FMJ Facilities Management magazine providing industry-specific intelligence to FM and property professionals
The City of London Corporation has awarded Vital Energi with a contract which will guarantee energy savings of over £480,000 a year and carbon savings of over 1,000 tonnes a year, helping the governing body of the Square Mile to take major strides towards the ambitious target of net zero carbon emissions by 2027 for its corporate estate.
The project will be delivered through the Greater London Authority’s Retrofit Accelerator framework designed to help make London’s non-domestic public buildings and assets more energy efficient, and the works will to be funded via the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS).
Vital Energi will deliver multi-technology solutions through Energy Conservation Measures, which will improve energy performance within five of the City’s most iconic buildings, including the Barbican Centre, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and the City Corporation’s Guildhall headquarters.
Energy Conservation Measures will include pipe distribution repairs, ventilation distribution repairs, pipe insulation, Air Handling Unit EC fan retrofit, LED lighting, and metering, to reduce energy use, unnecessary heat loss and help improve comfort conditions for building users.
As well as upgrading and optimising Building Management Systems (BMS), Vital Energi will also install Vital View, which is a BMS performance monitoring system. This will help deliver continuous improvement and drive energy efficiency, carbon reduction and help enhance future projects through gaining a detailed understanding of building operations and usage characteristics.
Rob Callaghan, Managing Director of Vital Energi for the London and Southern Division, said: “Vital Energi employ a talented team of designers, engineers and financial model specialists to deliver clients real carbon savings through commercially viable solutions in terms of payback against capital spend. We don’t just do the work and hand back the building, each year we will monitor and verify the savings.
“We are delighted that the City of London Corporation has appointed us as its contractor of choice to carry out these essential works which will help decarbonise its corporate estate and build a robust zero carbon roadmap.”
City of London Corporation Finance Committee Chairman, Jamie Ingham Clark, added: “This partnership with Vital Energi will enable us to take practical, positive, sustainable steps to make our buildings more energy efficient, delivering the twin benefits of reducing carbon emissions and saving money.
“The project will play a significant role in enabling us to achieve the ambitious targets set out in our Climate Action Strategy, which commits us to achieving net zero carbon status in our buildings by 2027 and across our investments and supply chain by 2040.”
As workplaces open up and restrictions lift the role of the FM has become more important than ever.
The challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic are now providing a valuable opportunity for FMs to demonstrate their skills and adaptability. Whilst on a practical level FMs are responsible for making buildings safe and comfortable, they are also crucial in attracting people back to the office.
In speaking with industry leaders, it is clear that there are six key areas of focus. Zip has published a white paper which looks at each one, suggesting ways that facilities managers can tackle the complexities and pace of a return to the workplace, whilst demonstrating clear and effective leadership along the way.
To find out more download the white paper here.
