Do you think occupiers take issues surrounding sustainability such as energy management sufficiently seriously? One look at Canary Wharf at night suggests no.

Additional response: It is an interesting question as this brings to light the need for interaction between landlords and tenants as for example at Canary Wharf – the company Canary Wharf builds exceptionally high specification buildings achieving BREEAM excellent, energy reduction for several buildings commissioned by their clients/tenants that are 50% below current Part L standards and encourage its tenants through a variety of forums and initiatives – such as the ‘Big Switch Off’.  The Code will stimulate this interaction between landlord and tenant. (Ken Smith, Bureau Veritas)

I have seen the earlier answer addressing the link between the Code and BREEAM and LEED, however what is the relationship with ISO 14001, or the EFQM CSR for that matter; where impact assessments are already regularly conducted? Also in relation to LEED Neighbourhood Development scheme, do you see the EPC applicable to a community or corporate development over a geographical area such as a business park?
(Martin Brown, Fairsnape).

A1: Despite the existence of some standards in this area, there is no universally accepted standard where organisations can track environmental performance overall.  Without a consistent time series of data and performance measures, it will be difficult for companies to be able to demonstrate sustained improvement over a period of time.  Numbers really count here.  We want to move away from tick boxes as much as possible, although we recognise that answering a questionnaire is the best solution in some circumstances.  For that reason we have focussed the numerical analysis around energy waste and water and dealt with environmental management, pollution, travel etc through a health check approach for individual buildings. (Christopher Hedley, IPD)

A2: As mentioned previously there are links with LEED, BREEAM but the use of the Code is different to that for these accreditations.  With regards to ISO14001, we have already started working with clients using there ISO14001 management system to collect the data in the required way for the Code so the management system delivers the required outcomes for the Code.  The EFQM model is one that asks questions that enable an organisation to structure the way it looks at environment and CSR and integrates into its business performance and processes but there are no specific requirements or guidance in EFQM on energy, water, waste for example – which the Code does.  So the two as with ISO14001 can fit together. (Ken Smith, Bureau Veritas)

A3: In relation to LEED Neighbourhood Development, this environmental accreditation scheme is aimed at creating an environmentally sustainable place at the planning stage of a development.  Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) relate to individual assets and are focused on the energy performance of individual buildings.  Should someone be looking to utilise LEED (or BREEAM) as their environmental assessment tool when creating a development in Europe, an EPC will be required for each individual building within the development. (Charlotte Eddington, CB Richard Ellis)

Given GRI reporting standards, will you encourage your suppliers to utilise the code?
(Richard Harris, Immobilium)

If they are property related suppliers who are using the code on our buildings and also manage buildings on behalf of other companies, then I see no reason why we wouldn't suggest or support their decision to use the code. Our main priority should always be to do it ourselves before telling others what they should be doing. Supplier engagement is important and we would always support and encourage others to follow our example, providing that it is appropriate for their business. (Nita Patel, Barclays)

Now that the code has been lauched, what are the key steps over the coming year to move forward?
(Peter Ferguson, Johnson Controls)

Next steps for whom?  For IPD there are a lot of people to talk to and to get on board, alongside all the inevitable system development that has to be done when developing a major new product.  Clients will need to consider how to collect the data – and how much of it – so that they can start implementing an environmental performance framework as soon as possible.  Advisors and suppliers like JCI will have a key role with data assembly and validation as well as interpreting the results that are coming through. I do not pretend that it will not be quite a lot of hard work! (Christopher Hedley, IPD)

Do you think occupiers take issues surrounding sustainability such as energy management sufficiently seriously? One look at Canary Wharf at night suggests no.
(Anon)

I think that they are taking it more and more seriously but you have to bear in mind that each and every company is at a different stage in their journey toward environmental excellence.  Certainly, the situation has improved considerably in recent years and awareness continues to increase.  A number of large corporations are beginning to work diligently and are looking to embed best practice into the organisation (including their real estate activities such as fit outs and refurbishments).  One thing to note here is that every company has to start somewhere.  Some have only just begun to turn the lights off at night; others are incorporating green lease clauses.  The sea of change has certainly begun. (Charlotte Eddington, CB Richard Ellis)

Energy is the most important factor by far.  Why bother with anything else?
(Anon)

You could argue that.  But that would be to ignore the impact of waste, water and other factors on the environment.  At the moment, we believe that the right balance of effort is to collect hard data on energy, waste and water and to produce an overall environmental health check score for each building.  We believe that this represents the right balance of attention.  If you do want to look at just energy, you can use all the data definitions and performance framework for energy alone. (Christopher Hedley, IPD)

What are Barclays specific commitments in relation to this initiative?
(Anon)

We are committed to putting the code into practice across a number of key sites as a pilot study and provide feedback to the IPD on the template and data collection methodologies. Furthermore, upon completion of the successful pilot and feedback from key stakeholders, we will use the performance information to feed into key property-related business decisions and the introduction of good practices into our corporate real estate portfolio. (Ray Wilson, Barclays)

What additional benefits will using the code bring if you are already reporting using GHG Protocol and GRI KPIs?
(Anon, Citigroup)

Additional answer: We currently only use the GRI as indicators for KPIs we normally collect and the GHG protocol to establish international emission factors for our energy use. Internally neither of these two measures drive our monitoring and measurement of building related emissions.

I would very much see the code as much wider tool to gather a whole host of KPIs not just those relating to emissions. The GHG protocol and the GRI require environmental managers such as myself to translate them into useful tools for the business. The IPD have developed something which can be immediately be used by property managers and facilities support services and more easily integrated into business as usual practises. (Nita Patel, Barclays)

The propery market has changed in that the number of owner/occupiers has reduced, with organisation small and large opting for leased space. Provision of information to meet the code will therefore become a shared activity. How do you see this working in practice, in particular in areas outside of energy where a metering (or equivalent) option is not available?
(Peter Ferguson, Johnson Controls)

This is a question that many people have asked and to be honest, there is no easy answer.  Within the UK, we would expect the landlord to advise on how the service charge is calculated and allocated. Generally speaking, it is likely that the charges have been allocated on a sq ft basis.  Around the world, how the information is made available by the landlord will vary country by country.  We envisage that the transparency between landlord and tenant will increase over time.  In addition, as organisations look to report in more detail in relation to environmental sustainability, more pressure will be placed on the landlord (especially at the point of let) and as a result, I would expect that it will be easier for tenants to collect more detailed and accurate information over time.  Another important point is that new buildings will have sub-metering as default (for both electricity and water) and waste management facilities will allow better monitoring. (Charlotte Eddington, CB Richard Ellis)

Since the data contributors will be pan-European how will you check that the quantitative and qualitative information is assessed uniformly across countries?
(Vanessa Muscara, LaSalle Investment Management)

There will always be some difficulty assessing information across different countries. However, the Code is designed to be a universal structure and good practice framework for companies to follow when reporting. They way in which the data should then be translated into uniform outputs is also covered within the Code.  It should be recognised though that the granularity of that translation in relation to something like, for example, carbon emissions, can vary (with each country having different fuel mixes and property portfolios being placed across geographies and climates). Appendix 5 of the Code explains this issue in more detail and outlines some examples of where conversion factors can be found. (Charlotte Eddington, CB Richard Ellis)

How will this affect service charges?
(Anon)

Services provided by landlords to tenants will increasingly have to contain an environmental statement.  There is now an obligation by the landlord to provide energy data on common services to tenants for the Display Energy Certificate.  Tenants increasingly will want to ensure that the environmental impact of the common services is reduced to the greatest extent possible.  Watch this space! (Christopher Hedley, IPD)

How does the Code relate to the Display Energy Certificates (DECs) in the UK?
(Anon)

DECs are about to be specified for larger public buildings in the UK.  Nearly all the data used for the DEC can be merged directly with the Environment Code but a real advantage of the code is that it allows property occupiers to examine the whole estate and also to link in many building characteristics so that much fairer comparisons are possible with a Code-based database than with the DEC. (Christopher Hedley, IPD)

Could the code be used to create an organisation's baseline for the Carbon Reduction Committment?
(Glenn Corney, IPD Occupiers)

A good question and in developing the Code we tried to take account of as many ‘standards’, requirements and guidance such as Carbon Disclosure Project, GHG protocol, energy performance certificate process as well as the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC).  Depending on the type of business that will come into the CRC, the Code will go a long way – especially if property is a key environmental impact of your business - to helping with the baseline for CRC. (Ken Smith, Bureau Veritas)

What additional benefits will using the code bring if you are already reporting using GHG Protocol and GRI KPIs?
(Anon, Citigroup)

The Code was developed to enable an alignment with current ‘standards’ such as Carbon Disclosure Project and GHG, GRI. If you or any organisation is currently collecting information in line with GHG and GRI then this will be able to be used when reporting against the Code.  The additional advantages the Code will bring will be benchmarking of the data at a corporate/portfolio and asset level – and of course the Code goes beyond energy to water, waste and other measures. (Ken Smith, Bureau Veritas)    

Although the GRI is very important, it does not address the issues of corporate property as well as we in the sector would like.  We have therefore designed the Environment Code to fit in with the Global Reporting Initiative.  See Appendix 3 for details. (Christopher Hedley, IPD)

What are your likely fees or fee basis for the use of the code?
(Nigel Halliday, Lasalle Investment Management)

The fees will take into account the investment and the work involved.  Sorry to be so mealy-mouthed but I cannot tell you yet! (Christopher Hedley, IPD)

The code looks to be a robust tool for gathering information in the appropriate areas and in lne with your commentary last night, has an international feel to it. Two questions: Firstly, what international acceptance (beyond for example Barclays as an organisation with global presence supporting it) has been obtained that suggests buy-in; Secondly, when do you envisage benchmarking information being available, and how will this be made available (both practically and commercially)?
(Peter Ferguson, Johnson Controls)

A fair question.  We have had enormous interest from a large number of countries throughout the world.  We know people are hungry for this; we have talked to global companies and they are very enthusiastic.  The truth is that we now have the Code available and we can go out and test it out on the market.  The signs are very good.  We would aim to get some answers out this year but you should expect the volume to pick up next year. (Christopher Hedley, IPD)

What’s the connection with BREEAM, LEED etc?
(Anon)

In the development of the Code we took account of the data and information requirements associated with LEED, BREEAM as well as other recognised ‘standards’. But both LEED, BREEAM require a significant resource and cost to undertake and are also focussed mainly on new build or the ‘owner’ of the building.  The Code is a robust but simple cost effective way to collect information in a standard way across a portfolio of buildings enabling occupiers to have an assessment of the environmental performance of their buildings which overtime can be benchmarked. Finally the Code can be applied across global portfolios, which is not the case for BREEAM, LEED. (Ken Smith, Bureau Veritas)

The IPD property investment fund performance benchmarking service is very well established amongst the leading funds. Many of these are committed to sustainability and hence there must be scope for an immediate 'linked service/ benchmark 'to the Environment Code for the year 2008 Do you have any plans? We all want to see hard facts and correlations between investment performance and sustainability!
(Nigel Halliday, Lasalle Investment Management)

We plan to introduce a service during the course of this year that will establish the financial performance of more sustainable buildings and of more sustainable funds.  Of course, there will be a discussion about what “sustainable” means but we have been asked by the Investment Property Forum to develop the methodology for this with initial reporting just after Easter.  We would expect the accuracy of what some people might call an IPDforGood would improve over the course of next year. (Christopher Hedley, IPD)

Do you think there will be any problems relating to standardisation of EPC assessment i.e. two different assessors giving the same building two different ratings?
(Helen Dryfe, SWIP)

There may well be some issues; however it’s not just down to the assessor. There are three aspects that should be considered:

• The quality and accuracy of the data and the depth of the analysis will have a direct impact on the EPC rating.
• The complexity of the building and the capacity of individual software programs to model it will also influence the overall rating
• The experience of the assessor, especially when data has to be inferred, will potentially result in different ratings (Charlotte Eddington, CBRE)

Why does the Code not include the embedded impact of construction or cover design elements as well as the operating environmental impact?
(Anon)

We would love to incorporate the embedded energy, waste and water associated with construction - but it is a step too far for the industry now.  If we can work out the ongoing environmental impact for all buildings in use, that would be a very major achievement.  (Christopher Hedley, IPD)

What are the implications for building design?
(Anon)

Building design will respond to serious data being made available on the environmental performance of buildings.  This will take time to build up. (Christopher Hedley, IPD)

What are going to be the market effects?
(Anon)

You could write a PhD about the potential effects of the environmental on property rental and capital values.  Many leading observers believe that, in future, rental bids by occupiers will be marked down on buildings that do not meet certain environmental standards.  The emergence of consolidated market information through the Code is only likely to bring this day forward.  In time, also, investment yields on poorly-rated environmental buildings are likely to increase on older buildings that will show increasing obsolescence. (Christopher Hedley, IPD)

How much will it cost to use the code?
(Anon)

The code itself is free (you can download the code on our website. Consultancy advice about how the code can be used will be provided by CBRE for a charge (for example, linked to data collection). There would also be a charge associated with the benchmarking services provided by IPD.  (Christopher Hedley, IPD)

How will CBRE support international clients wishing to adopt the code?
(Anon)

Our consultancy advice on the code will be initially supported globally by the EMEA team based in London, UK. We are currently establishing ‘centre’s of excellence’ in North America and Asia Pacific. (Charlotte Eddington, CB Richard Ellis)

What support would IPD be able to give to a multi-national corporation wanting to role out the Code internally, keeping in mind than in many developing countries do not have the required knowledge or skillsets easily available?
(Karen Singleton, General Electric)

We would be delighted to help.  We would be keen to talk to you about how to do this in a manageable way depending on the level of knowledge and skill sets available. (Christopher Hedley, IPD)

Within what time frame do you plan to launch the benchmark?
(Vanessa Muscara, LaSalle Investment Management)

It all depends on how much data we can collect, how quickly and from how many clients.  I would expect that we will have made major strides forward for end-users by the end of this year and to be able to post increasingly authoritative and representative analysis throughout the course of next year.  We hope also to develop different analysis and benchmark measures for landlords and managers over the same time frame. (Christopher Hedley, IPD)