Celebrating 15 Years in Sustainability
Proud of How Far We've Come
Sustainability is nothing new. We’ve been in the industry now for 15 years and… we’ve seen some things. It’s important to look back and see how far we’ve come in tackling climate issues. Whether it was advocating for better regulation, supporting clients to take their next environmental step or wrestling people’s perceptions of what sustainability actually means, we were there. Having a retrospective look can help us understand more about how far we’ve come, and give us a hopeful look at where we might be in the future.
I Was There When...
As we celebrate 15 years in the industry, we asked our long-standing employees to reflect on key moments that changed the sustainability market for the better.
Joanna Peacock
Associate
Robert Franklin
Lead Sustainability and
Carbon Footprinting Consultant
Matthew Ramsey
Lead Sustainability and
Environmental Assessment Consultant
Joanna Peacock
Associate
I have been working as a sustainability consultant in the design and construction sector for over 15 years and it has been refreshing to witness a positive change during this time, particularly in relation to the client appetite and areas of focus. I was lucky enough to be working for an Architecture Studio in Canada at the time of the WELL Building Standard’s inception and my boss at the time, was on the review panel for the Standard. I remember when I first opened the rating system and marvelled at its robustness but also wondered how easy it would be to implement due to its cost and testing element. There was however a lot of excitement and anticipation for the future of the Standard and what it could bring to the design and operation of buildings. Before 2014, health and wellbeing design measures were addressed in other rating systems, such as BREEAM and LEED, however very little weight was placed on these and they often fell by the wayside. It has been good to see that this gap in the design and construction process has been addressed by the WELL Building Standard and also Fitwel later on.
I have now supported many clients on introducing and maximising the design intentions of WELL and Fitwel. WELL has been rapidly growing and especially after Covid-19 it has shifted from a nice to have, to a fundamental performance metric for post-occupancy evaluation. I have seen firsthand how the benefits of introducing the WELL and Fitwel methodology that include lighting, air quality, noise, materiality, thermal comfort and operational policy have a huge impact on how people feel in their environment. It is a particularly rewarding to see the vast impacts on staff productivity and absenteeism in office workspaces.
Beyond these clear benefits, investors are also starting to take notice. In the last few years, research has supported the ROI of such rating systems, meaning that there also financial gains to be had by introducing WELL principles. For example, one case study from February 2023, demonstrated a 300% ROI for workplace wellness programmes. Other benefits have been highlighted an 8% uptick in employee performance or 28% improvement in overall satisfaction in the workplace. This is the first time in my experience that I have seen such a positive investment in this space. I am looking forward to seeing how this will support the exponential growth in healthy buildings and benefit those who reap the rewards the most – the occupants.
Robert Franklin
Lead Sustainability and
Carbon Footprinting Consultant
My background is primarily in supporting organisations with their carbon footprint. I have seen this space develop tremendously over recent years, and the big thing I have noticed is the number of organisations being asked to report on and disclose their environmental impact. This has come from a variety of external pressures including government, investors, and consumers. It’s caused a seismic shift, as we can no longer rely on voluntary reporting of emissions and aim to move forward with realistic decarbonisation accomplishments.
The diverse nature of industries that are now starting to engage in the concepts of carbon footprinting and environmental reporting is also promising. Companies of all sizes and sectors now want to understand their carbon footprint and set robust and achievable carbon reduction targets. The issue I’ve seen however is there is still a lot of ambiguity in the market. The need for some form of third-party assurance and verification is clear (and indeed preferred by corporate reporting initiatives such as CDP, SBTi). I enjoy supporting organisations through this challenge and developing their carbon footprint assessments. This includes helping them understand their emissions hotspots and providing a certified strategy for them to reduce their environmental impact so that they can be confident in their approach. It will be exciting to see how the next few years unfold as more and more companies begin to participate and reach their near-term goals.
Matthew Ramsey
Lead Sustainability and
Environmental Assessment Consultant
Appetite for BREEAM has increased massively since I started in 2017, driven by planning and policy requirements encouraging developers to adopt more sustainable practices. It is also encouraging to see the amount of developers who have adopted BREEAM as part of their sustainability or ESG strategy. I believe developers are seeing the benefits as BREEAM is embedded in design, and translates into buildings with improved energy efficiency, reduced embodied carbon and also healthier buildings for those who occupy them. Not only are we seeing an increase in adoption, but also ambition. There has been a noticeable uptake in developments targeting Outstanding, demonstrating developers desire to implement sustainability features within their buildings, but also understanding the value in the BREEAM and sustainability assessments.
This also seems to be the case for BREEAM In Use as asset managers seek to benchmark the sustainability performance of their developments in operation and use it as a tool to drive continuous improvement. This has become a powerful tool in supporting GRESB submissions, so it is no surprise that is being adopted to further demonstrate the sustainability performance of these assets. Looking forward, I am excited for the upcoming update to the BREEAM methodology as Version 7 is released in 2024 as it will drive Net Zero in the built environment with an improved focus on operational energy and also performance requirements set for embodied carbon.
Yiota Paraskeva
Head of Technical Services
Becky Armstrong
Associate
Rishika Shroff
Building Performance
Manager
Yiota Paraskeva
Head of Technical Services
It used to be that someone from an architectural firm wanted sustainability work for planning and the minimum requirements would get pulled together in the final hour. Back when there were no significant drivers to include anything ‘sustainable’ in a building, it was difficult to convince people to understand more about the potential. But policy and planning requirements have changed a lot since then. Now sustainability is a key part of the planning application thanks to regulation such as Part L, Part F and more recently Part O.
2013 was a particularly important turning point. Thermal bridging was considered such a difficult and unnecessary thing to implement, and so making it mandatory in 2013 meant it was met with a lot of resistance. Now, we treat this as routine and an essential part of the process without any hesitation. It makes me wonder, how many sustainability policies that are currently considered painful, but will soon be treated as everyday procedure. I especially see this shift happening with decarbonisation and the likes of the GLA introducing new and fundamental changes to how we construct and maintain our buildings.
Becky Armstrong
Associate
Over the years I have worked on each BREEAM version and have been at Eight Versa for at least 8 key scheme updates, with the latest more ambitious than the last. Eight Versa first started working on BREEAM assessments where we were posting paper reports and construction drawings back and forth to clients. It was then considered revolutionary to burn BREEAM assessment reports onto CD or share them via USB. I think we all can be thankful for the advancements in technology to help manage this process.
There have been many versions, but it’s interesting to reflect on what we thought was ambitious at the time, now is business-as-usual. One key version that changed things significantly was in 2014 as it brought in essential refurb and fit out sustainability requirements that offered a new flexibility to the scheme. In addition, the introduction of LCA considerations, and themes around climate change adaptation, resilience and futureproofing enabled us to work with clients on what are now essential issues of consideration for most projects. Clients were always hesitant with any new version, but this particularly felt complicated at the time. Now we are on V6 (updated in 2022), and we don’t bat an eyelid at previous requirements. I think this is a great testament to how we can look forward and be ambitious with what we can achieve with future BREEAM versions.
Rishika Shroff
Building Performance
Manager
When I first chose to study sustainability in 2011, I remember there only being 3 courses available in the UK. Now I believe almost every degree has some kind of sustainability element to it. And you can see that with the people you work with nowadays, everyone comes from very different backgrounds but all with the same mission. In the last 6 years especially, the level of knowledge around sustainability in buildings has increased significantly. When talking with clients we use to always have to explain what a U-Value is, but now everyone is much more knowledgeable and aware of what they are getting into.
I’ve also seen a lot of good initiatives change the game for sustainability. I remember when the SDGs, IPCC report and the Paris Agreement first got introduced and how it turned the whole thing upside down. You all of a sudden, had mainstream media’s attention and it’s been consistent ever since. I think although much of this has supported progress, we still have lots of improvements to make. The Architects Declare for example was an encouraging sign at the time, as it received over 1000 signatures from a variety of key architectural firms. Unfortunately, after the initial excitement around the pledge in 2019, not a lot has since been addressed. However, things are moving all the time and I look forward to seeing the positive shifts we are seeing towards more sustainable buildings.
Client Stories
Find out who we have been working with over the years and how far they’ve come in driving positive environmental impacts
Case Study – House of Hackney
Discover how House of Hackney, a B Corp-certified interior design brand, partnered with Eight Versa to re-baseline their carbon footprint and drive regenerative sustainability through supply chain engagement and strategic carbon reduction efforts.
Carbon Footprint: Hitachi Solutions Europe
Find out how Hitachi Solutions Europe implemented a comprehensive review of their footprint and set their sights on long-term decarbonisation goals.
BREEAM 100% Assessment: Nova, Oxford
Eight Versa recently acted as the BREEAM consultant on the UK’s first ever 100% BREEAM Certification.
Carbon Footprint: Kooth
We helped Kooth measure their baseline footprint and crafted a carbon reduction strategy, pinpointing key emission hotspots.
Carbon Footprint: Croxsons
Croxsons partnered with Eight Versa to establish their carbon footprint and find out how they can drive more sustainable practices.
Carbon Footprint: Axter
We collaborated with Axter to calculate their carbon emissions, achieve Natural Carbon Solutions certification and set realistic reduction targets.