FRAMEWORK provider Pagabo is celebrating hitting its latest social value milestone, marking £3bn in social value being enabled by works procured through its frameworks since 2017. This marks another milestone in a hugely successful year for the firm, which saw the launch of its new Major Works and Professional Services frameworks go live in April, the appointment of several members of staff and the announcement of a transformational research collaboration with The University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre to name but a few.  The figures have been enabled through Pagabo’s full suite of frameworks. As well as figures relating to the financial benefit to local economies, the measurement includes the creation of more than 2,750 jobs and the safeguarding of more than 11,000 jobs, as well as 900 work placements and more than 700 apprentice roles.  Simon Toplass, chief executive officer at Pagabo, said: “Driving positive social impact for individuals, communities and businesses up and down the country is one of our core business values at Pagabo, so hitting this landmark £3bn enabled figure is a really proud moment for us. “Social value is firmly at the heart of everything we do, and we make a conscious effort to be as directly involved as possible in order to help our clients generate the best social return possible from their projects. And there is of course no doubt that social value is set to play a bigger part than ever in the future following COVID-19 – especially when it comes to job safeguarding, job creation and the development of employment opportunities in the immediate future.” Pagabo generates its figures using Social Profit Calculator (SPC) – the market-leading online tool accredited by Social Value UK and Social Value International. SPC uses robust government data and methodologies to help organisations understand, evidence and measure the social impact of their work.  Simon said: “Most organisations will already be delivering some form of social value through their employment of staff, skills development programmes and through working with local supply chains. The important next step is knowing how to measure these things and how they equate to true benefit for local communities. This is something that SPC is perfectly placed to do, accurately calculating the financial value of social, economic and environment impact of work. “It’s highly likely that we are going to see a significant push over the coming years regarding industry standards of data collection for social value – especially when it comes to regional differences. Tools like SPC will continue to grow in importance – as will the need for cross-industry collaboration to build a picture of what good social value looks like around the country for clients.” Pagabo is set to announce the successful applicants for its brand-new developer-led framework – worth £47bn – in December. For more information on how Pagabo enables social value, please visit https://www.pagabo.co.uk/social-value/

FOLLOWING a highly successful period of growth, national framework provider Pagabo has announced a number of additions to its team, including the appointment of Charley Wainwright as its ‘The Future of Construction Lead’. The role has been created to lead on the organisation’s The Future of Construction initiative, which aims to shape the future of the construction sector through industry-wide collaboration. It will see former geo-environmental engineer Charley – who has spent ten years working for Ramboll, WSP and JNP Group – focusing on new ways of working, and how to implement them for the betterment of the whole sector.  Charley is an expert in implementing environmental solutions that benefit a range of stakeholders, as well as driving wellbeing change within the workplace, which are just two of the areas that The Future of Construction initiative aims to drive positive change in.  He said: “I’m thrilled to have joined Pagabo at a really exciting time for the business. It has been great to see that the rest of the team share my passion for finding better ways of doing things within construction – both from an environmental and wellbeing perspective. “Everything the team has been working on – particularly since the launch of the Future of Construction initiative earlier this year – is completely aligned with my passions and experiences. For example, the work being done with Moodbeam in regard to tackling the stigma and issues around mental wellbeing within construction is an area that I am very excited to be working closely on moving forwards. “Another area we’ll be examining is how we can adapt and bring industry qualifications to make them future-ready. We know that a great deal of technology is changing how things are done within construction, and as such the necessary skills required across the board are also changing.  “I am determined to spearhead collaborative working among industry leaders in the hope of creating a better, more cooperative future for our industry. I think the industry is heading to some great places, but the only way we will truly drive permanent positive change is through industry-wide effort, and I’m really looking forward to getting stuck in and making a real difference.”  Also joining the Pagabo ranks is Sam Schofield, who joins in a new position as procurement administrator and will be responsible for the day-to-day support of all Pagabo’s frameworks and the daily operations of the business. Originally from an accounting background, Sam holds an Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) level 3 qualification, as well as previous experience working in B2B sales within the e-commerce industry.  Sam said: “I’m really pleased to have joined Pagabo as I applied for the procurement administrator vacancy as soon as it became available. It’s testament to the great work the business is doing that it’s enjoying a successful period of growth, even with everything that’s happening with COVID. I’m really looking forward to challenging myself in a new area and working with and getting to know their clients.” Simon Toplass, chief executive officer at Pagabo, said: “With the rapid changes going on in the world in terms of technology-driven practices and changing attitudes to work-life balance, it’s really important that our industry keeps up. The workforce of tomorrow needs to see construction not just as a job, but an enticing career option, which is why we embarked on The Future of Construction initiative and created Charley’s new role.  “Creating a better future for the construction industry is at the heart of everything that we do and with his vast experience, we’re confident that Charley and Sam will help us make the necessary connections across the sector to lead the way on the changes needed to make the future of construction happen now.” Charley and Sam are joined by two new members of Pagabo’s marketing team. Rachel Jessop has joined as the company’s marketing assistant, and Charlotte Andrews, a University of Hull student, will be undertaking her placement year, continuing the organisation’s close relationship with the university.  For more information, please visit https://www.pagabo.co.uk/

IN ORDER to stand any chance of meeting the UK government’s targets, 100 per cent of all new buildings must be designed to be zero-carbon within the next five years, and 100 per cent of all new buildings constructed must be zero-carbon within the next decade. Procuring new developments through effective framework agreements is one way of moving more swiftly to a zero-carbon circular economy, so says Jason Stapley, managing director at Pagabo. Over the next 40 years, the world is expected to build 230 billion square metres of new construction, adding the equivalent of Paris to the planet every single week. This means that we must act now to meet the challenge of building net zero developments not just to meet government targets in the UK, but also to create a better future for every person on the planet. The first challenge is the understanding of what the move to carbon neutrality means from a construction point of view. The London Energy Transformation Initiative’s (LETI) Climate Emergency Design Guide revealed that 49 per cent of annual carbon emissions in the UK are attributable to buildings, that all new buildings must operate at net zero-carbon by 2030, and all buildings must do the same by 2050. However, when discussing carbon neutrality in construction more education is still needed. Achieving net zero is not simply about the construction phase, it is about whole life carbon effect. The carbon footprint of any building is made up of a combination of embodied and operational carbon – i.e. producing a building’s materials, their transport and installation on site, as well as their disposal at the end of life, and how the building is run operationally following occupation, including maintenance, repair and replacement. Whole life cost is the second big challenge. It’s imperative that that people understand that building something now doesn’t mean building something for themselves. While they may use the building in the short term, they are really constructing something that will be there for several decades at least – so they are building for future generations. So, it’s not about a race to the bottom and building the cheapest now. We must examine how we don’t just ‘hit’ targets but exceed them for the future benefit. Simply put, if we invest our money into better quality materials, processes and techniques now, there will be greater benefit down the line. We must remember that end of life can provide a significant input into the level of embodied carbon of a building as well, whether it be a mechanical refit, refurbishment or demolition. Timber construction is an area we are seeing develop quite rapidly – for example planning was granted late in 2019 for the world’s first wooden football stadium for Forest Green Rovers. Using timber for developments where possible can reduce carbon emissions related to practical completion but would also result in a drop of operational emissions as well. The lifespan of any building is several decades before any major maintenance work will need to be done, and – not surprisingly – evidence shows that carbon emissions jump during the lifespan of any building when major regeneration works needs to be done. If we design and build to the best achievable levels right now, we could eliminate the need for major replacement and maintenance before a building’s end of life. Many organisations are calling for the coronavirus recovery to be a green one, providing a springboard for longer term change. The Committee for Climate Change published its 2020 progress report to Parliament in June on the efforts to reduce carbon emissions in the last year, highlighting key investment priorities for the coming months including the strengthening of the energy network, improved infrastructure for walking, cycling and remote working, low carbon retrofits and a rapid move towards a circular economy. As well as this, the Committee also identified opportunities to support the transition and recovery by investing in the UK’s workforce and in lower carbon behaviours and innovation through reskilling and retraining programmes, and targeted science and innovation funding. With less than five years to be designing at a fully net zero-carbon level, it’s crucial that we do all we can to not just change attitudes, but behaviours as well. However, for all the conversation around zero-carbon builds, we must examine the fact that operational carbon levels are likely to be higher than embodied levels over the lifespan of a building. Changing attitudes and introducing energy efficiency will be a gamechanger. Many people are already waking up to the global crisis we are facing – and the coronavirus pandemic has helped with some of this general climate change education as we saw global air pollution fall during lockdowns. Research conducted by Energy UK with PwC showed that there was a 15 to 20 per cent reduction of energy demand during the UK’s lockdown period when compared to the same period in 2019, and evidence has shown that 30 per cent of consumers are paying closer attention to their energy usage since working remotely. Home working has also seen a flattening in daily peaks of energy usage in the domestic market. The government is working hard towards its election promises to build at least a million new homes by 2025, and with the workforce expecting greater flexibility in home working options post-COVID, the housing market is an important area for driving towards better energy efficiency for tenants and lowering carbon contributions. Energy UK’s report showed that the reduced energy demand during lockdown meant that 40 per cent of energy supply came from variable renewable generation in April 2020. If we design our buildings in the most effective way now, these are the kinds of benefits we will be able to continually reap in the near future. One major area of work identified by LETI that will need to be done in the UK specifically is our use of heat in the winter – and as summer heatwaves increase in frequency, we will see increased