Data-Driven Decisions

Just over a quarter of businesses are data savvy with their energy usage and carbon emissions – and big companies are leading the way.

27% of respondents said that they gather robust data which they “use to make decisions about the environmental impact of the space we occupy and how we use it.”

23% of these respondents said they gather some data, but it’s not robust enough to base decisions upon. 16% of respondents admitted that they don't know how to go about collecting such data.

Perhaps more concerning is the 14% who admitted that they gather robust data, but don't use it to inform their decision-making about their environmental impact. An additional 14% said they choose not to collect this data at all.

In terms of sectors, not surprisingly, the IT/tech sector is the most adept at using data. 32% of respondents in IT/tech businesses claimed they gather robust data and apply it their decision-making about their environmental impact. This fell to 26% in the finance sector and just 19% in retail, catering and hospitality.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the bigger the company, the more data savvy it appears to be. 46% of respondents in businesses with a turnover of £100 million to £499.95 million robustly collect and use data for decision making. This fell to 15% for those in businesses with a turnover of between £100,000 and £999,000.

In seems a proper data-driven approach to energy management and carbon emissions for all businesses is still some way down the line.

Which of the following best describes you when it comes to accessing data such as energy usage, carbon emissions, waste management etc?

The findings from this survey cast important new light on how occupiers are tackling the big environmental issues affecting their workplace.

Willingness to pay for greener buildings varies quite substantially and shouldn’t be overstated. CBRE’s own research finds that while there clearly are some eco-conscious occupiers willing to pay extra for higher environmental standards, they are still in the minority, even among large firms. There are equally many who are very nervous about the extra costs or who feel that landlords should be the ones to pay. That’s backed up by this new data.

However, this survey also shows that younger decision makers are more willing to pay a bit more. For example, respondents aged 35-44 were twice as likely to say they’d pay more rent for better environmental features compared to respondents aged 55+. That suggests that we might see a higher willingness to pay as future generations of decision makers come to the fore.

Of more immediate concern is a lack of awareness about the green credentials of the buildings they occupy, and the implications of existing MEES requirements. That rather suggests that awareness of future proposals to tighten those same standards is likely to be even lower.

The challenge for occupiers underlying many of these issues is a lack of data, or a failure to use data. Sometimes it can be difficult to get the right data from landlords, so it’s good to see a quarter of occupiers saying they want to get closer to their landlords on environmental issues. But it’s clear that not knowing what the problem is will make it more difficult to tackle.

Miles Gibson

Executive Director & Head of UK Sustainability Research, CBRE

Office occupiers are keen to work closely with their landlords on sustainability

With an appetite for collaboration between businesses and their landlords, there’s plenty of reasons to remain optimistic.

We asked businesses who have landlords about their relationship and how well they worked with their office landlords on the issue of sustainability. 31% of these respondents said their relationship is more collaborative than confrontational on sustainability issues.

23% of these respondents said they’ve agreed some 'green' lease clauses with their landlord which set out responsibilities to share data or take action.

And it’s not all one way. 23% of these respondents said their office landlord would like to work more closely with them on sustainability issues.

However, 27% of these respondents said their relationship with their landlord was either more confrontational than collaborative, or they don't talk about environmental issues with their landlords. That’s a disappointing response from over a quarter of our survey. There still seems to be a lot of work to get landlords and occupiers addressing these issues together, particularly in the SME and micro business space.

How collaborative is your relationship with your office landlord(s) in relation to sustainability issues?

The Irwin Mitchell response

With 17 offices across the UK and our ambition to be a leading responsible business, it’s important for us that we factor in the environmental credentials of a building when we explore opportunities in new locations or through lease events.

We’ll always consider repurposing existing buildings where the green credentials can be enhanced to provide great quality space for our colleagues and clients, as well as exploring new build options where the credentials are built in from design.

In terms of our own net zero ambitions, we feel it’s vital to have a great working relationship with our landlords and the people who run the buildings we occupy. In multi-tenanted locations, engaging collectively to support each other’s net zero journeys is vital for the success of our ambitions and the protection of our planet.

Sarah Ball