The British Council for Offices (BCO) has released an early update to its Guide to Specification, its most recognised publication, providing expert advice on how to specify office space.
The update responds to new challenges emerging from the impact of the pandemic and accelerating need for the built environment sector to respond to the climate crisis. The move shows how designers can create workplaces that support changing working patterns, while making office workers healthier and more productive, as well as meeting the need to decarbonise buildings.
The BCO has produced this briefing note to explain which criteria have changed and why, so that members can use the guidance for their current projects.
16 Feb 2023
Achieving net zero carbon emissions is a major component of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategies in the commercial real estate sector, driven by a growing expectation from businesses, their customers and ultimately the public, to respond to the effects of climate change.
Yet improving the energy performance of offices is challenging. For the office sector to move from ambition to tangible action, there is an urgent need for robust benchmarks and verifiable data, as well as government requirements and incentives to support businesses' ESG objectives and facilitate the transition to net zero.
This new report produced by University College London Consultants (UCLC) for the British Council for Offices (BCO), identifies the barriers that businesses are facing as they strive to drastically reduce their workplace carbon footprint and sets out some of the solutions including greener and longer leases, with office occupiers having more say over refurbishments; greater collaboration and data sharing between building owners and occupiers; submetering and the use of sensors to measure exactly where energy is used; and use of pre-fabricated, re-used and recycled materials and furniture.
30 Nov 2022
The built environment sector faces the challenge of becoming more sustainable. While the building and construction sector accounts for a sizeable portion of global carbon emissions, it is also well placed to lead the drive towards a circular economy. Minimising waste, keeping products and materials in use for longer, re-using materials and regenerating and retrofitting existing buildings will clearly bring environmental benefits. The adoption of circular economy principles will be important in tackling the sector’s environmental footprint and creating better places for people to work.
The research by BCO and Arup seeks to:
• Consolidate and expand on some of the key challenges in delivering circular economy principles in the office sector with a focus on the fit out of offices.
• Provide recommendations and solutions for stakeholders along the value chain operating within the office sector with a focus on fit out, to support the shift to more sustainable and circular approaches.
• Raise general awareness of circularity in office fit outs within the industry and showcasing existing guidance
31 Oct 2022