In a time where sustainable development is a huge priority, anyone building or designing mixed-use schemes must consider the best methods, materials, and technologies to help our collective journey towards Net Zero – the panel said sharing best practices, experiences, learnings, and data is key, but it’s not always done well.
Matt Darby of Gleeds suggested there is still work to be done: “This is where the industry has to somehow figure out how we can share that knowledge across, not just around this table, but actually between all the consultants. That way there is a lot more intelligence around the data. There's work to be done on this within the industry.”
We need to share that knowledge - that way there is a lot more intelligence around the data. There is work to be done on this in the industry."
Richard Fielding of Morgan Sindall agreed that the industry has a responsibility to share information, as well as proactively seek new data to drive innovation forward.
He also addressed the competitive cost pressures of sustainability and that they can’t just be ignored: "Public projects have the challenge of the public purse,” he said.
To avoid costs spiralling out of control he advocated assessing the cost and sustainability benefits of each project but conceded the necessary data to do this effectively is not always available.
Lee Davies of Ramboll agreed:
“I worked with the University of Leicester to develop a control system that linked lighting occupancy sensors to conventional radiators that controlled heating set back temperatures based on room occupancy. These intelligent solutions and low carbon design carry a cost premium.”
Fielding reflected on the lengths Morgan Sindall Construction has gone to obtain the data needed to evaluate a property’s sustainable life cycle to gauge the best approach.
It was one of five partners landmark study, known as Circular Twin, involved digitally building a school that has already been completed and reworking the scheme from start to finish so that each decision and design choice favoured a lower carbon outcome.
Richard Fielding stressed the need for this kind of intelligence: “If you can get the data, it really helps with all conversations around sustainable developments.”
He also spoke about Morgan Sindall’s ‘Intelligent Solutions’ approach to each project, which brings together digital and platform design capabilities with modern construction methods and innovative carbon reduction tools to create unique, sustainable, and inspiring places for its customers.
He and others on the panel stressed the value of credible data and the impact of ESG strategies. Evidence of change and low carbon solutions is more key than ever to investors. It is also a key driver from an occupier perspective.
Maggie Grogan said: “There is a flight to buildings that have a good ESG policy attached to them. We are finding that agents are more educated in understanding what the fundamentals are around sustainability and what that means for their occupiers.”
They realise that if a building hasn’t got the ESG credentials needed, occupiers and investors just aren’t interested. I think it’s going to be a real tension in buildings that are currently on site or about to be built that just don't have those sustainability credentials.
For example, there’s one building in Manchester that's just been built and the EPC rating isn't great, so they can't let it.”
The panel reflected on what this means moving forward and for existing stock that doesn’t meet requirements.
Will this lead to blocks of empty buildings? What should be done with them? It was agreed going back to the first principles of ‘designing better’ originally is crucial moving forward, and that we are in an age where investors expect values to align with theirs, or they will not entertain funding.
He said that data is then embedded into a Power BI dashboard - which is an interactive data visualisation software product - so customers can choose elements they want to change, whether that’s fabrics or facades, and the impact changing them will have.
“We're doing quite a lot of work with office landlords to make improvements to its existing stock. Some of them are forward-thinking and we've created a software solution that lets us test a multitude of variables analytically and quickly so they can be implemented into their refurbishment projects of existing commercial offices.”
