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Welcome to InTheNews – covering all the FM news you may have missed over the week:
The UK’s Climate Change Committee (CCC) has published its annual Progress Report to Parliament, concluding that it has ‘markedly less’ confidence that the UK can meet its climate goals from 2030 onwards compared to its last annual report.
The CCC recognises that time is very short to achieve the required change of pace – in seven years, the rate of annual carbon emissions reduction outside the electricity supply must quadruple.
Simon McWhirter, UKGBC Deputy Chief Executive said:
“This is a deeply troubling assessment. With the UK’s planning system blocking vital progress, efficiency installations falling last year despite 30 million buildings urgently needing energy upgrades, and the UK ranking dead-last in Europe for heat pump installations, this report shows how severely off-track we are from our path to a net zero future.”
IWFM is pleased to announce that IWFM Chair Mark Whittaker, CIWFM, who will have been in position for two years in October, will serve for a third year after the Board voted to allow more flexibility in the traditional two-year tenure for the IWFM Chair.
The change follows a review of the Institute’s Governance structures as part of the recent Communities Review. Once the new rules were in place, the Board approved a proposal to extend Mark’s tenure by 12 months.
Mark Whittaker commented: “Two years ago, it was genuinely humbling and an honour to be asked to become Chair of IWFM, and I feel an equal measure of gratitude to have the trust and unequivocal support of the Board in being asked to continue in the role for a further 12 months.”
A free training course to help built environment professionals across the world better understand the importance of diversity and inclusion to combat underrepresentation in the sector has been launched by the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB).
The course, which is available via the Future Learn website, requires two hours of online study per week for three consecutive weeks and covers the need for commitment to diversity and inclusion, why the construction sector faces challenges, and how to bring about change.
Mark Harrison, Head of EDI Transformation at CIOB, said: “We are offering global access to this training resource without charge as evidence of our commitment to promoting a welcoming, diverse and inclusive built environment sector.
“Across the globe, our industry faces skills shortages and the lack of a representative workforce significantly reduces the available talent pool, so it’s an issue that must be addressed.”
And finally, BM has partnered with nutritional software company Nutritics’ sustainability consultancy arm to be the first company to pilot a new sustainability awareness educational programme.
‘Knowledge Labs’ have been launched to develop weekly educational briefs for managers to deliver to their teams as part of their usual team briefing sessions and, as a result, has seen a marked improvement in teams’ understanding of sustainability.
Since the workshops, there has been a 56% increase in awareness of sustainability and its importance to our planet among BM team members.
Nutrition manager Charlotte Newman said: “Employee buy-in to our sustainability strategy will be vital to achieving our goals by educating staff on sustainability issues, demonstrating the invaluable role they play, and empowering them to make a difference.”
You can find out more on news.fmbusinessdaily.com
