Achievements since transforming our office into a sustainable working space.
In response to the evolving post-COVID economy, Regular Cleaning initiated a comprehensive office refurbishment project with the primary aim of future-proofing the business and transforming it into a sustainable working space. This transformation aligned with the launch of the company’s sustainable strategy, ‘Better Places‘. The project sought to create a sustainable and efficient workspace, anticipating reduced operating costs and increased colleague retention.
What was the aim of the project?
As a people and planet focused business, we strive to operate sustainably in all that we do. The refurbishment project set out to achieve success in multiple areas related to this, supporting our sustainable business strategy to create better places. Four main strategic pillars make up this purpose, and the refurbishment project directly supported two of these:
- Protecting Our Planet – This pillar links to climate action. Reducing carbon emissions and saving energy are both priorities for us, our clients and service partners. A key aim of this project was to improve the energy efficiency of the building as a working head office. This would contribute to our NetZeroby30 goal to be carbon neutral by 2030.
- Putting People First – This concerns the well-being of our colleagues and communities. The refurbishment project also aimed to create a healthy and happy environment with a culture of equality and progression. The goal was to improve the well-being of our colleagues while in the office.
Project Involvements:
To deliver the newly launched sustainable business strategy ‘Better Places’, a series of targets were introduced. It was recognised that to achieve these, the business building required an overhaul, and we began working with our sustainability partner, ‘Just One’ on a list of improvement works to deliver a sustainable building for the future. The cost was budgeted at £750K with the anticipation that we would off-set this with reduced operating and talent recruitment costs through increased colleague retention levels. The project involved:
- Installation of heat recovery units
- Removal of the old gas boiler
- Applying new building insulation
- Installation of efficient lighting fixtures
- Improved waste efficiency
- Conversion to 100% electric fleet vehicles and installation of charging points
- Interior design aligned to the brand
- Layout to accommodate remote working and a bigger team of support colleagues
Key Achievements Since Project:
In our commitment to address climate change, we have successfully transformed our Head Office into a sustainable working space. The refurbishment project achieved remarkable success in multiple areas related to sustainability, including major changes to how the office operated, and how the building is heated, cooled, lit, and designed. By improving energy efficiency and carbon emissions, and converting the building into a collaborative space, we have done what we set out to do and made huge steps towards achieving our long-term goals.
Gas Elimination and Renewable Energy Adoption:
A significant milestone in our sustainability journey was the complete removal of our gas supply. This shift from gas to fully electric heating and cooling was one of the the major operational changes and encompassed the removal of the old gas boiler, installation of heat recovery units and enhanced building insulation. Our office now exclusively relies on renewable energy generated from REGO (Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin) accredited sources. This has resulted in renewable energy accounting for an impressive 29% of our total energy consumption at the site.
- The Heat Recovery system plays a significant role in making spaces more environmentally friendly by avoiding large-scale heat loss. While maintaining comfortable room temperatures, they retain up to 90% of the heat from the air they replace, making them more energy efficient than normal air conditioning systems.
- Our Energy Recovery Ventilation system provides business synergy in terms of costs, health, well-being and productivity.
- Enhanced building insulation increases temperature control and energy savings, while improving soundproofing and structural integrity. This reduces our overhead costs at a time of increases in energy prices.
Thorough Energy Assessment:
Before embarking on the refurbishment journey, we conducted a comprehensive energy review of our Service Support Centre (head office). This assessment aimed to identify potential energy efficiencies prior to the refurbishment to lay the groundwork for an impactful transformation. This included the installation of efficient lighting fixtures, waste efficiency improvements, and the conversion of fleet vehicles to 100% electric. In doing this, we have achieved significant improvements around energy efficiency, as well as a decrease in carbon emissions at our office building of 5 tonnes C02 emissions. The majority of this reduction was attributable to the refurbishment work carried out in early 2022.
Planet Mark:
These changes not only reduced comparable gas usage, but also resulted in our Planet Mark certification in 2022. Going hand in hand with our sustainable business strategy, ‘Better Places’, this allowed us to meticulously measure our carbon footprint. This data from Planet Mark has pushed us to make significant changes to meet our sustainability targets and NetZeroby30 goals.
In November 2023, we received the Planet Mark award for ‘Best Supply Chain Engagement‘, acknowledging our commitment to engaging with our supply chain and our efforts to advance sustainability standards within our industry.
Green Apple Award Recognition:
In September 2023, we won the Green Apple Award for Office Building Refurbishment. This award acknowledged our commitment to sustainability and our drive to be the most sustainable cleaning company in London. Having transformed our office into a sustainable working space, this esteemed recognition attests to the investments we are making to lead a sustainable business, and the transformative changes implemented at our Service Support Centre. These have had substantial environmental benefits, utilising renewable energy and supporting our NetZeroby30 targets.
Pioneering Sustainability and Net Zero Journey:
These awards underscore our dedication to our net zero journey and signify the positive environmental impact achieved through our sustainability initiatives. Our multifaceted approach aligns seamlessly with our overarching sustainability targets, showcasing a harmonious blend of environmental responsibility and operational excellence. These accolades are a testament to our continuous efforts to lead the way in sustainable business practices and contribute meaningfully to a better future.
Employee Well-being:
The project extended the building’s life by 10 years, positively impacting the local economy by retaining the office location. We also transformed the look and feel of the interior through the refurbishment, updating the building to create a light, calm, and functional space to offer a popular and sustainable workspace for our workforce.
Notably, colleague satisfaction, as per a post-refurbishment survey, showed an impressive 78% giving a 5* rating, indicating the success of the project.
Parts of the building were transformed to accommodate an ever-expanding team, provide mixed functional offices, and create collaborative meeting rooms. This included converting some storage and operation facilities to accommodate post-COVID work patterns and a subsequent implementation of a hybrid working policy to further improve colleague well-being.
Results:
We have transformed our Head Office into a sustainable working space that is ahead of the curve, highlighting our commitment to tackling climate change, starting at home. The project was a success in achieving what we set out to and having a positive impact in the areas we identified as our aims.
Since re-opening, we have further seen the kind of space best suited to our working requirements, and have made small further adjustments to the interior layout to create additional medium-sized meeting areas, which were not part of the initial design. The workforce re-inhabited the building in April 2022 and the refurbishment has continued to prove a success amongst colleagues more than a year on, standing as a testament to the success of the project.
