Network Infrastructure Can Improve ESG Performance for Multi-Tenanted Properties
Published on: 22nd March 2023
With pressure mounting on building owners and managers from clients looking for solid ESG performance for multi-tenanted properties, what can they do to improve the building’s ESG credentials?
Upgrading your network infrastructure (especially if it can be done with someone else’s money) seems an obvious choice.
The traditional full repairing lease saw landlords expect tenants to sort out their own services. One of the last services to come under landlord management is delivery of IT and Telecoms services.
This hands-off approach looks attractive in the short term but in a multi-tenanted building this leads to a cat’s cradle of redundant and unidentifiable cabling and network terminations in comms rooms and risers, leading in turn to increased dilapidations over time.
Would a more managed approach yield benefits over time, improve sustainability and reduce environmental costs associated with a major infrastructure refit?
Traditional building cabling uses copper cores wrapped in vinyl. Although the copper is recyclable, burning off or stripping the covers is labour intensive and potentially highly polluting. If copper cabling is to be used should it not be on a “cable once” basis rather than letting tenants cable out in a way that may suit their current usage but is likely to be stripped out and redone by any future tenants
Fibre-optic cabling, especially in risers and for incoming services, is almost infinitely scalable from a speed point of view and uses common glass rather than rare copper at its core.
Taking control of your buildings network infrastructure reduces costs, management overhead in dealing with tenant moves and reduces dilapidations.
When the Shard was built one of its most innovative features from a technology perspective was that it was built with an Open Access network infrastructure. A service provider was selected to build and manage that infrastructure allowing tenants to select their preferred network provider and run their services over a common infrastructure for a modest facility charge.
The largely fibre infrastructure was therefore future proofed and more flexible than traditional models with virtually no management or dilapidation overhead.
Building a scalable and low carbon infrastructure requires specialist skills and planning, especially from an operational management perspective.
That could be an expensive exercise, but there is a lower cost alternative.
Communicate specialises in co-investing in building network and IT infrastructure with owners and landlords in multi-tenanted buildings to deliver improved financial and customer service performance, while raising ESG scores
We will build as much or as little of the network as you decide at our own cost and risk and recoup the cost by selling services to tenants. If you want to own the physical infrastructure (what we call passive infrastructure) that is an option. We then build out the active electronics infrastructure (routers, switches, firewalls etc.) at our own cost and risk. We will allow tenants to select third party service providers in exchange for a facility charge but normally find that they end up taking services from us as its easier and cheaper for them.
We think of this as a win/win partnership.
It drives down cost, improves tenant service and multi tenanted building’s ESG performance. Worth considering? Contact us if you’d like to chat more about this.
