Driving down corporate carbon emissions through sustainable property management

Transcription

1 Driving down corporate carbon emissions through sustainable property management

2 Driving down corporate carbon emissions through sustainable property management Challenge IBM proposal Business opportunity Many organisations are facing increasing cost challenges and pressure to reduce their carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions. Analysis from many commentators points to significant opportunities within organisations property portfolios, with buildings being responsible for some 45% of the UK s overall greenhouse gas emissions. 1 The Carbon Trust estimates that 20% energy savings (translating into both cost and carbon reductions) are possible in UK offices alone. IBM s Property Carbon Audit provides an holistic approach to maximising cost savings, reducing energy consumption and improving the environmental sustainability of the property portfolio. Rather than a point solution looking solely at building infrastructure such as insulation, lighting and air conditioning, the IBM approach also considers how a building is used, the processes deployed to manage and maintain it and the efficiency of its space utilisation. As a direct result of this analysis, immediate quick win opportunities can typically be identified at the same time as providing a solid platform for prioritising, from the strategic property level down to operational issues, a range of competing initiatives which may offer varying returns in different time frames. Meaningful action to address this potential saving requires a wideranging yet detailed insight based on reliable data. However, many organisations carry out a one-off exercise when estimating CO 2 emissions associated with their estate portfolio and then struggle to build a strategic plan to drive lasting improvements. IBM does this by assessing the maturity of an estate s management systems and processes, combining detailed quantitative analysis with the insights gleaned from focused interviews across all functions that influence, directly or indirectly, property use and the associated energy and emissions. This exercise includes consideration of organisational structures, internal processes, facilities management suppliers and how they are procured and managed. To help gain a complete understanding, these aspects are considered at the strategic, management and operational levels. 1 British Property Federation / Carbon Trust: 2

3 IBM s holistic approach A property strategy is linked upwards to the overall business strategy and downwards to the maintenance and operational use of the corporate estate. First and foremost, the property portfolio must support corporate objectives and standards: increasingly, businesses are demanding that their estates be more energy- and cost-efficient. These demands impact the property strategy and how it informs the maintenance and use of the buildings. This raises an obvious question: how can the energy efficiency and related CO 2 emissions of properties be rigorously determined and managed? Frequently, the main consideration is the carbon dioxide emissions per square metre of floor space. While an important metric, this ignores many aspects of a building and its use. To help address this, IBM has developed the Property Carbon Ratio as a measure of the economic and carbon dioxide efficiencies of a property. This takes account of carbon dioxide emissions per unit area of building and the space use efficiency (m 2 per work station, meaning a desk in an office environment, or staff work area in other building types), described in Figure 1. By way of further illustration, a building may have emissions of 2,400 kg.co 2 per work station, broken down as 150 kg.co 2 / m 2 and 16 m 2 floor area per work station. To achieve a target of 1,600 kg.co 2 / work station, energy-efficiency measures could be implemented within the building to reduce emissions to 100 kg.co 2 / m 2, or else a space standard of 10.6m 2 per work station could be imposed. Alternatively, a combination of initiatives could be instigated, involving both measures to meet the target in the most cost-effective way. In our experience, many organisations focus almost exclusively on building energy efficiency issues, paying much less regard, for example, to the organisational-level property strategy and implementing consistent corporate space standards. CO 2 work station CO 2 m 2 X m 2 work station Building carbon efficiency Space use efficiency Figure 1: The IBM Property Carbon Ratio 3

4 The IBM Property Carbon Audit The IBM Property Carbon Audit provides insight into how property management, and the associated CO 2 emissions, are related to business and property strategies, internal processes, organisational structures and supplier management. As illustrated in Figure 2, it consists of two elements: Quantitative analysis based around the insights provided by the Property Carbon Ratio described above to produce a factual assessment of the energy efficiency of an estate Qualitative analysis using the IBM Component Business Model of organisational activities to understand the underlying factors behind the numbers. Step 1 - Quantitative analysis The quantitative component of the IBM Property Carbon Audit comprises a detailed, fact-based analysis of an organisation s CO 2 emissions from its property portfolio. This analysis includes a health-check on the quality of the available data and any cleansing required, as well as a review of the current energy / CO 2 emissions data management processes and systems. The output is presented in graphical form [see Figure 3 for sample results], allowing an easy understanding of the relative contributions to the overall emissions of different parts of the business, for example by department, fuel and property type and geographical area. Individual buildings can be internally and externally benchmarked. Case study: IBM Hursley IBM s software laboratory at Hursley comprises 32 buildings and almost 3,000 work stations, housed in buildings ranging from historic to modern and with a gross internal area of some 67,000m 2. The IBM Property Carbon Audit highlighted areas of good practice, notably existing environmental initiatives and the outsourcing of Facilities Management to a highlyprofessional external provider. Opportunities for improvement were also identified in the active management of carbon dioxide emissions, starting with a sitelevel strategy and reduction targets, allied to a rigorous ongoing data management regime. Quantitative analysis Utility readings Property carbon footprint Property characteristics Analysis Ratio analysis and internal benchmarking External benchmarking Combined analysis Qualitative analysis Maturity Profiling Reconciliation of quantitative and qualitative findings Prioritised improvement recommendations Agree strategic priorities Tailor maturity profiling tool Interview key personnel Current & target maturity levels Figure 2: Elements of the Property Carbon Audit 4

5 A BC D EF G H L M N OP Q R S TU V W X YZ AA AB AC AD AE AF AG AH AI AJ AK AL AM AN AO AP AQ AR AS AT AU AV AW AX AY AZ I JK kg CO 2 / m kg CO 2 / m kg CO 2 / m kg CO 2 / m kg CO2 / m kg CO2 / m 2 kg CO2 / m 2 Figure 3: Example output from quantitative analysis: organisational-level emissions breakdown and property ranking against benchmarks Step 2 Qualitative analysis This numerical analysis is complemented by an interviewbased maturity profiling exercise that provides a qualitative insight into the factors behind these hard figures. Depending on an organisation s structure, selected business function components that have a significant impact on property emissions are analysed at strategic ( Direct ), management ( Control ) and operational ( Execute ) levels. A summary heat map (of which an example is provided in Figure 4) is generated from the results, taking account of the organisation s strategic CO 2 emissions and energy management objectives, the inherent ability of each component to influence these and the gap between current and future performance. A colourcoding system highlights priorities. D I R E C T C O N T R O L E X E C U T E Heat map report Supply Chain Strategy & Finance Facilities Supplier Strategy Supplier Management Strategic Planning, Performance & Reporting Strategy Treasury and Tax Planning Financial Operations Management Reporting and Compliance Management Figure 4: Example heat map from maturity profiling exercise Facilities Strategy Estates Strategy FM & Utilities Strategy Sustainable Property Strategy Real Estate & Capital Project Management Regulation and Compliance Facilities & Utilities Management Sustainable Property Management Energy Consumption and Carbon Footprint Working and Travel Patterns Life Cycle Management Sustainable Property Operation 5

6 Typical findings Through its Property Carbon Audit engagements in both the public and private sectors, IBM has repeatedly encountered similar findings: no clear functional responsibility for property CO 2 emissions data management absence of property CO2 emissions data management system or processes errors in previous high-level reporting CO emissions not factored 2 into investment or procurement considerations first detailed view of organisational CO 2 emissions baseline significant opportunities for cost savings (space use, energy management, investment prioritisation ). To help address these, the IBM Property Carbon Audit provides: a rigorous baseline: for reporting against which to measure future carbon dioxide emissions reduction detailed insights into distribution of CO 2 emissions recommendations on property carbon data management: organisational responsibility processes for collation, management and reporting data management systems recommendations for pragmatic next steps in emissions reduction. Next steps The output from the IBM Property Carbon Audit includes a prioritised list of opportunities for emissions reduction. Typical areas warranting immediate investigation include: property strategy/portfolio optimisation: matching accommodation to current and future business needs workforce transformation: improving staff mobility and flexibility of working practices to make the most efficient use of property supplier procurement rationalisation/ performance management: reaping the best value from a competent and innovative supply chain process and/or organisation optimisation: helping to maximise the benefits of increasinglyoutsourced service provision carbon management information systems: IT systems to help provide ongoing reporting and insight into emissions and the impact of reduction initiatives building asset management: a detailed investigation into the efficiency of specific items of mechanical and electrical plant, for example following the pragmatic IBM Green Sigma methodology. 6

7 Case study: HMRC Keen to be at the forefront of sustainable development within government, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) was performing well against many of the environmental targets set by the Sustainable Development Commission for Nevertheless, it was eager to ensure that it did not fall behind on the ambitious targets to reduce carbon emissions from offices by 12.5%. Further information IBM plays a leading role in the environmental management of its own worldwide property portfolio, and has proven ability to support its clients in all of the above areas. HMRC consists of around 85,000 people and 900 buildings. The sheer size of the organisation made it difficult for HMRC to get a reliable overview of carbon consumption and the priority areas for action. Recommendations for HMRC s estate revolved around creating a strategy that enabled buildings to be managed from both sustainability and cost perspectives. A data management system was suggested to capture energy readings and allow an at a glance view of which buildings are performing above or below benchmark so that informed action can be taken. HMRC has long-term PFI contracts in place to manage its estate and was pleased to discover that much could be achieved to reduce carbon output by working within existing contracts. A potential saving of up to 50% of the estate s carbon emissions was identified if the entire set of recommendations could be put in place. To learn more about the IBM Property Carbon Audit and our approach to improving the sustainability of estates portfolios, please contact: Simon Parsons IBM Global Business Services simon.parsons@uk.ibm.com For further information on IBM s energy and environment solutions please visit: uk/bcs/html/bcs_landing_ carbonmanagement.html Or: For general enquiries about IBM s energy and environment solutions please complete the contact form at: com/webapp/iwm/web/signup. do?lang=en_gb&source=uklobsite Or contact green@uk.ibm.com 7

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