By Gary Metcalf DipSCM, CIWFM, Director, Head of ESG & Design to Management at Ashdown Phillips

In the last twenty years, Ashdown Phillips & Partners has built its reputation on excellent customer service. This principle has helped us to stand out in the market by delivering a long-term approach for our clients: building relationships that lead to better-run buildings, happy occupiers and with that, better returns.

However, we are less-well known for our approach to ESG, and how sustainability principles are embedded into every aspect of our culture and service delivery. We value this, not just because of the positive impact we can have on the planet, but also because it can deliver huge cost savings for clients.

By situating our sustainability principles at the design stage, we can provide comprehensive Design for Management services. Using sustainable design, we can consider the environmental implications of every aspect of our energy usage (heating & cooling, cleaning, lighting), and through data-capture and analytics we can also measure general levels of consumption in existing buildings. This assists clients in identifying cost savings and specific energy-reducing initiatives, as well as to create a business case to save money and reduce emissions.

Outlined in this blog are case studies from Ashdown Phillips & Partners own portfolio, illustrating potential areas to consider when proposing cost-saving sustainability initiatives within your own projects. Some of the systems already in place across our sites include:

● Introduction of bio-enzyme cleaning products.

● Harnessing solar power: Together with XLB, we added 228 PV panels to the Grade 2 listed Tootal Buildings in Manchester, which generate 74,000 kWh annually, saving 15 tons of carbon emissions.

● Launch of waste-saving initiatives - We have successfully done so at two shopping centres in the Northwest.

● Adaptation of the design of buildings to their current functions

● Establishing sustainability initiatives at design stage

● Installing analytics platforms

At one of our London offices, we have reduced the carbon footprint left by essential cleaning services by 95%, by implementing bio enzyme cleaning products. Think “Yakult for cleaning” - by using healthy bacteria to consume dirt, we reduce the need for multiple cleaning products and lower the building’s carbon footprint. While traditional cleaning methods rely on a variety of chemical products, which can be harmful to both the environment and human health, bio-enzyme cleaners not only reduce the amount of chemicals entering the ecosystem, but also streamline cleaning processes.

This also allows us to bottle cleaning products on-site, reducing the frequency of deliveries (in this case, from three times a week to once a month!), therefore reducing emissions, saving costs and cutting down on single-use plastics. We now aim for this as standard across most of our London portfolio, delivering further benefits to clients in economies of scale. Although a positive change to make on any site, this is a particularly effective environmentally-friendly-financial-saving scheme when instigated at the design stage.

The success of this early involvement was proved when we were engaged to do Design for Management at the JJ Mack building, London. This contributed to its remarkable BREEAM Outstanding score of 96.42%. This makes it the UK’s most sustainable new office building (under the current scoring criteria). Our work there led to us taking on a wider brief for Ashby Capital last year, to take over the ongoing management of five of their flagship properties.

Once up and running, it’s well-known that the built environment is a huge contributor to overall site emissions, and so it’s important to optimise the buildings as much as we possibly can. Many buildings were designed for full time occupancy, 9-5 during weekdays, prior to the pandemic, but they don’t need to be heated and lit full time as people adopt flexible working. This presents an opportunity to reduce our energy usage.

Aiming to save energy, we were able to create a business case to install a new lighting system in a large London office building, based on data collected from our newly installed analytics platform. This delivered £175,000 in savings in year one alone - off the back of an investment of just £30,000. Replacing always-on halogen lighting with movement-sensor-based LEDs has made a huge difference, similarly automated heating and cooling systems based on actual occupancy levels and remote monitoring have proved to be highly effective. Further gathering of analytics around water usage can identify opportunities for water-recycling, solar heating systems, and ultimately scope for more exciting cost savings.

Our commitment to reducing the impact on our planet shapes Ashdown Phillips & Partner’s operations and ethos. Our sustainability initiatives aim to benefit the environment, lead to significant financial savings, and aid commercial property owners in slashing energy usage, waste and emissions for a greener industry.