The big S..….Steel, Social value and Storage problems
Andrew Barber and Emily Bates were joined by Remit Consulting Director, Lorna Landells and Andy Martin in a special festive edition of the ReCast, in which they discussed wishes for a better property industry 2023 (as suggested by members of the Remit Consulting team and the firm’s associates).
If you want to listen to the full episode and find other episodes from ReCast, then you can do so by following this link: ReCast
The main topics discussed during the podcast were:
Steel puts the property industry firmly on the naughty list
Unsurprisingly, the wishes begin The discussion began in the world of ESG wishes, noting the property industry is firmly on the naughty list due in part to its reliance on steel, which is a major global pollutant with as 1.5 tons of CO2 being produced for every 1 ton of steel created. Until we can make green steel readily available, this problem is not set to improve.
Listen to part of the discussion here:
2023…the year of the Big S in ESG
For too long, the S in ESG has been the forgotten party in a familiar acronym. 2022 saw some good schemes, for example, social investment leases like those being piloted by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. However, huge problems in homelessness, among many others, paint a rather sad picture still for this particular ‘S’. It’s not therefore surprising this was top of the wish list for the ReCast team for 2023.
Hear the team talk about this here:
Technical difficulties
There seems to be a plethora of options on the technology menu, but is there too much choice? The team discussed the likelihood of true collaboration between companies to create a tool which can meet all requirements, meaning property companies won’t have to prioritise their requirements to fit a single solution. While the idea sounds great in the hypothetical, the human reality seems to suggest behaviours won’t change in favour of such collaboration.
It's not all bad news, though. We only have to look at the pandemic (go with me here) to see how human behaviour could change to embrace collaboration as a means of survival. Close to home, REMark is a prime example of the industry coming together to share knowledge and data to understand what is happening in the world. Additionally, the efforts made in other areas of life to bring communities together were a reassuring demonstration of the collaborative possibilities.
Data storage needs a reset
Wouldn’t it be great to have fast broadband in every home? No one can deny the benefits to isolated communities and elderly individuals, but to complete such infrastructural would require huge investment at the government level. The issues don’t stop there. The inefficiency of data storage, a necessary requirement to expand broadband provision, raises a whole host of problems, leaving you thinking that perhaps this wish may create more problems than it solves.
Hear some of the conversation here:
Is renting scary, or is it just English pride?
The rental market is a scary place to be right now, with private landlords unable to shake their greedy reputation in the hearts of many. Is this contributing to the desire to be a homeowner in this country? While ‘an Englishman’s home is his castle’ may be true, it seems the US takes a different approach with a huge institutional sector in the residential market and the provision of housing. Residential, multi-family development is the biggest investment sector in the US market, with over one hundred major city suburbs being predominantly rentals. If the UK could adopt similar approaches, perhaps housing targets would be more easily met and our nation of homeowners would shift in favour of renting.
Hear some of the discussion on this topic here:
Thank you again to Lorna Landells and Andy Martin for joining Paddy and Emily for this episode, which you can listen to in full, by visiting our ReCast page or listening on Spotify or via Apple Podcasts.
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