Sustainability in focus

BRINGING BRINGING

SUSTAIN SUSTAIN INTO FOCUS INTO FOCUS

With a tough business year ahead, the role of facilities management as ground-up facilitator and senior infl uencer of net zero carbon strategies is set to come under intense pressure. IWFM is stepping in, seeking to help FMs to develop holistic strategies that can bring greater clarity to their organisations’ sustainability objectives. Martin Read reports

uch is the scale of the Net Zero challenge, and with it the depth of our current economic malaise, that it can be easy to baulk at the magnitude of the sustainability project roadmap ahead. When renewable energy projects are delayed, ironically because organisations are diverting funds to cover the rise in energy bills, it could be easy to become defeatist.

So in a sea of often uncomfortable statistics, it should be noted that the UK has cut emissions by 44% since 1990. That kind of positive message is easy to ignore – and now, as we enter 2023, we should also not be ignoring the many ways in which the FM function can make a genuine contribution to corporate sustainability goals.

For many, however, it’s a question of where to start and what tools to use. In November 2022, IWFM hosted a workshop event – in association with its partner Inenco – which served as part of an exercise to deliver an accountable holistic carbon net zero strategy toolkit for FM decision-makers. The aim of such a tool is to help FMs build holistic strategies, providing tools and insight on how to accelerate of commence their net zero journeys. It’s an initiative that recognises the extent to which FM plays a unique role within organisations, making the function pivotal in developing a bold, yet pragmatic approach.

The catalyst for this initiative was the publication of IWFM’s two most recent sustainability surveys. In 2021, survey findings suggested a gap between intent and action in the tackling of net zero; a lack of targets, of necessary skills, insufficient data and of practical,

ABILITY ABILITY

accountable sustainability strategies for FM decision-makers. In 2022, the focus was on setting targets, and there is a clear issue emerging of organisations needing to underpin their own commitments with proper roadmap targets and strategies to actually achieve them.

This is slow progress given that the UK was the first major economy to commit to a legally binding target for net zero carbon emissions by 2050. There are both regional variations (some cities such as London, Edinburgh and Birmingham are pledging to get ahead of that 2050 target) as well as sectoral ones (see box, ‘Education’s Net Zero failings’) that will affect the speed at which these challenges are addressed.

Other reports illustrate a sluggish response to the problem, at odds with the general tenet of the rhetoric. In its 2022 Sustainability Report, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors collated sentiment from almost 4,000 surveyors across commercial and construction sectors globally (with 1,200 from the UK); this showed some improvement in the push for sustainability over the past year, with demand for green buildings continuing to rise – but also that there had been “little or no change in some important areas in the past 12 months”. ‘Retrofit revolution’

One theme to emerge in 2022 was the growing potential for retrofit in the light of greater awareness about the cost of embodied carbon through construction. Deloitte recently claimed that it expects refurbishment of building stock to continue rising up the corporate agenda while developers wait on greater clarity concerning net zero targets and the legislation to support the commercial case for net zero development. Tenants, suggest Deloitte, are increasingly seeking better-quality accommodation with more demonstrable ESG credentials, and that means developers are focusing increasingly on the refurbishment of existing stock as a means of addressing “stranding risk” (ie, those assets suffering unanticipated or premature writedowns, devaluation or conversion to liabilities – increasingly the cost of poor environmental performance).

Real estate consultant JLL has also projected that the pace of redevelopment and repurposing of office stock will need to double to ensure 2050 emission targets are achieved. “We will require”, said

SECTOR IN FOCUS NET ZERO LESSONS TO LEARN

One sector where there is a clear connection in the sustainability messaging from facility to end-user is higher education, where research from law firm Shakespeare Martineau and supported by planning consultancy Marrons was recently published. This bracketed 42% of universities and higher education organisations as either not confident or unsure about whether they will meet the government’s goal of a 78% reduction in emissions by 2035 compared with 1990 levels.

As part of the Building a Green Campus – what’s stopping institutions report, the firm surveyed more than 130 FE and HE representatives and 1,000 of those aged 16 to 19 planning to apply to college or university. Interestingly, researchers accepted that there was “no sector-accepted definition of what a green campus is”, and sought to provide a standardised definition of what one might be. Three pillars were established: the importance of measuring and reporting on energy consumption;

KEY CHALLENGES THREATS

Multi-tenanted buildings Any variety in tenant att itudes to Net Zero could stymie (for example) carbon reduction projects (however, see ‘Reputational Risk’, below).

Benchmarking The lack of a consistent or uniform measurement framework makes sector benchmarking difficult; it also makes it difficult to hold people to account for any statements they make.

Competing technologies There may be too many proprietary technologies or indeed proprietary standards, again making it difficult for the creation of a widely accepted form of benchmark.

Scope 3 reporting The complexity inherent in calculating Scope 3 emissions, and a potentially disproportionate impact on smaller suppliers, is seen as a particularly important challenge to overcome.

Shortened leases Reductions in lease length mean tenants have less incentive to invest in a building that may require a great deal of investment to become Net Zero ready; many building owners still only invest with money raised through service charges.

OPPORTUNITIES

FM’s organisational ‘reach’ Facilities managers’ connection to the operational front line puts them in a unique position to report and influence building user behaviour, reducing carbon usage in the first place.

‘Gamifying’ the net zero frontline Another key role for facilities managers can be in the creation of competition between building users in order to reduce energy demand, with behavioural change amongst building users still seen as one of the biggest challenges to overcome. Retrofit realities Increasingly, organisations will be asked “what’s wrong with the building you have now?” as the true cost of embodied carbon in the construction process becomes apparent. FM’s role in retrofits could be crucial.

Reputational risk As new standards take hold and customers put firmer rules in place about the minimum environmental standards they expect from their supply chain, the potential for firms to be isolated for insufficient att ention to Net Zero detail is likely to grow.

der chain, the potential for firms to be isolated for insufficient att ention to Net Zero detail is likely to grow.

working with the community; and including sustainability within the course curriculum.

Smita Jamdar, head of education at Shakespeare Martineau, said:

“Given how important sustainability is on the ESG agenda, it’s worrying to see that so many institutions are predicting to fall short in meeting their decarbonisation targets and that there are several common issues they’re facing.”

Key aspects holding institutions back from becoming a green campus were detailed as follows: ● Funding or investment (77%) ● Delivery of campus-wide renewable energy (42%); ● Resistance to change within the institution (31%); ● Expertise or knowledge within the institution and its partners (28%); and ● Lack of collaboration between parties across the institution (25%) ● Leadership buy-in ● Age of current buildings

Sustainability is also important to prospective students. Around threequarters said they’d be influenced by: ● Use of green energy to power campus buildings; ● Sustainability being an important part of learning, teaching and

working with the community; research; and and including sustainability ● The institution factoring in climate change in all decisions. Seven in 10 (69%) prospective students are worried about climate change and 79% want institutions to have clear strategies to address it. There are calls in the sector for the standardised carbon emissions reporting framework devised by the Alliance for Sustainability Leadership in Education (EAUC) to be mandated. The report also recommends that sustainability be at the forefront of governance and vice-chancellor (VC) priorities, becoming core to VC reporting and strategy, as well as increased transparency and collaboration between institutions and partners such as lenders, lawyers and consultants. “The solutions to becoming a green campus lie in cross-institutional activities, such as leadership and management, teaching and learning, research and innovation, and services and facilities,” said Jamdar. “These will be challenging to coordinate and implement,” he accepted, but would “offer a common, cohesive goal for the whole institution to work towards. Collaboration between departments and teams is always going to be more impactf ul than siloed approaches to change implementation.”

IMAGE: NOUN PROJECT, SHUTTERSTOCK

Emma Hoskyn, head of sustainability at JLL UK, “a retrofitting revolution if we are to achieve our targets and reduce emissions. The UK needs to exceed a retrofit rate of 3% of current stock per year to meet the 2050 target. We also need to be aware of the quick wins we can make; upgrades to fittings and more sophisticated controls can cut electricity bills by a quarter.”

Developing the Toolkit

With so many indicators suggesting significant change in the attitude of investors, owners and operators to the Net Zero landscape, there is value in the development and use of an accountable strategic sustainability plan.

“Our role as an institute is to support our members with driving the change,” says IWFM policy director Sofie Hooper. “We are doing a range of things, including the development of guidance on dedicated topic areas. And now, following on from our sustainability surveys, we are partnering with Inenco to develop the kind of toolkit – highlighted as a knowledge gap by our members – to develop those holistic strategies that support our members to realise their full potential.”

In support of this aim an IWFM event involving representatives of client organisations, service suppliers and managing agencies, sought to tease out the type of support FMs will need to develop holistic strategies in which they can realise organisational sustainability objectives. m IW ar d to

Scientifically speaking

Quick to emerge from the discussion was the value of using science-based targets within the service supply chain. This way of working means Scope 1 and 2 emissions are built in, but routinely mentioned at the IWFM event was the complexity inherent in calculating Scope 3 emissions, something recognised as one of the most important yet

NUMBERS

PIVOTAL PERCENTAGES 39%

The amount of carbon dioxide emissions that the built environment accounts for – a figure that rises to nearly 80% in major cities such as London

3%

The minimum retrofit rate of current building stock necessary per year to meet the UK’s Net Zero 2050 target, according to JLL

25%

Cuts in electricity bills that upgrades to fitt ings and deployment of more sophisticated building controls are set to achieve

45%

RICS survey contributors in the UK reporting a ‘modest’ increase in investor appetite for green/sustainable buildings over the past 12 months – 5% higher than the global average

27%

Operational emissions within the built environment, seen as where facilities management can have a really significant impact

9%

The UK government is the largest landowner in the UK, with the public sector estate accounting for approximately 9% of building emissions

CARBON SOLUTIONS

LOW-COST STARTING POINTS

A report produced by University College London for the British Council for Offices, informed by more than 100 office occupiers and building professionals, outlined several measures – described as ‘relatively low-cost’ – to reduce their workplace carbon footprint. ● Greener and longer leases, with office occupiers having more say over refurbishments; ● Greater collaboration and data sharing between building owners and occupiers; ● Sub-metering and the use of sensors to measure exactly where energy is used; and ● The use of prefabricated, reused and recycled materials and furniture. difficult challenges to overcome. Growing insistence from larger organisations that their supply chains report on Scope 3 emissions is putting pressure in particular on SME suppliers; both the need for a commonly accepted measurement methodology as well as a sensitive attitude to the difficulties SMEs will face in complying with Scope 3 demands were seen as important issues.

It should be noted here that several FM providers are aligning themselves with the methodology for calculating Scope 3 carbon emissions in the FM sector that is currently under development by the consultancy Acclaro through its Sustainable Facilities Management Index (SFMI). The ambition is for this methodology to become an industry standard; RICS and the Institute of Environmental Management and

Assessment have joined IWFM as part of the project, acknowledging that a sector-wide solution is needed. BAM FM, Bouygues and Skanska are already partners in the project; Arcus FM recently became the latest provider associated with it. At the IWFM/Inenco event there was much talk about the time it will take to calculate specific usage in terms of energy used operationally and through fit-outs, and that the problem is compounded by the different methodologies likely to be needed across different sectors of industry. It may yet take years for a settled view to emerge. Yet where to start? Low-hanging fruit, for sure; prioritise the worst-performing buildings and assess building management system data was seen as the obvious first step.

Occupiers will ultimately drive demand for better-performing buildings, and many have committed to doing so; demand from smaller occupiers to commit to the cause and put pressure on landlords will also be key. There is also a need to move beyond the perennial problem of a single individual within an organisation having the commitment to drive the sustainability agenda without broader organisation-wide support – crucial given the importance of managing behavioural change.

What we saw in 2022 was a series of ambitious statements across service providers and clients. We also saw more organisations aligning themselves to the aims of the United Nations’ sustainable development goals, in whole or in part. There is a sense of a tide turning..

An IWFM report detailing the workshop conversation and the next stages in toolkit development will arrive during 2023. No doubt a more standardised if flexible methodology for measuring carbon performance is going to be needed. But make no mistake, developing it is going to take considerable effort.

STRATEGIC ANNOUNCEMENTS STRATEGIC ANNOUN N CEM

GOVERNMENT SETS THE TONE GOVERNMENT S

Government strategy announcements in recent months are helping to outline how the UK’s public sector can lead the way, with decarbonising of the government estate and adaptation to climate change goals set out in roadmaps for greening its buildings.

In November, the government published its Facilities Management Strategy, itself aligned to the overarching timeline of the Government Property Strategy. And just a day aft er its FM strategy launch, the government publshed its Property Sustainability Strategy 2022-2030. Among this strategy’s four key themes is ‘decarbonising the estate’. Having committ ed to reaching net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) by 2050, the UK government also has an interim ambition to halve direct emissions from the public sector by 2032 and reduce them by 75% by 2037. Meeting these targets, it says, “requires urgent, sustained action to decarbonise its buildings… it is essential we show leadership in this area and drive down our carbon emissions by utilising credible and consistent approaches to decarbonise the estate”.

Alex Chisholm, chief operating officer for the Civil Ser vice and Permanent Secretary (Cabinet Office) say creating a Net Zero UK is at

Government strategy the top of the list of priorities. announcements in recent “The built environment, and months are helping to therefore the public estate, is outline how the UK’s public fundamental in achieving that sector can lead the way, ambition. The UK government with decarbonising of the manages, by some margin, government estate and the biggest property portf olio adaptation to climate chan in the country. We know that buildings account for a significant proportion of total emissions and so driving sustainability and reductions in energy consumption in our own estate could not be more important.”