January 20, 2017
Under the theme of “Regenerative Operations by 2030,” Sustainability Roundtable, Inc’s (SR Inc’s) Summit for Sustainable Operations V – held in December in DC – focused on helping Member Executives move corporate operations and real estate from cost center management to sustainable value center creation advancing C-Suite priorities (e.g. talent engagement, business process redesign). One inflecting change that enables this change in the role of operations and real estate is deployment of the Internet of Things (IoT), which provides improving insights into utilization, collaboration and productivity. Through-out the Summit it became clear that the unprecedented ability to capture, manage, analyze and act on data enabled by the automatically interacting and adapting systems of the IoT is beginning to transform Member Executives perception of the possible; and, specifically, how they can move from a focus on managing costs within a building-centered framework to leading people in a software defined framework towards sustainable value creation in an increasingly transparent, global and resourced constraints world.
SR Inc’s Senior Consulting Advisor & COO, David Osborn, kicked off the session on IoT with a number of recommendations for real estate and operating executives to consider with regard to IoT deployment, as drawn from SR Inc’s ongoing work with Member-Clients who have experience sourcing and deploying IoT solutions. David’s priority guidance based upon best practices from SR Inc’s leading Member-Clients follows:
Ali Ahmed, Founder, Green Strategies LLC (former Global Energy & Sustainability Lead at Cisco)
Following David’s introduction, Ali Ahmed – whom SR Inc served during his six years as Senior Manager of Global Energy Management and Sustainability at Cisco and who now partners with SR Inc through his Green Strategies LLC to assist Member-Clients – provided an overview of the current state for IoT in CRE and the opportunities it can provide to companies. Ali pointed out that the hurdles companies have historically faced in IoT are systematically being overcome, as technology and security systems become increasingly sophisticated while prices drop rapidly, meaning IoT installations are becoming increasingly decoupled from major building renovations. Ali reflected on the fact that, in the war for talent among leading global companies, IoT can enable companies to create agile work environments and connect with their employees through addressing safety and wellness concerns as soon as they arise, helping boost employee satisfaction and productivity. Still, Ali advised that, as increasingly more data becomes available, it is important to stay open to serendipity and the possibility for unexpected data sets to correlate while still being able to distinguish real and useful data trends from “noise.” Further, Ali stressed that security and privacy concerns remain of the utmost importance when evaluating potential solutions.
Amy Aves, Senior Director of Global Real Estate Operations, Oracle
Amy Aves, Senior Director of Global Real Estate Operations at SBER Charter Member Oracle, followed Ali’s remarks with an overview of the challenges Oracle has faced in implementing IoT solutions for its real estate and operations. Amy’s experience at Oracle corroborated Ali’s point regarding security concerns of IoT-enabled workplaces. With extremely strict security protocols, Oracle currently has approximately 60 projects in the pipeline awaiting security review and outsources technology solutions as little as possible. Amy is helping lead Oracle in leveraging the success of IoT deployment at its headquarters to install similar solutions at other owned sites (~40% of Oracle’s total square footage). Amy’s team is also driving efforts to track each new device that is installed as an asset so that there is a comprehensive inventory of all connected devices enterprise-wide. The rapid rate at which Oracle acquires companies proves to be a key challenge to its strict security protocols, as acquisitions typically have looser security standards than Oracle, and the security team is tasked with doing a lengthy security review of all these solutions as they are brought into the portfolio or replaced with an Oracle-approved (or in-house) solution. Amy concluded that Oracle recognizes the need for a portfolio-wide strategy to fully capture the sustainability benefits of total IoT integration and effectively avoid security risks.
Clayton Mitchell, Executive Director, Facilities Management, Kaiser Permanente
Clayton Mitchell, an Executive Director at SBER Charter Member Kaiser Permanente, wrapped-up the session by discussing how he and his team helped successfully create and scale a program for IoT deployment. This successful program was founded on achieving savings first and “earning” the right for re-investment from the CFO. This approach was highlighted when Mitch rejected an initial offer of $3 million in up-front capital for energy efficiency projects from the CFO. He did this by first acknowledging that the CO region, which he oversaw, had significant troubles with alignment and resource allocation, but that a Building Automation System was in place, helping to form the beginnings of a vision for the region. Clayton and team identified five strategic imperatives to align relevant parties and priorities before spending any capital:
As the CO region approached company and industry-best practice performance levels across virtually all facility metrics, Mitch is now leading his team in implementing similar best practices across the Mid-Atlantic region and California to the significant financial and sustainability benefit of the company.
SR Inc looks forward to continuing working with Member-Clients in 2017 to deepen the business case for a connected, sustainably healthy workplace that can help industry leaders and laggards alike make important strides towards low-impact, no-impact and ultimately regenerative portfolios in the coming decade.
The slides from the Summit for Sustainable Operations V can be found on SR Inc’s Digital Library here. Additional select relevant Executive Guidance from our Digital Library can be found below.
Select Relevant SBER Executive Guidance & Tools:
Advisories:
Briefings:
Presentations:
Reports:
As a Senior Manager of Research & Consulting at SR Inc, Kelsey Wallace supports research, development and implementation of enterprise sustainability strategies for companies that recognize the business imperative of more sustainable operations in the face of climate change and an increasingly resource-constrained world. Prior to joining Sustainability Roundtable, Inc., Kelsey worked for an environmental/engineering consulting firm where she supported clients including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Green Buildings Council to promote sustainable buildings, clean energy, and safe drinking water. Kelsey also devoted a year to national service with the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps, where she worked on team-based conservation and community development projects throughout the Southwest United States. Kelsey has her B.A. in Environmental Studies from Connecticut College.
