The BBP Managing Agents Partnership, a collaboration of leading agents responsible for managing over 29,000 assets in the UK, is launching a new programme of work to improve the accuracy, transparency, and consistency of waste data; enabling the delivery of more effective waste management strategies for property owners.

The initiative stems from the publication of the Partnership’s latest report Waste Not Want Not: A Managing Agent’s Perspective on the challenges and opportunities of reporting waste management data, setting out the challenges managing agents and waste management service providers face, and the opportunities for industry collaboration to overcome these.

The key challenges highlighted include:

• A lack of clear reporting metrics and processes
• Poor data quality across the sector
• Typical waste management contracts failing to set consistent requirements and incentivise improved performance.

To address these challenges, the Partnership will embark on the following programme of work with the support of a number of service providers:

1. Engage with the waste management sector on the desired services and reporting requirements.
2. Develop standard clauses for waste management service agreements.
3. Develop standard reporting templates, KPIs and assumption methodologies.
4. Define a methodology for grading the quality of waste management data provided by service providers.
5. Develop approaches to auditing and rating waste management service providers.

Carl Brooks, Chairman of the Managing Agents Partnership and Head of Sustainability at M J Mapp said: “Waste data has been a long-standing fixture in environmental and sustainability reporting despite the known issues with data quality, consistency, and accuracy. The Managing Agents Partnership hope that this report represents the start of a period of active and ongoing engagement with the waste management industry to better understand and address the issues faced at all stages of the supply chain. It is also hoped that by working with the wider BBP membership in defining the requirements of waste management provision and reporting we are able to influence the required changes in the waste management industry”.

The Managing Agents Partnership is supported by the Better Buildings Partnership, a collaboration of the UK’s leading commercial property owners. Chairman of the Better Buildings Partnership and Group Head of Sustainability at Hammerson, Louise Ellison said: “This is exactly the sort of practical, outcomes-based initiative we wanted to encourage through the establishment of the Management Agents Partnership. Waste is a major source of environmental impacts and a significant business cost. I am delighted the BBP Managing Agents Partnership has been able to facilitate such effective collaboration with the sector and look forward to seeing the results”.

Sarah Ratcliffe, Programme Director of the Better Buildings Partnership said: “This insightful report from the Managing Agents Partnership highlights some of the systemic challenges in the reporting of waste data. The Partnership’s planned programme of work is a very practical and timely response that could really drive change within the industry, providing property owners with the quality and integrity of data required to improve waste management practices”.
 
 

Waste Not Want Not: A Managing Agent’s Perspective on the challenges and opportunities of reporting waste management data can be downloaded here. 

Note to editors:
 

For further information please contact Lucy Elderfield. 

The Managing Agents Partnership is a collaboration of the UK’s leading property managers who are committed to improving the sustainable management of commercial real estate. It has 11 Members who together have over 29,000 assets under management in the UK. Its members include Broadgate Estates, Capita, CBRE, Cushman and Wakefield, Bilfinger GVA, JLL, Knight Frank, Lambert Smith Hampton, M J Mapp, Savills and Workman LLP. It is an initiative of the Better Buildings Partnership.

The Better Buildings Partnership is a not for profit business collaboration of the UK’s leading commercial property owners who are working together to improve the sustainability performance of existing buildings. It has 27 Members who together have £180bn of assets under management. Its members include Aberdeen Asset management, Aviva Investors, Blackstone, British Land, Bruntwood, Cadogan, Canary Wharf Group, Capital & Regional, CLS Holdings, Cording Real Estate Group, Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management, Great Portland Estates, Grosvenor, Hammerson, Hermes Investment Management, intu Properties, Land Securities, LaSalle Investment Management, Legal & General Investment Management, Low Carbon Workplace, M&G Real Estate, Segro, Shaftesbury, TH Real Estate, The Crown Estate, Transport for London and Workspace.