A greener and smarter public estate

On 8th December 2022, we welcomed estates and asset professionals to the Smart Asset & Estate Management Conference at the QEII Centre, London. The conference looked at how to transform the public estate for a greener and smarter future

This brisk December morning was filled with excitement as the sector came together to share lessons learned from a post-covid world and hear the policy updates from the government. Sofie Hooper from the IWFM kicked off the event with a few words about the current landscape. Our chair shared the pressures the built environment is facing with hitting net-zero targets, tackling the facilities maintenance backlog and supporting professional development.

It was a pleasure to hear from Dr Janet Young, this year switching for Mark Chivers from the Office of Government Property who was unfortunately stuck in transit. Janet spoke about the Government School of Property and the increased push to continually train and learn new skills. This is Janet’s thirtieth year as a chartered surveyor, and she still feels the need to keep learning about new emerging technologies.

Mark Chivers arrived mid-morning to present the latest policy updates. Mark spoke about the government’s eight-year plan to create a smaller, better and greener estate. He stressed that the public estate is not to be underestimated as it is worth half a trillion pounds and optimisation is key. Architects Hawkins/Brown shared a different perspective through their tried-and-tested three-step approach to enhancing estates. Net-zero and sustainability were a common thread in most sessions throughout the day. Joe Tilley, from CCS remarked that “sustainability is not just a nice to have but it is something we need”. This sentiment was shared amongst his panel members who agreed it was time to stop planning and start acting. Jarron Reddy, from ENTRNCE told the audience it is not just about energy certificates, but net-zero can mean moving away from volatile hydrocarbons. Technology plays a big part in creating a more sustainable public estate. Thomas Dolby from Accruent explored how software can help with energy management. He speculated that “the most effective way to tackle the energy crisis is reducing consumption”. Managing and tracking energy use is key to reducing cost and consumption which leads to smart and intelligent buildings. The team from Arcadis presented their business case for intelligent buildings. They explored their workspace 80FEN and shared lessons they learned.

However, as Ian Baker from EMCOR UK, shared, “an endless number of sensors doesn’t make a smart building”. With too much data, you risk analysis paralysis and the best way to combat it is by creating meaningful data. Michael Mifsud from Sopra Steria shared how once we have the data; we can leverage it to forecast and make predictive analysis and in turn use AI to help mitigate problems before they arise. Trevor Pope Ellis from Infogrid shared similar sentiments as their AI-powered platform gathers and analyses data from the smartest IoT technology to make every building healthy, efficient and sustainable. Data is a big driver in the estate landscape, but people are at the heart of it. Mark Duddy from the GPA shared an update on the Government Hubs Programme and the 16 new regional hubs that will be opened. He explained that the program is more than just buildings. It is a catalyst for a more fundamental change leading to the modernisation of the Civil Service. Modernisation was the key theme of Bridget Wilkin’s presentation. She unpacked the latest developments at the DLUHC and how digital citizen engagement is making the planning system more accountable and easier to use, with virtual and augmented reality tools making way for new voices to emerge.

The afternoon saw panel discussions about facilities management. Colin Cassé explained HMRC’s 10-year transformation plan and how it was more than just physical buildings. They looked at inclusive design so the workplace can be for everyone. Another panel discussed the need for a streamlined occupancy management system to help with creating an efficient workplace.

The streams wrapped up with a presentation by Salix Finance about the decarbonisation scheme. They spoke about how to use data to analyse where the quick wins are and to plan for the longer projects. An effective place planning strategy while taking into account the fundamental needs of estates on a regional scale while considering budgetary requirements led the discussion in our closing panel. Sofie Hooper brought the conference to a close and reflected on the discussions throughout the day.

Next up in the estates’ conference series at GovNet is the National NHS Estates Conference on 19th April 2023. This conference offers a platform to discuss how to transform NHS estates to better meet the financial, operational and clinical demands. Complimentary tickets are available to the NHS and public sector, find out more below. L

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