At Fit for the Future Network we have often described ourselves as an environmental dating agency, so when better to put our match-making skills into practise than on Valentine’s Day.

Rather than giving flowers or chocolates however, our members Jamie from NUS and Al from CAFOD were brought together to share advice, experience and solutions…

These ‘peer consultancies’ are one of the most useful benefits of becoming a Network member. We find people who have solutions to your problems and experiences that match your needs, and they will come and impart their knowledge and advice. In this case, Jamie at NUS faced several challenges with managing his BREEAM excellent rated building. He had no buildings manager in post and didn’t have the technical detail at hand to make the most of his potentially very sustainable and energy efficient building. Al from CAFOD is a Facilities Manager, who also manages a BREEAM excellent rated building and has been working over the past six years to ensure it performs at its best.

Fit for the Future put Jamie and Al in touch, and Al paid Jamie a visit to their building, to walk around the site and offer his experience, contacts and solutions to some of Jamie’s problems. They looked at the innovations, technology and systems in place, and how these could be used more effectively, as well as uncovering some of the bigger gaps in the performance of the building. Jamie went away with people to contact and suggested next steps; Al went away with an offer of support from NUS on the topic of behaviour change.

Jamie commented “It was fantastic to have Al visit our building, as it helped me work through some of the problems we have been facing and he was able to offer really useful advice and ideas. I now have some practical next steps to take, and contacts to follow up with. This all makes my job easier and enables me to get things done more quickly.”

Al enjoyed the afternoon and is looking forward to Jamie’s return visit “It’s always a great opportunity to look around other people’s buildings and see how they have done things differently! I have invited Jamie to come and look at our building in return and am keen to hear his thoughts on how we can do more work on behaviour change at CAFOD.”

Peer consultancies are available to all Network members and can involve any type of building or site – including gardens. If you think you would like the Network team to arrange a peer consultancy, please get in touch.