Workspace design for a healthier planet: IE's ESG journey (Part 1)

At Insightful Environments, it’s our mission to create better work experiences for people, wherever they work. Our promise is to do this in a socially responsible, ethical and sustainable way that positively impacts our customers, employees and stakeholders, whilst minimising our impact on the planet.

IE’s Managing Director, David Hay, tells us more about our commitment to ESG and the journey we’re taking as a company to create a more sustainable, resilient future.

“We have a responsibility as one of the UK's largest furniture integrators to try and build a more sustainable, resilient future, and our clients are increasingly engaging with us on these issues.” 

Why do you think it’s so important to take action towards sustainability and ESG?

David: When you think about COP 26 in Glasgow and all the summits that are taking place around the world, and when you consider that our clients are also asking searching questions about our ESG credentials and what we are doing to play our part, it’s clear that ESG is the one thing that isn’t going away. 

We are committed to being at the forefront of change and it’s the single biggest thing that’s going to change how we do business moving forward. We have a responsibility as a furniture integrator to try and build a more sustainable, resilient future, and our clients are pushing us for proactive and meaningful responses to these issues. 

What is IE doing to demonstrate its commitment to sustainability and ESG?

"With a clear roadmap and a revamped mission with sustainability at its heart, we’re establishing clear ESG goals for all aspects of the business."

David: We have embarked on an ambitious journey to make a real difference year on year.  We have enlisted the support of leading external sustainability advisors who understand workspace design, furniture sustainability, carbon and energy strategies and the circular economy. With this support, we’re expanding our sustainability activities to address key imperatives that go beyond mere compliance and in addition to accepted industry standards and certifications.

From procurement and supply chain sustainability through to carbon and energy reduction, waste avoidance and circular design, we’re creating an ESG roadmap to guide practical, client-focused activities, as well as strategic, system-wide initiatives and targets that are environmentally affirmative, socially responsible and commercially astute. 

Our aim is for sustainability to be integral to our business and operations internally and externally. With a clear roadmap and a revamped mission with sustainability at its heart, we're establishing clear ESG goals for all aspects of the business. We've already put a training programme in place for all our employees to ensure everyone is on the same page and aligned to our goals. Our recent annual conference focussed on how all our team can play their part every day in what they do and how they do it.

The team at a recent training day on advancing ESG at IE

What is IE doing to help its customers meet their own sustainability goals? 

David: Our products and design services already embody a range of sustainability credentials that meet market demand, as well as our own ambitious vision for a healthier planet. For instance, we’re constantly reviewing re-use and recycling options. We’re increasingly specifying low carbon products and highlighting the circularity credentials of products to our customers. And we’re working with our suppliers to evolve products and packaging which are certified to meet customer expectations. 

But our work is far from done and we’re entering the next phase of expanding our sustainability program. We know that evolving and emerging workspace trends and client needs are constantly shifting, and so too is our response. 

Helping to create our clients' physical spaces increasingly requires a more holistic and circular approach to ensure energy efficiency and that waste and pollution are designed-out from the beginning of every project. This demands productive collaboration, and we pride ourselves on fostering and supporting creative partnerships, many of which feature ESG objectives.

As a company, we are committed to ESG goals that add value to our customers, project partners and stakeholders. This translates into real-world benefits to the architects, designers, project managers and corporate clients with whom we work every day.

“Helping to create our clients physical spaces increasingly requires a more holistic and circular approach to ensure energy efficiency and that waste and pollution is designed-out from the beginning of every project.”

Where can we learn more about IE’s ESG journey?

David: There is a page on our website dedicated to ESG where you can learn more about our sustainability commitment, goals and policies. We are also looking forward to sharing our ESG journey with you and the opportunities it will provide your projects and clients. We’re eager to make sure that it delivers positive outcomes and impacts that are authentic, achievable and driven by good design choices. 

We’ll be keeping you updated with a series of blog posts on our ESG journey, including the challenges we face and lessons learned along the way. In being transparent about our journey, we hope to help and inspire others to also take action towards a more sustainable future.

Next blogs in the series

Advancing ESG@IE (Part 2): How our journey began