Grapevine

21 January 2022

Welcome to this week’s Grapevine, the place to get your bitesize FM updates in one place, in a handy five-minute read.

Got a story for us? Please send news stories & press releases to: newsdesk@twinfm.com.

Johnson Controls Wins Energy Performance Contract With Abu Dhabi’s Aldar Properties

Johnson Controls, the global leader for smart, healthy and sustainable buildings, has been awarded an energy performance contract by Aldar Properties PJSC (Aldar), a leading real estate company focused on creating sustainable communities.

The deal will see Johnson Controls deploying its comprehensive OpenBlue digital energy efficiency program across Aldar’s network of schools to help achieve at least 20 per cent savings combined on their utility expenditures.

The scope of work indicated in the contract includes the replacement and retrofit of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment, lighting, and other energy-consuming assets. In addition, the company will roll out its OpenBlue digital technologies to be integrated into the schools’ infrastructure to help rationalize their energy and water consumption.

Rolando Furlong, Vice President and general manager, Building Solutions MEA, Johnson Controls, said:“We will use our expertise as an innovation pioneer and technology leader for over 135 years to assist Aldar in its sustainability and digital transformation journey. We thank Aldar for its confidence and trust in our capabilities to help transform the operations of its schools across Abu Dhabi and achieve sustainability objectives. At the national level, this project will be contributing to the UAE Government’s vision to reach net zero emissions by 2050.”

Mitie Recognised as a UK Top Employer

The 2022 Top Employers have been announced and Mitie has been recognised as one of the UK’s Top Employers for the fourth year running.

Being certified as a Top Employer showcases Mitie’s dedication to a better world of work, through excellent HR policies and people practices. This includes its recent significant investment in its HR technology and processes.

A key highlight of Mitie’s entry was its ‘Count Me In’ learning programme aimed at promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace, which was selected by the Top Employers Institute for use in its Best Practice Report 2022. The report showcases exemplary diversity and inclusion practises.

The Top Employers Institute programme certifies organisations based on the participation and results of its HR Best Practices Survey. The survey covers six HR domains consisting of 20 topics including People Strategy, Work Environment, Talent Acquisition, Learning, Wellbeing and Diversity & Inclusion and more.

Jasmine Hudson, Group HR Director, Mitie, said: “Our people are what make our business exceptional, so we’re incredibly proud to see Mitie named as one of the UK’s Top Employers for the fourth year running. We’re committed to ensuring that Mitie is a great place to work and will continue to invest in how we hire, develop, reward and engage our people, so that we are a leading UK business.”

EcoPure Waters Becomes Approved Supplier in Accor Partnership

Eco-friendly water filtration company, EcoPure Waters, has become an Approved Supplier of filtered water solutions in a new partnership with multinational hospitality company, Accor.

As an approved supplier, EcoPure Waters can now provide Accor’s global network of over 5,100 hotels with its innovative, environmentally friendly water filtration systems.

EcoPure Water’s flexible range of systems, reusable glass bottles, and bottling and capping machines provide hotels with an ideal solution to help reduce their use of single-use plastics, lower their carbon footprint, and dramatically reduce bottled water costs, without compromising on bottled water quality or taste.

“We are thrilled to be an approved supplier for Accor”, said Paul Proctor, Managing Director of EcoPure Waters. “Our filtration systems provide the highest quality in pure, chilled, still and sparkling drinking water, beautifully presented in custom branded glass bottles, ideal for Accor’s range of prestigious hotels. I am proud of everyone at EcoPure Waters for their enthusiasm for and commitment to establishing this partnership and we are looking forward to working with Accor in the coming years”.

13 January 2022

Housekeep Founder Awarded MBE for Services to Entrepreneurship and Digital Innovation in the Cleaning Industry

Housekeep Founder and CEO, Avin Rabheru, has been recognised in the Queen’s New Year Honours list for 2022, receiving a MBE for services to entrepreneurship and digital innovation in the cleaning industry.

The award acknowledges Avin’s achievements as the Founder and CEO of Housekeep, who have become the UK’s largest home cleaning service, after Avin recognised that technology could be used to transform the lives of cleaners and fix the broken UK cleaning market.

Housekeep’s platform and apps create radically better conditions for cleaners. Their technology pairs cleaners with local domestic and commercial clients, which reduces the time they spend travelling and increases their utilisation. The technology increases cleaner earnings by up to 50 per cent, and has saved over £6 million in travel costs to date. The technology has also saved over 2,600 tonnes of CO₂ - the equivalent of planting 42,000 trees.

As well as drastically improving conditions for cleaners, Housekeep’s technology allows domestic and commercial clients to manage cleaning seamlessly. Clients can book cleaning services across multiple premises, with automated invoicing and payment. Ongoing cleans are managed via Housekeep’s custom-built app or online account, where clients can book cleans, skip and reschedule cleans, and update cleaning preferences. All cleaners are vetted, interviewed and background-checked by the Housekeep team to ensure reliable, high-quality service.

On the announcement, Avin said: “I'm delighted to be recognised in the Queen's Honours list. Credit must go to the terrific colleagues who have built Housekeep alongside me, as well to our cleaners and tradespeople, who are the lifeblood of our business.”

ESS and DIO Win Institute for Collaborative Working Award

ESS Defence, part of Compass Group UK & Ireland, and the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) have won the Institute for Collaborative Working Service Sector Award.

The award recognises teams that excel in improving service delivery through a collaborative approach. It marks the successful relationship between ESS and DIO in the delivery of three large Defence Soft FM contracts in the East, South West and Wales & West Midlands. The contracts, awarded under the MOD’s Hestia programme, cover 240 military establishments and 100+ services, ranging from catering, retail and leisure through to waste, cleaning and laundry. The objective for both organisations is to enhance the lived experience for service personnel in the sites where they live and work.

The Hestia programme brings together multiple ESS, DIO and military stakeholders. A structured approach to collaboration at the highest level has enabled ESS and DIO to develop and instil shared objectives, ways of working and behaviours that filter through the contracts.

Both organisations have achieved ISO 44001 certification for the relationship which is managed by a joint ESS and DIO partnering board. The systems and processes required by the standard facilitate a consistent approach which is key to successful collaboration.

Siemens Donates Facemasks to Charities with Brammer Buck & Hickman’s Support

Siemens, working in conjunction with Brammer Buck & Hickman, the UK’s leading supplier of industrial maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) products and services, has donated protective facemasks to two overseas charities.

The facemasks were ordered by Siemens through Brammer Buck & Hickman – Siemens’ preferred supplier – at the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, as one of a number of measures to keep their staff safe. The masks were welcomed and used by Siemens’ factory staff and those deemed critical workers – including hospital maintenance and those working within power stations. However, with government rules and advice in 2020 regularly changing to reflect the shifting nature of the pandemic, the demand for disposal facemasks was considerably reduced. Rather than retain these facemasks, Siemens has donated them to two excellent charities for use overseas: Collective Aid and Medaid UK.

Collective Aid is committed to bringing dignity and care to refugees and other displaced people across Europe. Its mission is to fill the gaps left by other aid actors. The facemasks donated by Siemens will be sent to Calais for use by Collective Aid’s team to protect the vulnerable populations it distributes to, who do not have sufficient access to basic healthcare. To donate to Collective Aid’s Emergency Winter Appeal, click here.

Medaid provides sustainable medical solutions, advice and training for those working in low to middle-income countries, to make healthcare safe and accessible to all. It specialises in optimising donated equipment to achieve the best possible results. A current project in Northern Uganda will be benefitting from the Siemens donated facemasks.