IPD champions Space Code as major cost cutter

Investment Property Databank (IPD) has calculated that its new standard for measuring the space performance of corporate property has the potential to produce cost savings in excess of £5 bn (EUR 5.8 bn) in the UK economy alone.

The IPD 'Space Code' was created in association with Johnson Controls and EDF Energy and launched this week. The property index group says provides public and private sector employers with the potential to identify dramatic cost-savings through space rationalisation.

IPD said as many organisations spend between 5% and 15% of their total operating expenses on the workplace, occupiers will increasingly look to their 'space budgets' to trim costs, particularly in the worsening economic climate. The 'Space Code' helps property occupiers examine their existing space commitments in any type of building, anywhere in the world.

By offering a transparent basis for measurement, comparison and benchmarking of space performance, inefficiencies can be identified and subsequently eliminated. IPD’s own data indicates that more than three quarters of the potential cost savings in a typical UK office estate come from space rationalisation.

IPD said space reduction does not necessarily mean a worse working environment. 'Plenty of best-practice case studies show that radical restructuring of the workplace can result in a more than 25% reduction in property costs per person as well as large reductions in carbon produced, while significantly improving staff satisfaction.' IPD's latest annual survey of large space users has identified that more effective use of space is the primary means of contributing to better organisational efficiency and effectiveness for many large office users.

Referring to the potential to save £5 bn in the UK alone, the IPD said the average space per person level, at 13.4 m2, is low by international standards, so the potential in many other parts of the world is even greater.