The Leader - September 2007 - (Page 40) real e stat e maNaGemeNt Treading Lightly: How Property IT Systems Can Help Organizations Retrace Their Carbon Footprints by JasoN allaWay IN receNt years, property maNaGers, oWNers, INvestors aNd occupIers have INcreasINGly come to expect theIr property It systems to automatIcally (aNd paINlessly) produce all of the INformatIoN requIred to eNable them to moNItor tradItIoNal key performaNce INdIcators (kpIs) such as the total cost of occupaNcy aNd cost-per-head of Workspace. W ith organizations now coming under mounting pressure to demonstrate stronger environmental credentials, property users are expected to look much more closely at their energy usage and carbon emissions. As a result, there is a growing need to develop a new generation of KPIs that reflect an increasing focus on energy efficiency and corporate social responsibility. Terms like ‘sustainability’ and ‘carbon footprint’ are becoming part of the everyday vocabulary of all kinds of property users – from corporate and government occupiers to shopping centers. But what do they mean? An organization’s Carbon Footprint (CFP) is defined as a measure of the impact that its activities have on the environment in terms of the amount of ‘greenhouse gases’ it produces through the combustion of fossil fuels such as electricity, natural gas, LPG and oil. It is usually measured in units of carbon dioxide emitted. Sustainability is the way, and rate, at which humans (and organizations) are using the earth’s resources. Sustainable buildings are defined as those that consider the environment during each step of the construction process – from design and the sourcing of materials to the process of construction and the operating cost of a building in use. With the commercial property sector now one of the fastest growing energy th e le ade r users, it is no surprise that the U.K. government’s recent energy review found that some of the largest emission savings could be made through improvements to buildings. Corporate property is therefore very much on the government’s radar when it comes to tackling climate change. The ability to capture and understand a building’s environmental performance is already an integral part of policy within the public sector. For example, the U.K. government target is carbon neutral buildings for the central government office estate by 2012. Monitoring energy efficiency, and measuring sufficiency and suitability, are also increasingly important issues for local authorities. 40 september / october 2007
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