Thursday 6th October 2022
12.00-15.00
Sustainability
in the Built Environment
Here + Now, Thames Valley Park
Reading RG6 1WG
A presentation by Georgia Elliott-Smith of Element Four – Sustainability Expert.
Georgia Elliott-Smith, Managing Director of consultancy Element Four, has 25 years’ experience in the sector and consistently employs the idea of ‘disruptive sustainability’. Elliott-Smith is a Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv), a member of the Institute of Environmental Management & Assessment (IEMA), a WELL Standard Accredited Professional and an Ambassador for Fitwel.
Georgia set up Element Four in 2003. Her clients include VINCI Construction and Amnesty International, and among the projects completed last year was Here + Now, formerly part of the Microsoft campus, for V7. “This was two buildings on an 1990s business park, which have been transformed into healthy sustainable environments providing amazing community space.” Green features here range from improving indoor air quality to paddle boarding sessions in the nearby river Thames. The buildings have achieved Fitwel 3-star rating, BREEAM Outstanding, RESET Air certification and net zero embodied and operational carbon.
While it feels like ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance) has become one the most used three letter acronyms discussed in the boardroom, Elliott-Smith and her team ensure the practical delivery of a sustainable best practice, “It’s about drawing out principles such as circularity, energy consumption and future proofing.” As for disruptive sustainability she explains, “It’s about having a joined up, honest approach to sustainability, challenging the status quo and dropping the greenwash.
