Sustainability is and in the future will be one of the keys of competitive advantage for companies of all kinds. In this slide share we look into, the barriers facility and corporate real estate professionals will face when working with sustainability and how to overcome them to create a great workplace for the future.

1. Key ways for FM and CRE
professionals to break the
barriers to a sustainable
workplace

2. Sustainability
and the workplace of the
future
Without question sustainability has been, and will continue to
be, an important trend over the next decade. Governments
are enforcing sustainability initiatives and taking a proactive
role in protecting the environment, while consumers increas-
ingly grow their preference around brands that promote and
act on societal sustainability and think more about humans
than profits.
Concurrently, a study comparing companies with well-inte-
grated social and environmental policies and those without,
found that “high sustainability” companies significantly out-
perform their counterparts over an 18 year-period. Actually,
“high sustainability” companies had on average 4.8% higher
stock market performance than their counterparts.

3. Sustainability
and the workplace of the future
Hence, the companies and the FM and CRE professionals who has
the capability to turn their business into a green business – and do
it effectively – stand to gain an advantage.
These companies will be able to offer their customers ways to re-
duce their impact on the environment and at the same time save
resources and reduce costs.
Reducing costs and improving efficiency is however not the only
benefit of minimizing the environmental footprint.
For many, the sustainable workplace will be a tool to attract tal-
ents, who are becoming more focused on their values and who
wish to contribute to the world.

4. Sustainability
and the workplace of the future
Surveying more than 53,000 U.S. consumers in 2016, the Natural Marketing Institute discovered that 58 percent
of consumers consider a company’s impact on the environment when deciding where to purchase goods and
services and are more likely to purchase from companies that practice sustainable habits. That translates into a
client base of 68 million Americans who are favorably predisposed to companies showing positive track records
in personal, social and environmental values.
As result, companies increasingly need to integrate their environmental responsibility in order to better brand
themselves and to attract more consumers and employees.

5. The barriers to sustainability
in the workplace

6. The barriers to sustainability
in the workplace
Organizations need to take a strategic approach towards sustainability due to a lack of systematic
information on how this investment ends up on their business bottom-line.
Today, there is still so much value to be derived from cost reductions that it still has the highest priority,
followed by supporting core functions (increasing productivity), and making employees happier.
Here, Facility and Corporate Real Estate managers have an opportunity to expand the niche of their
expertise and become an advisor on how sustainability pays off in the workplace strategy.
Before doing so, however, CRE and FM professionals
have several barriers to cross.

7. These include
• Financial considerations that create better linkages between costs and
benefits
• Training a more knowledgeable and experienced workforce
• Ignoring potential small opportunities from energy (and other forms of
conservation) due to perceived low reward-to-risk ratios
• Low willingness to invest in depressed assets – a challenge in the United
States and Europe
The barriers to sustainability
in the workplace

8. Enhancing
the sustainable profile in the workplace

9. Due to a greater focus on environmental sustainability in the office and the workspace, Facility and Corporate
Real Estate managers need to focus on:
• Improving the use of natural light
• Increasing the energy efficiency of operations and buildings
• Ensuring that they use recyclable and reclaimed material in their buildings, and that, in turn, their buildings and
its fixtures can be recycled or reclaimed
• Reviewing meeting and travel policies to ensure more efficient use of resources
• Reducing office environmental footprints towards 2020
• Developing symbiotic relationships with other companies and organisations in local communities to collectively
reduce footprints. This includes increased collaboration among tenants within buildings and between several
buildings in neighborhoods.
Enhancing
the sustainable profile in the workplace

10. Creating
a sustainable workplace – the implications
for FM and CRE professionals

11. • Facility and Corporate Real Estate managers need to analyze sustainability challenges
and consequences on supply and value chains, as well as on building design,
management and maintenance
• Conduct systemic design, including employing building information modeling (BIM)
techniques
• Use information from BIM to improve building designs and inputs to their models by
analysing how people actually move through and use workspaces
• Assess sustainability challenges according to regional conditions and challenges
• Look beyond the confines of the core organization and see how employees and
other companies, including competitors, could help to develop sustainable workplace
solutions.
The implications
for FM and CRE professionals

12. Sources
MIT Sloan Management Review – Sustainability & Innovation Global Executive Study
and Research Project, 2014
Natural Marketing Institute – 2016 State of Sustainability in America
ISS 2020 Vision: New Ways of Working – the workplace of the future

13. Thank you!
Learn more about how you best can approach the sustainability
challenges of the future.
Download our ISS 2020 Vision White Book: New Ways of
Working – the workplace of the future →