Property services firm Cushman & Wakefield, which has an office in Birmingham, is helping to pioneer the drive for greener buildings in the UK.

The firm has joined forces with the BRE (Building Research Establishment*), an industry body responsible for developing modern day sustainability standards for buildings in the UK. 

BRE's 'Environmental Assessment Method' - BREEAM - is the accepted measurement rating system for 'green' buildings, both in the UK and other parts of the world.

A second system - 'BREEAM-In-Use' - ensures that buildings are managed in an environmentally friendly manner, with the aim of reducing running costs.

As part of its link up with BRE, Cushman & Wakefield has set out to see how it can make the buildings it is responsible for managing in the UK 'greener'. 

According to Jonathan Aspinall, who is an associate partner at Cushman & Wakefield in Birmingham and who leads the office's sustainability team, the plan is to see how the buildings under management shape up in terms of sustainability, and then how they can be made 'greener'.

"We will be measuring them, and then improving them, with the goal of improving on all counts," he said. "We will be looking at the management techniques of each building, and the operational efficiencies.

"We will be working closely with BRE so that they will get the benefits of the data which we will be gathering."

He said that three areas would come under scrutiny at each building: the physical aspects of it, the management procedures being used, and how it is being occupied. 

He said that although the majority of the buildings under review would be second-hand stock, the ways in which they could be made more sustainable would vary.

"Each building is different, and its ability to change will be different - but if we find somewhere where the boiler is on 24/7, let's see if we can put a timer on it. And if we have a building where the lights are on all the time, let's put sensors on them," he said.

He added that wasting energy was one of the worst aspects of most buildings, but many other factors would be examined and measured as well, such as water policies and the health and well being of occupiers.

He said that ultimately, the partnership with BRE would lead to economic benefits for the owners of the buildings and their occupiers - such as lower service charges - and the improvements made would be beneficial to the environment. 

"For the BRE, the partnership with Cushman & Wakefield will give them more data on existing building stock, and they will be better able to advise us on areas which we need to look at," he said. 

*BRE has its origins in the Building Research Board, set at the end of the First World War to look into building materials and methods of construction. Today, the privatised BRE has a far wider brief, which includes certification, consultancy, research and innovation, testing and sustainability.