waste by using a root-to-tip and noseto
tail approach to cooking. Our chefs use perfectly edible parts of
vegetables or animals that would normally be thrown away, to create
recipes such as broths, soups and sauces with those o en discarded
items.
At Compass our eco-labelling project was the first of its kind,
labelling dishes A-E, highlighting to consumers which meals have a
higher (E) or lower (A) environmental impact. This allows consumers
to make conscientious choices for the environment, just as they do
with the reference intake labelling for nutrients. We’re also proud to
be able to say that 84 per cent of food in our workplace restaurants
is sourced and produced in the UK, with a company-wide ban on
air-freighted produce.
In 2022, 45 per cent of our menus will be made up completely of
plant-based recipes in a bid to inspire healthier eating and to reduce
our carbon footprint.
Do you have a question that you’d like answered by the
FMJ Career Clinic?
Email: sara.bean@kpmmedia.co.uk
FM CLINIC
Mauro Ortelli
Jonathan Gawthrop
ADVICE & OPINION
link
