RICS is one of the most respected and high profile global ‘standards and membership’ organisations for professionals in land, valuation, property, construction and environmental issues.
Awards
Publications
Events
Research
Reducing environmental footprint
Potential offsetting strategies for carbon emissions
RICS has 140,000 members globally and represents, regulates and promotes the work of property professionals throughout 146 countries.
Accountable to both members and the public, RICS has four main roles:
Awards that encourage and/or recognises sustainable behaviour in the built environment?
RICS Global Awards:
The annual RICS Global Awards showcases some of the best property and construction projects around the world. Each of the four categories - Sustainability, Building Conservation, Regeneration and Community Benefit - challenges professionals to demonstrate how they apply their skills to make a positive impact on the world we live and work in. The awards are a showcase for the diversity and creativity in the built and natural environment.
Publications that encourage and/or recognises sustainable behaviour in the built environment?
Sustainable E-news (quarterly from the Oceania region)
The primary function of this quarterly e-news is as a vehicle for information sharing, aimed at highlighting and exploring regional and global sustainability issues.
The RICS Sustainable e-news covers all the latest on Sustainable Developments, buildings & the environment and is distributed to RICS Oceana members, industry
professionals in Australia, New Zealand, and Europe.
Sustainable News (annually from the Oceania region)
This publication will be cut across the entire breadth of the surveying and property profession and will include a selection of the articles published within the enews throughout the year and updated from industry bodies such as the Green Building Council.
The magazine offers coverage throughout Australia & New Zealand and penetrates both public, government and private sectors.
Events provide (or sponsor) that promotes new learning in the built environment?
RICS hosts a number of national and local events and activities throughout year focusing on Sustainable issues. Some of the international, national and local activities since 2007 are below.
Recent research regarding sustainability in the built environment?
As the leading organisation of its kind in the world for professionals in property, land, construction and environmental assets, RICS takes its responsibilities of providing impartial advice to governments and policy-makers seriously. RICS publishes research results through five formats – RICS research papers, Common Estate Series, FiBRE Reports, Energy Fact Sheets, Journal of African Real Estate Research.
A selection are below:
Water & Energy matrix of available state and local Government funding for Residential & non-Residential rebates supporting Sustainable Development.
Can building codes deliver energy efficiency?
A report for the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors by the Building Research Establishment.
In this report, the Building Research Establishment (BRE) in the UK looks at the role of building regulations, critically reviewing the way in which building regulations in selected countries around the world can contribute to achieving energy efficiency.
Breaking the Vicious Circle of Blame: Making the Business Case for Sustainable Buildings
The buildings we live and work in have an impact not only on our lives, and our sense of well-being, but also on the world we live in. Buildings and are probably the largest contributor to global resource use and pollution emissions. Consequently, the potential contribution of buildings and of the property and construction sector to sustainable development is immense. So, why are so few sustainable buildings being designed, built or retrofitted? Why is sustainable property investment and management not yet
mainstream? These and other questions were raised during an RICS conference organised by the RICS EU Public Affairs Office in the framework of the second EU Sustainable Energy Week, Brussels.
Zero Carbon Capacity Index (due for completion)
Key Energy Trends in Australia
Key Energy Trends in New Zealand
Fact Sheets www.rics.org
A Green Profession?
In 2006, RICS commissioned Oxford Brookes University (UK), University of Melbourne (Australia), Georgia State University (USA), and King Sturge LLP to explore how RICS members were engaging with the sustainability agenda and the tools, techniques and information they were using to underpin professional advice and work.
Transforming Existing Buildings: The Green Challenge
Transforming Existing Buildings: the Green Challenge, sets out practical steps needed to encourage the refurbishment of commercial buildings to ensure they meet the best energy efficiency standards.
The report is designed to address the need for more information on how to make existing commercial buildings more energy efficient.
Surveying Sustainability: A Short Guide for the Property Professional
This guide outlines how sustainability, and in particular RICS Sustainability Policy, relates to each area of surveying practice and through the property lifecycle, how these areas of practice impact upon one another.
Can greenery make commercial buildings more green?
Can the use of vegetation in, on and around commercial buildings lead to specific environmental sustainability benefits? If we look at how using vegetation in buildings can impact on energy efficiency, the internal environment, water management, microclimate and biodiversity, it seems that savings in energy, water and CO2 emissions are negligible when compared to the economic and environmental costs of constructing and operating a commercial office building.
Financing and valuing sustainable property: we need to talk
Is a sustainable building worth more than a comparable standard one? While discussions about sustainable buildings have often been seen as the province of
engineers and scientists, there is an increasing realisation that the financing, development and valuation of buildings can be a key driver for the creation of a market for sustainable buildings. This was the issue addressed at a special RICS-sponsored event organised by Richard Lorch, Thomas Lützkendorf and David Lorenz, as part of the Rethinking Sustainable Construction 2006 conference held in Sarasota, USA.
Reducing environmental footprint (office, travel, internal communications etc.)
The RICS Oceania Office Fit-Out was awarded 4 Star Green Star in June 2008. The RICS award is remarkable as it is the smallest office fit out to win any star rating under the GBCA guidelines, at 149 sq mtrs, and is the only RICS head office to receive an accredited environmental rating.
A range of in house measures are also in place to include: waste segregation and recycling; double sided printing, energy efficient lighting and equipment.
Through purchase of 1 Renewable Energy Credit, the emissions from energy usage at the Green Ratings conference in October 2007 was neutralised.
The Carbon Reduction Institute measured the electricity usage from lighting, heating, ventilation and cooling, audio, visual as well as the catering energy used to serve food and beverages at the conference.