One Approves - In Fact More Than One Approves Circular Economy Plan

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19 April 2018

Business in the Community is partnering with JLL to support a wider adoption of circular economy principles. JLL recently attended a roundtable with HRH The Prince of Wales and UK Secretary of State for the Environment, the Rt Hon Michael Gove MP to discuss the pressing issue of how we collect and use waste to create maximum value for business and society.

Hosted by Business in the Community, the session brought together business leaders from across the UK, with JLL specifically advising on the role of real estate in the UK’s ongoing transition to a low carbon and circular economy.

With the real estate and construction sector responsible for 64% of all waste generated in the UK, creating a more efficient approach to eliminate waste and sustain growth has never been more pertinent. JLL is currently one of just a few real estate companies in the UK to set a specific circular economy goal.

Following the roundtable, Andrew Renshaw, UK Board Sustainability Sponsor, said: “It was inspirational to hear from the Prince of Wales and to be alongside other business leaders driving the transition to a circular economy. Off the back of Blue Planet II, you can see that momentum is really building publicly and in the private sector to ensure all materials have a value at the end of their life.”

Sophie Walker, Head of Sustainability in the UK at JLL, said: “We are working with Business in the Community to help catalyse change within the real estate industry. We are currently managing 400 million square metres of buildings on behalf of our clients, so we believe that JLL has an important role to play in helping to integrate a circular economy into the built environment community.

“This partnership underpins JLL’s sustainability strategy, Building a Better Tomorrow. A circular approach has the potential to help the real estate sector in a number of ways, including lower construction and refurbishment costs, lower waste management fees, greater resilience against volatile commodity prices, better building performance and increased innovation across the entire supply chain.”

Examples

In the last 12 months, JLL has also been raising awareness of the circular economy through property forums such as the British Property Federation and the UK Green Building Council and collaborating with clients on projects such as the one in Bristol that saw Grant Thornton reuse furniture during an office move and donate £47,000 of equipment to local charities, saving the company significant landfill costs. In another example, for the Crown Estate – who aim to remove all waste from their business by 2030 – JLL delivered the refurbishment of 200sq.m of office space in Regent Street with a full suite of remanufactured and refurbished furniture and equipment including kitchen worktops made from 100% recycled glass.

In its own workplaces, JLL is deploying Vegware cups and cutlery and also engaging with its facilities management teams and suppliers to develop an action plan for circular office pilots during 2018. A circular economy approach will also be applied to JLL’s new London hub, following relocation of its three London offices to one single space in 2022.

Picture: JLL recently met The Prince of Wales and UK Michael Gove to discuss the circular economy.

Article written by Cathryn Ellis | Published 19 April 2018

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