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News Release from: Work Wise UK | Subject: Work Wise London
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial Team on 13 November 2007

Creating a smarter working capital

A 'smarter' working campaign for London, "Work Wise London", launched at the BT Tower.

"Work Wise London is going to create a smarter working capital, making it more productive, more competitive, more environmentally friendly, a better place to do business, and a better place to live and work" It aims to encourage a greater take up of smarter working practices across the capital, providing a more modern and flexible approach to working and commuting

Apart from increasing business productivity and competitiveness, reducing pollution, improving health, assisting disadvantaged groups and harmonising our work and family commitments, smarter working and commuting will also help reduce traffic congestion and public transport overcrowding, particularly at peak times, providing part of the solution to London's growing transport problems.

The Transport for London Transport 2025 report predicted that public transport demand will increase by 40 per cent due to London's growth between now and 2025.

The first task to be undertaken by the Work Wise London programme will be a far-reaching research project to find out the current level of smarter and flexible working (including travel demand management, flexible, remote, mobile, teleworking and annualised hours) across the capital.

To be undertaken jointly with London First and the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the research will explore the current barriers to the take up of smarter working, and what needs to be done in order to achieve greater adoption.

London has always been a global business centre.

It is one of the main financial centres in the world, and the base for many global businesses, and its GDP is larger than that of many nations.

The Mayor's Economic Development Strategy for London (EDS) sets the vision and actions for strong, long term economic growth, which can be sustained for future generations and where people and the environment are protected and cared for.

David Lennan, chairman of Work Wise UK, said: "Work Wise London is going to create a smarter working capital, making it more productive, more competitive, more environmentally friendly, a better place to do business, and a better place to live and work.

"Smarter working will help the Mayor achieve the EDS visions, but London has a particular issue, one that everyone is familiar with, and that is transport".

Ben Plowden, director of travel demand management at Transport for London said: "In the next 15 years or so, the capital's population is expected to grow by 800,000 people, which will greatly increase the demand on the transport network, particularly during peak hours.

As London's population continues to grow, it's more important than ever for the capital's employers to take advantage of the opportunities smarter working practices can offer both their organisations and their employees".

Work Wise London has been established by a number of London's leading organisations.

The 'vanguard group' includes BT, Transport for London, Work Wise UK, the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Taylor Woodrow, with announcements of several others expected in the coming months.

Work Wise London is part of Work Wise UK, a not-for-profit initiative which aims to make the UK one of the most progressive economies in the world by encouraging the adoption of smarter working practices.

It is supported by CBI, TUC, British Chambers of Commerce, RAC Foundation, Transport for London, Scope, Equal Opportunities Commission, Association for Commuter Transport and BT.

Apart from the benefits to London and the UK economy generally, the adoption of smarter working can provide cost savings for individual organisations.

BT's Andrew Campling, who will be Work Wise London's chairman, added: "BT is a great example of how organisations can work smarter for real benefit.

For example, we have seen productivity grow from between 15 and 31 per cent.

And more people working from home, or remotely, or on the move, has meant savings in office provision and travel costs".

Richard Sykes, executive director of Taylor Woodrow, said: "For me, Smart Working is about improving business performance, rethinking the workplace and adopting technology to optimise the use of property.

It is also about facilities management services centred on people to improve productivity with a better quality of working life".

Smarter working has meant that BT has been able to reduce the number of offices it operates.

Since 2003, the number has fallen from 159 to 94, reducing the number of workstations provided by 18,545, the floor area required by 222,500 m2 (2,395,400ft2), leading to savings of GBP88million per annum in overheads such as rates, rent, repairs, facilities management, etc.

The savings in commuter travel by BT homeworkers is over 20 million miles per year.

This is a conservative estimate based on each commuter avoiding 100 commutes a year of a round trip of 15 miles.

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