Environmental management systems

WWF has its own Environmental Management System (EMS) in place to reduce its footprint, minimise resource use and evaluate opportunities for continuous improvement.

We collect data and produce an annual corporate environmental report so stakeholders can monitor our environmental performance. Our EMS system covers issues such as transport, energy use, responsible waste disposal and recycling, and eco-purchasing, including furniture, print and cleaning fluids used.

It was fundamental that these considerations played a major part in the development of WWF Scotland's new premises from the outset. This led us to recruiting the building sustainability consultancy Thirdwave to provide advice early on in the process.

Good management of the design and refurbishment process - from beginning to end - is essential, if good intentions are to be realised. Objectives need to be clearly set and reinforced in contracts, progress needs to be checked and the building needs to be thoroughly tested over an extended period after the work is complete.

Environmental management systems (EMS)

An EMS is helpful in procuring a building, as it means that the organisation will:

• already have identified its vision, principles of action, its environmental impacts and published its own environmental policy;
• set objectives and targets for improvement;
• have a mechanism for delivering those improvements; and
• have a reporting structure in place to report progress and monitor its environmental performance.

It is worth looking for a building contractor that has a certified EMS and experience in working for clients with high standards regarding sustainability, as it will understand the language being used and know how to translate this into action.

Commissioning and post-occupancy evaluation

It is crucial to have procedures in place for handing the building over from the contractor to the occupier, and for the systematic identification and correction of faults. This should, ideally, take place over a whole year so that energy systems can be fully tested in all seasons and data gathered and analysed accordingly. A post-occupancy evaluation, covering the views of staff, can also help to uncover any problems.

The handover should include contractors' provision of instructions and documentation relating to the operating of the building and its systems. It is all too easy to nullify the benefits associated with technological solutions by not explaining them properly to the owner and user.

A further benefit of a good commissioning and evaluation process is that in sharing experience, the construction industry and its professions can learn more about how to produce more sustainable buildings.

Project tools for measuring and reporting

Many tools exist to measure the environmental performance or sustainability of developments, offering increasing transparency and value to design teams.

Any organisation wishing to monitor its own environmental performance should consider making a commitment to produce an externally published or, ideally, externally verified environmental report.