22 JULY 2022
to a linear one), where products and assets are designed and
built to be more durable, to be repaired, refurbished, reused and
disassembled/recycled.
Choose sustainable, recycled, enduring and natural materials for
refurbishments.
Consider the aesthetic and carbon benefits of green roofs and
external green walls (a new law in France will require all new
commercial buildings to at least partially cover roo ops in plants or
solar panels).
O set what carbon you are responsible for, or even better, go
climate positive and exceed your Net Zero goals. There are many
carbon-o set schemes available to sign up to.
If you’re not sure where to start, there’s a plethora of consultancies
out there to help you. But THE most important thing is to begin the
journey. Bring your supporters and consultants along as and when
you are able, but make this the year you, as an individual and as part
of a corporation, make a carbon change for the better.
Maggie Procopi runs the Workplace Trends series of conferences
which includes the upcoming The Net Zero Workplace Conference
taking place in London and online on Thursday 7 July.
THE SUSTAINABLE FM PROVIDER’S VIEW
PRADYUMNA PANDIT, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF
SUSTAINABILITY AND ENERGY SERVICES, MITIE
The climate crisis is
undeniably one of the most
pressing challenges of our
time. With 1.7 million nondomestic
buildings in the UK,
British businesses must play a
central role in tackling climate
change by decarbonising
their estates. However, the
drive to retrofit buildings is
not only coming from a need
to support environmental
ambitions. Recent global
events are seeing huge
increases in energy costs,
meaning investing in improving
energy e iciency and decarbonisation solutions is not only the right
thing to do, but a commercial priority too.
As the experts in managing buildings as e iciently as possible,
facilities managers have a deep understanding of how sites are
performing, making them ideally placed to drive the green transition
within organisations.
We believe there are three key steps FMs need to consider:
economise, decarbonise, and monetise.
The first step, ‘economise’, focuses on ensuring that buildings and
equipment are running as e iciently as possible. Leveraging data,
sensors, and smart controls to ensure energy use is optimised, while
not a ecting comfort, can add up to big savings – we saved our
customers £19 million worth of energy in the Financial Year 2020/2021
through optimisations like this. Similarly, by upgrading light bulbs to
more energy e icient LEDs and installing motion sensors for lighting
systems, we helped businesses cut energy use by 30 per cent in 2020.
Once the building is running as e iciently as possible, the next
step is to ‘decarbonise’ operations, through investment in energy
e iciency upgrades, removing gas heating systems and installing
on-site renewable energy generation. Rather than continuing
with like-for-like replacements of equipment, lower carbon, more
sustainable options should always be the priority. Even replacing a
gas-powered boiler for a more e icient model will still help reduce
carbon emissions.
Finally, as well as helping to attract top talent, a net zero workplace
presents an opportunity to ‘monetise’ by creating new revenue
streams. Whether it’s charging individuals outside the organisation to
use electric vehicle charge points, reducing bills by generating energy
on site, or varying how power is bought and sold based on factors
such as weather, cost and demand, a net zero building is also an
opportunity to support the financial health of the organisation.
A common factor of all these initiatives is that they will be
implemented by facilities management. Indeed, at Mitie, we have a
roadmap in place to have a net zero estate by 2025, with nine of our
sites already decarbonised and having reduced annual energy use
by 100,000 kWh. We’re helping FM customers do their same for their
own organisations, installing over 1,000 charge points, creating net
zero pathways for 800 sites, and fitting countless decarbonisation
solutions, from LED lighting to solar PV. By harnessing data, insights,
and technology, an approach we call ‘the science of service’, facilities
management can, and should, play a central role accelerating
businesses towards net zero.
Do you have a question that you’d like
answered by the FMJ Clinic?
Email: sara.bean@kpmmedia.co.uk
FM CLINIC
Prad y umn a Pandit
ADVICE & OPINION
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