Target Setting and Buildings: Towards a Net-Zero Future
Setting carbon emissions reduction targets is nothing new. Many companies, including the real estate sector, have already developed many targets and goals in contribution to limit global warming. Also, the conventional target of limiting warming to 2oC is not enough. As the scientific community always emphasizes, to limit global warming to 1.5oC, achieving net-zero global […]
Read more Net zero cooperation
“The only thing that will redeem mankind is cooperation.” Bertrand Russell. In the battle against the climate crisis, the term ‘net zero carbon’ (NZC) is ubiquitous. Following many years of increasing carbon policy, voluntary action and international cooperation – as well as public interest spurred on by high profile activism – everyone talking about NZC […]
Read more Planning for Net Zero: Getting Started
Net Zero has come into focus in 2020 as the key sustainability objective for many Commercial Real Estate organizations, even with the backdrop of COVID-19 and related economic uncertainties. The reason is clear, with the UK’s commitment to Net-Zero by 2050, this theory has 30 years to become a reality. The sweeping changes required for […]
Read more The carbdown is on! Which net zero scheme is the right one for you?
Wake-up call The carbon clock is ticking…faster than most people think. The Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC) has determined that the climate goal should not be 2050, as defined in the Paris Agreement, but now 2043 because the CO2 budget for staying below the crucial 1.5°C threshold will be exhausted […]
Read more The Pathway to Carbon Reduction
We’ve all read the news – corporations are taking the lead in addressing the climate crisis: BP will achieve net zero by 2050, Apple will be carbon neutral by 2030 and Microsoft will be carbon negative by 2030. You may be wondering how companies choose between pledge platforms: how do they decide whether they want […]
Read more Six Ways to Become a Zero Carbon Champion
Many professionals believe they are too small to make a difference in the world when it comes to the climate crisis and environmental protection. Do you happen to be one of them? We often deal with managers and decision-makers who only care about the bottom line and achieving short term profits. In many cases, our […]
Read more Target setting for the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment and other net-zero goals
This year, GRESB announced they will align their reporting standards to the World Green Building Council’s (WorldGBC) Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment and increase recognition for real estate portfolios that sign the Commitment. Signatories of the Commitment pledge to operate 100% of their portfolio buildings at net zero carbon by 2030. Your real estate firm […]
Read more Real Estate Developers Need to Act Now to Transition to Net Zero
Climate change is no longer a future risk. It has already become an immediate present-day challenge. Apocalyptic natural disasters and rising global temperatures are essentially calling for immediate action on carbon emissions reduction and for businesses to incorporate climate-friendly practices in their operations. In the real estate industry, carbon reduction is a particularly weighty and […]
Read more ‘How to Take a Data-driven Approach to Healthy Buildings and Workspaces’
Every year seems to bring a new global crisis, highlighting the importance of having a truly resilient risk management strategy in place. Here at Switch, we’ve been revising our day-to-day processes to be more resilient in the face of local and global crises. We hear that property owners and managers worldwide…
Read more New GRI OHS Standard Has Significant Implication on Health & Well-being
Occupational health and safety has been given much more attention in recent years, especially after the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic when corporates realized that human resources are arguably their most important assets. Ensuring workers’ wellbeing has become a key concern for many businesses, acting as the wherewithal to long-term sustainability. This is particularly prominent […]
Read more How certification standards provide practical pathways to safety, health and well-being in our office buildings
In its definition of health, the World Health Organisation (WHO) is clear to highlight that it is not only the absence of disease or illness, but rather a holistic comprehensive state of wellbeing on all levels: physical, mental and social.
Read more The case for healthy materials in a post-COVID world
As the world tries to recover from the ongoing global pandemic, questions are being asked as to how this can be prevented from happening again, but also how we can create healthier environments for ourselves. In the post-COVID world we are all starting to notice how our health and wellbeing is being affected by the […]
Read more Reopening Offices: Examining Health & Wellness in the New Workplace
With offices beginning to reopen across the country, one of the main concerns for landlords and tenants alike is the safety of the workspace. Sanitation levels and preventative measures need to be at an all-time high to comply with local guidelines as well as to ensure that tenants are actually willing to return to work. […]
Read more The state of safety, health, and wellbeing in 2020
Following coronavirus outbreaks in their supply chains, both Tyson Foods Inc. and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. added a Chief Medical Officer to their executive teams. These actions reflect the market’s increased emphasis on employee safety, health, and wellbeing in 2020. Expansions of safety, health, and wellbeing were not uncommon pre-COVID. In fact, many sectors recorded […]
Read more Recalibrating for COVID-19: Protecting Occupant Health, Safety and Wellbeing
2020 marked the start of a new decade, bringing with it a variety of crises that dramatically impact human health, safety and wellbeing. In addition to a number of natural disasters and humanitarian crises around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc as communities scramble to control the spread of the virus and respond to unprecedented challenges such as the social upheaval of […]
Read more AREF Future Gen Survey: Remote working in a post-coronavirus environment
On March 23rd 2020, the UK officially entered a legally enforced “lockdown,” confining many of us to our homes for the foreseeable future. For some, the transition has been an easy one, having already been accustomed to remote working on a regular basis. For others, working from home has come with its challenges, including lack […]
Read more Investors Expect and Demand Meaningful Environmental Goals and Progress
There is no doubt that environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles play an increasingly influential role in investment management today. For real estate investors in particular, climate change has arrived as a material risk both in terms of physical risk from floods, hurricanes, and wildfires, as well as transitional risk such as compliance, insurance, and […]
Read more From the Top Down – Diversity & Inclusion Matters
Diversity and inclusion are both prevalent topics in society in recent years, however, they are not new concepts. The line: “diversity is a fact, inclusion is a choice” is often used to motivate people to achieve the targets of diversity and inclusion. As society is naturally full of diversities that exist amongst people, the aim […]
Read more Revamping Diversity & Inclusion During an Era of Racial Justice
Just as the COVID-19 pandemic has made us rethink health and wellness for our employees, tenants and buildings, so should the recent social unrest surrounding racism and police brutality help us to reflect on diversity and inclusion (D&I) efforts within our organizations as we make progress toward achieving our environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals. The growing consensus is that racial injustice makes sustainability impossible.
Read more COVID-19: Reshaping the notion of the materiality of health and ESG investing
The COVID-19 pandemic’s economic impact has placed a spotlight on the links between population health and the economy. Once considered the invisible H in environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting, health now is the pivotal piece that underpins all of ESG, and it will play a key role in how companies and shareholders assess where to invest in the years to come. From where we stand, the future of investing is investing for health.
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