King Sturge

WEST PROPERTY EXPERTS SHOW THE WAY TO ENERGY SAVINGS

King Sturge “practice what they preach” – slashing their own energy use, and their clients‘ energy bills

Staff are applying energy-cuts in their own homes

While the Government is struggling to deliver help for domestic energy users, the South West‘s largest firm of international property consultants has slashed its own energy bills and “carbon footprint” – and those of its clients in the region.

King Sturge‘s Bristol office has applied its advice for clients to its own office building, in Berkeley Square – resulting in a massive 33% reduction in energy use and carbon footprint.

According to Tim Harris, project leader for king Sturge‘s Corporate Social Responsibility in Bristol: “We have reduced the carbon footprint for every one of our 200 staff from 17 kg per person per month last year to just 5.5 kg this year.

“We have reduced electricity use by almost a half (45.21%) over the past year, and have equally strong targets for reducing our gas consumption”, said Mr Harris.

King Sturge has achieved its energy and carbon-footprint reductions by simply adopting the advice the firm is giving to the hundreds of clients for whom it manages shopping centres, office blocks, and industrial estates.

Gaza Cross, a senior member of King Sturge‘s property management team in Bristol, said: “We have applied common sense and careful research to every building we manage. That is delivering a massive reduction in energy bills, and the carbon footprint of our clients.

“Something as simple as introducing timers for lighting in toilets and turning off lights after the working day make a massive difference”, said Ms Cross.

“Even bigger savings are being achieved by introducing more advanced controls to heating, cooling, and lighting systems, and ensuring that maintenance procedures keep everything working at peak efficiency”, she added.

One of the biggest energy-cost savings being delivered to King Sturge managed properties results from bulk negotiation of utility contracts.

“Timing is crucial”, said Ms Cross. “We avoided a 42% price rise by securing a three-year energy contract for one of our clients, with 350 property sites”, she added.

Over the past two years, King Sturge‘s management team has saved some £8million in energy costs for more than 2000 buildings nationally, combining energy reduction measures and contract re-negotiations.

“This has reduced our clients‘ costs and their carbon foot-print”, said Ms Cross.

Meanwhile, King Sturge‘s own energy and carbon-footprint reductions have also included simple measures to ensure that printers and computers are turned off over-night.

“Most of our staff are now becoming good at turning unnecessary power devices off. But we have also arranged for our office cleaners to turn off any machine that is not in use – and that has saved a lot of energy”, said Tim Harris.

“While we have detailed monitoring to show the massive impact of these measures on our office energy use, we also know that our staff are learning to take those energy-saving messages home. That means that 200 people in the West are now reducing their domestic use of energy”, he added.

END 23rd October 2008

For further information please contact Neil Fraser, Sturgess Van Damme, on 01275 349011 or email neil@sturgessvandamme.co.uk