by Brianna Crandall — March 20, 2013—CoreNet Global, the association for corporate real estate (CRE) and workplace professionals, recently released a new public policy advocacy statement advocating net-zero buildings as worthy top measures of long-term energy management success, as well as a statement encouraging companies to carefully address and articulate their workplace strategy in regards to teleworking in light of debate fueled by the recent decisions of Yahoo! and Best Buy to restrict working from home.
Concerning the first topic, CoreNet Global, whose members often develop and operate their companies’ energy management platforms, advises multinational corporations to strive for net-zero buildings as optimal outcomes of their long-term energy management and energy conservation strategies. In its new public policy advocacy statement, the organization says, “We support the principle that smart and responsible energy policies and practices reduce corporate carbon footprints and greenhouse gas emissions, (and) we encourage our members’ companies to drive energy efficiency to optimal levels with net-zero buildings as a top measure of long-term success.”
Net-zero buildings are commercial facilities that produce at least as much energy as they consume, explains CoreNet Global. The same statement calls on federal governments around the world to incentivize building owners, investors and occupiers who proactively reduce their carbon footprints through the use of green energy development and retrofits. The statement emphasizes “tangible benefits for companies and management teams which prioritize energy efficiency and take steps to reduce the carbon footprint. They will realize meaningful return on investment financially, socially and environmentally—as is consistent with the principles of the Triple Bottom Line accounting model.”
As to the second topic, CoreNet Global, whose 7,800+ members directly influence the design and operation of corporate workplaces worldwide, advises companies to carefully address and articulate their workplace strategy on teleworking and workplace design. One way the organization says to do this is to measure “quality of life per square foot,” and to give knowledge workers a stronger voice in influencing major changes, including the way workspaces are designed.
“Workplace strategy is a vitally important aspect of corporate organizations, because it directly influences outcomes with branding, human resources management, real estate, sustainability, site selection, and risk management,” says Richard Kadzis, Vice President at CoreNet Global. “It is not a one-size-fits-all proposition.” Out of necessity, how a company manages these options will be unique to that entity, according to Kadzis. He adds that workplace strategy “dictates a company’s success in many other areas. It enables employee engagement, creative interchanges, innovation and, ultimately, competitive advantage and shareholder value.”
CoreNet Global advocates that its members work more closely with their counterparts in HR to develop a more quantitative, empirical way to measure productivity around the concept of “Quality of Life per Square Foot,” an approach to real estate that was developed and espoused by Sodexo, a CoreNet Global Strategic Partner.
