Agenda item

Report of the Director of Operations & Buildings.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Operations and Buildings regarding the Barbican Centre Environmental Sustainability Strategy.

Want to approve, culmination of many years of work.

The Chair enquired how the Committee could support this work and Members agreed that key performance indicators would assist in measuring progress plus themed discussions at meetings to provide a deep dive when needed. Officers agreed to include milestone targets and KPIs to check progress against.

With regards to the Renewal Project, a Member asked if a metric concerning environmental sustainability would be included in the selection process for the architect. Member were advised that the brief included a series of themes including this and any supplier hoping to bid for the project needed to show how they would address each item.

A Member noted that there was no policy regarding home working for staff and saw this as part of the environment agenda. Officers confirmed the Centre was aligned with the City Corporation; however, they were more flexible due to the work of the Centre. It was confirmed that much less office staff were travelling in, with encouragement that staff only come in when needed, which was being trialled with the Marketing Team before rolling out a plan with all staff. Officers agreed to monitor carbon emissions for traveling in.

A Member noted that there were other partnerships opportunities within the City Corporation (other than Judith’s Bicycle) that could be used. The Member also requested that future reporting address how the Centre was benchmarking in comparison to the whole City Corporation.

Members discussed the importance of EDI. Officers confirmed this was a big consideration and they were working with the Procurement Team on how best to move forward through diverse work list. looking at all stakeholder, what buying and how we use them.

The Deputy Chair noted an architectural competition would be launched the day after the meeting.

RESOLVED that the Committee approve the Barbican Centre’s Environmental Sustainability Strategy 2021-2027.