Simon Richards’ Post

Buro Happold's long-standing partnership with Battery Park City Authority (BPCA) has led to groundbreaking advancements in our mission to create sustainable and resilient urban environments. Today, BPCA released the Battery Park City Sustainability Plan Progress Report, guided by the expertise of Buro Happold's advisory team. The report documents key findings from a comprehensive review of progress made towards the goals outlined in the BPC Sustainability Plan. Buro Happold's Associate Principal Mikayla Hoskins, PE, Cities Consultant Sydney Holgado, and Graduate Cities Consultant Yara Eliyan have been instrumental in transforming BPCA's vision for a more sustainable future into reality. A key resource for furthering resiliency efforts, the progress report sets the foundation for a deeper, more holistic approach to climate action in New York City. "For me it’s not just about achieving another net zero plan, but striving for a community driven, exemplar sustainable neighborhood. Working with BPCA to be part of something that is bigger than the sum of the parts is both rewarding and exciting," says Robert Okpala, Partner, and Principal-in-Charge. Learn more about Buro Happold's collaboration with the Battery Park City Authority! https://buro.im/3XYyjvF #BuroHappold #ClimateWeekNYC #Advisory #BatteryParkCity #Sustainability #Resiliency #ClimateAction

Some updates on the CSDP, Chicago just refreshed its Sustainable Development Policy and GBI's Green Globes is now worth even more points: Three Green Globes Certification = 80 pts Four Green Globes Certification = 90 pts Green Globes Journey to Net Zero Carbon or Energy Certification = 95 pts #chicago #sustainability #TheGBI #greenglobes

🌍 Sustainability holds huge importance for us at Kier, but did you know that extends further than just environmental sustainability? At Kier, we have teams dedicated to delivering our social sustainability targets. The projects we work on have a direct impact on the local communities we work in, and the role of our corporate social responsibility (CSR) teams is to manage these impacts and find opportunities to give back🏘. Morgan Ford, CSR Graduate, recently featured in a Considerate Constructors Scheme article, discussing the importance of her role to the construction industry. Morgan said, “For me, the essence of CSR comes down to the need to leave a community better off than when we entered it. I think our work is so valuable because it really requires us to engage with the local community, assess, listen to their needs and react adaptively.” Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/ecWhr-xc To read more about our sustainability framework, Building for a Sustainable World, visit: https://lnkd.in/giDhM48 #JoinKier #ConstructionRevolution #SocialValue #Construction #ConstructionCareers

Great to be part of a session this morning talking about #carbon and how to deliver #decarbonisation.

We all know that we need to decarbonise London's built environment but how on earth do we do it? Enjoyed chairing the discussion this morning hosted by Kier Construction. There'll be a fuller report to come but just some of the themes we touched on: Collaboration - yes it's a construction buzzword but we really do need to work together to identify the materials and techniques that will help us to lower embodied carbon and develop the more systematic design and building processes that will allow us to dismantle buildings and re-use parts of them at the end of their life. Education - we need consensus on what good looks like on carbon and the compromises and choices that have to be navigated along the way - from investors, clients and planners, to agents and tenants, supply chain and even insurers. Behaviour change - we should challenge our assumptions and pose different questions. Do we really need mechanical cooling or can we optimise passive design? Can we lease components so that buildings can be more easily adapted to changing market need? Thanks everyone for a fruitful debate.

In the news | Leading from the front: sustainability & the retrofit agenda     Industry experts, including RLB’s National Head of Sustainability Heather Evans, came together at Building Magazine’s Building the Future Think Tank roundtable to brainstorm ways to push forward retrofit in the North East.     “If we sit back and wait, it will take too long or not happen at all - we need consistency of funding for future skills and delivery. We need to know it’s a long term funded retrofit programme.” Heather Evans, RLB National Head of Sustainability.     Read the article here: https://lnkd.in/eeGrfqmt    #Sustainability #Retrofit #RLB #CreatingABetterTomorrow  

Thank you Kier Construction for a very enjoyable and insightful morning. Some key points for me were: 🔎 Clarity on LCA inclusions and assumptions are essential. Read more 👉 https://shorturl.at/eyAE7 🏗 Collaboration and the sharing of data around best practice is 🔑 https://lnkd.in/e9pbTM5A ⭕ Circular economy is a major factor to consider and we need to avoid Carbon Tunnel Vision

The Clackamas County Courthouse project is more than a building—it’s a step forward in sustainable public infrastructure. By optimizing materials and reducing embodied carbon by 23%, PCL and DCI Engineers saved 1,360 metric tons of CO2e—equivalent to taking 325 cars off the road for a year. This LEED Gold-targeted courthouse is designed for the future, balancing functionality, efficiency, and environmental responsibility.

A decade ago, sustainability was largely absent from property strategic planning, and now it’s a key driver in almost all business decision making. We check in with property sustainability leaders ahead of World Green Building Week. Click below to read the full Total Property article. #TotalProperty #BayleysCommercial #BayleysInsights 

A few months ago we spoke about what Merry Hill has achieved within its ESG strategy, looking at the industry-leading approach to EV charging, clean energy generation, water use reduction, and recycling. Another objective of that strategy has been to explore green building certifications, and that has now been achieved, with the award of a BREEAM Official In-Use ‘Very Good’ accreditation for both Asset Performance and Management Performance.   This puts Merry Hill in a small minority of retail-led destinations to have the BREEAM accreditation, secured through groundbreaking work by the centre team, in conjunction with Savills Sustainability Consultancy and Sovereign Centros from CBRE.    This is as much about the present as it is the future, looking at current implementation as well as identification of future initiatives to ensure sustained progress. All part of our commitment to make Merry Hill as relevant and successful today as it will be tomorrow.   #MerryHill #Top10UKDestination #ESG #BREEAM #IndustryLeading