At the launch of the British Land Corporate Responsibility Report 2013, Head of Planning and Corporate Responsibility, Adrian Penfold, gave people the chance to quiz him on our approach to corporate responsibility and on our plans for the future.
Here are Adrian’s responses to the questions we received via Twitter@BritishLandCR (original wording kept for all questions, including abbreviations).
Of course, I was particularly interested in my question:
Adrian, What do you see as key drivers for Corp Responsibility in built environ. over next 5 yrs? By Martin Brown @fairsnape
At a corporate level, we have identified three key drivers for corporate responsibility in general over the next five years:
- Resource shortages and unpredictable climate patterns posing ever-greater risks to wellbeing and economic stability in developed and developing nations.
- Public concern about how businesses operate leading people to ask questions about the role of business in shifting to more sustainable models of consumption and supporting wider societal needs.
- Local, national and global issues stemming from low economic growth, challenges in accessing employment and skills shortages.
For the built environment, I think regulation will play an important part, particularly Minimum Energy Performance Standards and Building Regulations. But I believe the real changes are coming through in the attitudes of our customers. In our recent experience, Marks & Spencer and UBS are for example both very challenging in the environmental criteria that they require, particularly on new buildings. We welcome this, as we are well positioned to work with them in this area, and we expect to see more of this kind of requirement from other businesses.
Do read the whole article for similar comments on the built environment current challenges of wellbeing, energy, co2, green leases and green deal.
In addition to the comments this is another brilliant example illustrating the maturity of twitter in the built environment / corporate social responsibility sector, and why it should be a key tool for construction boards strategy planning.
The Technology Strategy Board (TSB) is making 
This is a great opportunity for you to innovate and improve your effectiveness and efficiency, improve attractiveness to clients and of course improve the bottom line at no cost to you. If you are interested in progressing further please call or get in touch to discuss.
Fairsnape 