You only have to spend a few moments in the management suite at Merry Hill to appreciate that health and safety is taken very seriously. On display is the 1998 Five Star Award from the British Safety Council (BSC) – a certificate which it has attained for three years running. There is also the oddly named Sword of Honour Award, from the BSC; and the certificate marking it as founder number 20 of Firewatch 2000 (motto: ‘Making the West Midlands safer from fire’).
Last month these certificates were joined by a new award, also from the BSC: Merry Hill achieved a five-star rating under the BSC’s Environmental Scheme for 2000 – at the first attempt. Phil Cowling, facilities manager at Merry Hill, is rather pleased.
The effort needed to win this award should not be underestimated. The 139,350m2 centre was warm on the day of the interview, and humid. Humid days still provide a headache because it was designed to use forced-air ventilation, but now uses natural ventilation. But on most days it works well. Cowling notes that on one day last year the temperature outside was 32°C. Inside it was 25°C, which may seem warm, but visitors were wearing T-shirts and shorts were comfortable. A forced-air system may have made it too cool. The opposite applies in cold weather, when heavily wrapped shoppers do not want an overheated centre.
This approach saves a huge amount of energy. An improved system of roof vents, which are opened and closed by a new and sophisticated building management system, is being installed through a rolling refurbishment and will improve it further.
This building management system and other measures have saved Merry Hill well over 4m kW/h of electricity since 1993. Bearing in mind that the arrival of Sunday trading added 583,000 kW/h a year, that is no mean achievement.
Cowling explains: ‘We’ve been working for many years on energy saving, as well as health and safety. The powers that be said we should write down what we do because we are criticised for being this monster [that wastes energy].’
The problem was that people did not believe Cowling and his team when they explained what Merry Hill was doing to be environmentally responsible. ‘So we wrote down the environmental policy, then I asked “Does it stand up to test?”’
Forced-air ventilation has been replaced by a system of roof vents which are opened and closed – an approach which has saved the centre a great amount of energy
Merry Hill developed its own policy, using the credit based BREEAM assessment as a template. This is based on offices, and some of it did not apply. There are also sections Cowling calls ‘beyond BREEAM’ because they cover issues not mentioned in the original, such as water collection (Merry Hill’s new toilets are flushed by rainwater).
‘We created a document where we’ve set objectives to move through targets and have it audited at a technical level,’ he says. But how to assess it?
Cowling looked at ISO accreditation and concluded that not only was it expensive, but inappropriate because ISO schemes focused on manufacturing industry. He also considered private consultants, but was wary that they would adopt an approach designed to generate future work.
Enter, again, the BSC. ‘It’s charitable and independent,’ says Cowling. ‘With health and safety they came in and tested us, and told us where we sit.’ Cowling wanted the same for his environmental policy.
‘I hoped they would rip us to pieces, but because we’ve been doing it for a number of years the systems were in place,’ he says.
The result was the five-star rating. And the inspector’s approach was demanding. It was not enough to have a clearly stated policy. They would inspect the written statement, but then demand evidence of commitment, including being shown how systems worked and evidence that they were properly discussed – in the form of minutes of relevant meetings.
And although Merry Hill scored well, the auditors still identified items that needed review and make general comments, based on experience of how things can be made better still. ‘It’s nice to have a benchmark,’ says Cowling, ‘but what you get is an auditor who has seen 50 or 60 sites and is better placed to advise on what others are doing.’
Merry Hill’s green ethos has permeated to suppliers and contractors, for example its cleaners are asked how they dispose of their chemicals. The centre is also working closely with the Environment Agency
The real benefit of going for the accreditation was that it set the clock running, says Cowling. ‘We don’t want to look foolish, so this forces it onto the agenda.’
Another benefit arose when the auditor raised unexpected issues, leading Cowling to think that he had not understood. But Cowling realised that if the auditor had not understood, perhaps others would not. ‘So we needed to simplify the policy,’ says Cowling.
A crucial feature of the BSC approach to audit it that it sets moving targets. If, on any one measure, Merry Hill got 90 per cent this year, and gets the same next year, it may not keep the five-star rating. It must show continuous improvement.
All of this saves money. ‘The building management system has more or less paid for itself,’ says Cowling. And energy efficient lighting does not just cut usage, but reduces maintenance costs. A strong environmental policy even encourages the use of better building materials during refurbishment, because of the need for sustainability. It may even improve investment values, thinks Cowling.
But perhaps most importantly, it helped cement an environmental ethos at Merry Hill. Suppliers and contractors are now expected to show that they have an environmental policy. ‘If they don’t have one we will explain and encourage,’ says Cowling. For example, cleaners may be asked how they dispose of their chemicals. In conjunction with local business organisation and the Environment Agency, Merry Hill has developed a simple ‘self-assessment’ form for contractors to use, inspired by the one used by Maidstone council.
There is no compulsion, but Merry Hill is serious about its environmental policy. Cowling is impressed and encouraged at the positive way suppliers have responded.
Whether it will overcome sceptics remains to be seen, but the audit and award from the BSC should help. Either way Merry Hill wants to spread the word.
Source
The Facilities Business
