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BUSINESS NEWS HOK AND BREEAM USA ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP TO CREATE A MORE SUSTAINABLE BUILT ENVIRONMENT BREEAM USA and HOK have signed a one-year partnership agreement that will accelerate the use of the BREEAM In-Use standard across the United States. BREEAM USA introduced BREEAM In-Use for existing buildings to the U.S. market in 2016 to provide a science-based sustainable certification and improvement solution not covered by existing green building programs. The method enables property investors, owners, managers and occupants to drive sustainable improvements through operational efficiencies and effective building management. “We recognize HOK as a market leader and are excited to be collaborating with them to bring new and affordable solutions to their
extensive USA real estate clients looking to achieve lower carbon emissions and other sustainability targets,” said Barry Giles, CEO of BREEAM USA. “HOK has demonstrated that they are experts at solving the challenges of the built environment and we’re thrilled that they appreciate the potential of BREEAM to deliver valuable results for their clients.” BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) was developed in 1990 by BRE, a leading multidisciplinary building science organization. With more than 2 million registered projects and more than 550,000 certified buildings in 70 countries, it has more certifications than any other green rating system. Based on scientific research funded by BRE, the BREEAM In- Use standard is available to every commercial
existing building no matter the size, age or condition. “We are delighted to partner with BREEAM USA to provide our clients and staff with access to BRE’s research and tools,” said Anica Landreneau, director of sustainable design at HOK. “As a firm, we look forward to implementing another rigorous green building certification program for our projects in the U.S. market.” For the past two decades, HOK has leveraged BREEAM certification to improve the performance of projects in the U.K. In 2017, the Francis Crick Institute, a 980,000-square- foot laboratory and biomedical research facility that recently opened in London, received an “Excellent” BREEAM rating.
JAMIE CLAIRE KISER, from page 3
should be established to resubmit the edited plan. This is the process where the numbers should be discussed with finance leadership and marketing should weigh in on an appropriate budget and marketing message for the focus of the year. The final plan should be shared as widely as possible – firm-wide, if we can – to get as many people as possible working hard in the same direction with a clear sense of purpose. “Using the business plan as a guideline, the rest of the areas of the company can come together to talk about what everyone can do to support the success of that unit’s plan. This only happens if we incorporate a culture of business planning into projection meetings and other internal discussions.” 5)Discuss the plan all year long. The biggest shortcoming in most business plans is that the plans are made, crafted, fine- tuned, then set aside. The plan has to be a document that we live in. Report progress against plan goals as regularly as possible, and discuss the step-by-step action items needed to achieve the results. If we aren’t on track in one area of the plan by the set target date, such as if we know we need 15 new hires to perform the work we’ve sold, we need to involve the leaders of the recruiting area to talk to them about how we stay on track. Successful business planning isn’t about having a crystal ball. It’s about a culture that discusses goals, actions, and results regularly and openly, not just once or twice a year, or – worst of all – in reviews after the year has ended and we can’t do anything to get back on track. Using the business plan as a guideline, the rest of the areas of the company can come together to talk about what everyone can do to support the success of that unit’s plan. This only happens if we incorporate a culture of business planning into projection meetings and other internal discussions. JAMIE CLAIRE KISER is Zweig Group’s director of consulting. Contact her at jkiser@zweiggroup.com.
the business unit needs to “own” the plan in every way if we hope to hold that leader accountable to the results outlined in the plan. Although an area may be outside of that leader’s wheelhouse, if we want this person to learn the skills that will eventually help them take on more responsibility, they have to learn how to think about more than their business line, and business planning is a great way to expand that skill set. 3)Set goals and metrics that support the final revenue/ profit figure. It is tempting and easy for leaders of business units to set two goals, a revenue goal and a profit goal. But there are so many targets that have to be attained in order to achieve these figures, and thoughtful business planning can be a way to get different functional areas of the firm working together to do something more comprehensive. For example, if the goal is to increase public school work for a particular market sector, identify the number of superintendents cur- rently in the CRM database, set a target number of new ad- ditions of superintendents to add each month, and report on progress to that end. This forces actions that support the ultimate goal – a revenue and profitability target – but causes a different conversation. Where do we meet these superin- tendents? What events, meetings, and conferences should we attend? What boards do we need to be on? How much will all this cost? What’s the market size of this group? “Successful business planning isn’t about having a crystal ball. It’s about a culture that discusses goals, actions, and results regularly and openly, not just once or 4)Stand behind the plan. Business plans should be presented verbally – pitched, actually – by the leader of the unit to leadership. The plan should be questioned verbally with back- and-forth discussion and suggestions made, then a deadline twice a year, or – worst of all – in reviews after the year has ended and we can’t do anything to get back on track.”
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THE ZWEIG LETTER January 15, 2018, ISSUE 1231
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