Key ways for FM and CRE professionals to break the barriers to a sustainable workplace

Sustainabilityand the workplace of thefuture

Without question sustainability has been, and will continue to

be, an important trend over the next decade. Governments

are enforcing sustainability initiatives and taking a proactive

role in protecting the environment, while consumers increas-

ingly grow their preference around brands that promote and

act on societal sustainability and think more about humans

than profits.

Concurrently, a study comparing companies with well-inte-

grated social and environmental policies and those without,

found that “high sustainability” companies significantly out-

perform their counterparts over an 18 year-period. Actually,

“high sustainability” companies had on average 4.8% higher

stock market performance than their counterparts.

Sustainabilityand the workplace of the future

Hence, the companies and the FM and CRE professionals who has

the capability to turn their business into a green business – and do

it effectively – stand to gain an advantage.

These companies will be able to offer their customers ways to re-

duce their impact on the environment and at the same time save

resources and reduce costs.

Reducing costs and improving efficiency is however not the only

benefit of minimizing the environmental footprint.

For many, the sustainable workplace will be a tool to attract tal-

ents, who are becoming more focused on their values and who

wish to contribute to the world.

Sustainabilityand the workplace of the future

Surveying more than 53,000 U.S. consumers in 2016, the Natural Marketing Institute discovered that 58 percent

of consumers consider a company’s impact on the environment when deciding where to purchase goods and

services and are more likely to purchase from companies that practice sustainable habits. That translates into a

client base of 68 million Americans who are favorably predisposed to companies showing positive track records

in personal, social and environmental values.

As result, companies increasingly need to integrate their environmental responsibility in order to better brand

themselves and to attract more consumers and employees.

The barriers to sustainability in the workplace

The barriers to sustainability in the workplace

Organizations need to take a strategic approach towards sustainability due to a lack of systematic

information on how this investment ends up on their business bottom-line.

Today, there is still so much value to be derived from cost reductions that it still has the highest priority,

followed by supporting core functions (increasing productivity), and making employees happier.

Here, Facility and Corporate Real Estate managers have an opportunity to expand the niche of their

expertise and become an advisor on how sustainability pays off in the workplace strategy.

Before doing so, however, CRE and FM professionals

have several barriers to cross.

These include

• Financial considerations that create better linkages between costs and

benefits

• Training a more knowledgeable and experienced workforce

• Ignoring potential small opportunities from energy (and other forms of

conservation) due to perceived low reward-to-risk ratios

• Low willingness to invest in depressed assets – a challenge in the United

States and Europe

The barriers to sustainability in the workplace

Enhancing the sustainable profile in the workplace

Due to a greater focus on environmental sustainability in the office and the workspace, Facility and Corporate

Real Estate managers need to focus on:

• Improving the use of natural light

• Increasing the energy efficiency of operations and buildings

• Ensuring that they use recyclable and reclaimed material in their buildings, and that, in turn, their buildings and

its fixtures can be recycled or reclaimed

• Reviewing meeting and travel policies to ensure more efficient use of resources

• Reducing office environmental footprints towards 2020

• Developing symbiotic relationships with other companies and organisations in local communities to collectively

reduce footprints. This includes increased collaboration among tenants within buildings and between several

buildings in neighborhoods.

Enhancing the sustainable profile in the workplace

Creating a sustainable workplace – the implications for FM and CRE professionals

• Facility and Corporate Real Estate managers need to analyze sustainability challenges

and consequences on supply and value chains, as well as on building design,

management and maintenance

• Conduct systemic design, including employing building information modeling (BIM)

techniques

• Use information from BIM to improve building designs and inputs to their models by

analysing how people actually move through and use workspaces

• Assess sustainability challenges according to regional conditions and challenges

• Look beyond the confines of the core organization and see how employees and

other companies, including competitors, could help to develop sustainable workplace

solutions.

The implications for FM and CRE professionals

Sources MIT Sloan Management Review – Sustainability & Innovation Global Executive Study

and Research Project, 2014

Natural Marketing Institute – 2016 State of Sustainability in America

ISS 2020 Vision: New Ways of Working – the workplace of the future

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