What the recent reshuffle tells us about government priorities

As the dust settles on Rishi Sunak’s recent reshuffle, what does it show us about his government’s priorities? The creation of a separate Department for Science, Innovation and Technology clearly demonstrates that technology and innovation are at the heart of Sunak’s agenda and viewed as instrumental to delivering growth and a productive economy.

At the same time, a Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has been created. The return to a separate department for energy, which was incorporated into BEIS under Theresa May, highlights the laser focus the government is placing on climate resilience, giving the issue a higher profile and more dedicated resource.

Developers are already placing this laser focus on sustainability, with the most recent iteration of Deloitte’s Crane Survey showing evidence of office schemes returning to planning as developers respond to rapidly changing demands from occupiers who seek flexibility, high-quality amenities and a workspace that meets sustainability and wellbeing targets.

While investment decisions continue to be taken first and foremost based on investment returns, increasingly both investors and occupiers are considering a building’s energy efficiency as part of the decision-making process. But that begs the question: how accurate is in-building technology in assessing how buildings are being used and how much energy is being both consumed and wasted? Energy used to power buildings accounts for 29% of global carbon emissions, yet 30% of energy used to power offices is wasted. How do companies address this wastage, which will be an essential part of reaching net zero targets by 2030 and 2050?

One of the issues is that the industry lacks a comprehensive baseline to measure improvements against and there is no directive, currently though it is being called for, to share data and increase transparency. This lack of understanding is compounded by the increase in hybrid working, with office attendance continuing to fluctuate throughout the week and four-day working weeks being trialled across the country.

In recent research conducted by essensys into whether people think a four-day working week will become permanent, 74% of respondents (all UK-based office workers) said they thought the concept of a permanent four-day working week was good, and 40% thought it would eventually happen. Senior staff, including owners, partners, chairs and chief executives are most likely to think a four-day working week will happen eventually (47%), whereas middle and junior management and support staff are more pessimistic (30%).

A shift in working patterns could see commercial real estate need to further assess space provision. The ability to measure occupancy and understand usage will become increasingly important both to landlords and occupiers as they continue to review office portfolios and space requirements. It’s not just occupancy that will become vitally important for decision-making though; it is end-to-end information flow and the ability to seamlessly understand and overlay data in order to make essential business decisions.

Those with access to tech that can provide and enable interpretation of data will learn and improve offerings, ultimately triumphing and coming out on top in this rapidly changing market.

A key part of creating more energy efficient and productive workplaces is innovation and tech advancement. This has always been an integral to the UK and will be increasingly vital to ensure we are operating as sustainability and effectively as possible. Sunak’s decision to create separate departments focused on these two areas of growth should see R&D investment optimised to support the UK’s economy. Tech and innovation both have an integral role to play in defining what the future of work looks like.