Inside RICS

Our commitment to sustainability

With the built environment estimated to be responsible for around 40% of global carbon emissions, RICS is championing sustainable practices across the built and natural environment. This includes assessing and, where possible, reducing our own impact on the environment.

As part of our commitment to a transparent environment, social and governance (ESG) programme, RICS is fully committed to understanding and reducing our carbon footprint. This is done in conjunction with our accredited certification Environmental and Energy Management System as well as the ISO 50001:2018 and ISO 14001:2015 international standards.

Achievements during the RICS 2020-21 financial year include:

Transition of our Energy Management System to the ISO 50001:2018 standard for all RICS UK activities under the scope of the application of an energy management system. This assesses the use of energy within occupied premises to support the design, consultancy and commercial use of rooms, facilities and activities.
Integration of the existing Energy Management System and a new Environmental Management System to form an integrated Environmental and Energy Management System that holds accredited certification to the ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 50001:2018 standards.
Increased management of energy used in company transport by road.
Rationalisation of our global estate in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For more on sustainability see Sustainability (rics.org)

Caring for the wellbeing of our people

Our colleagues around the world are at the heart of RICS. Without their phenomenal talent, passion and dedication to supporting our profession’s positive social impact, we simply would not be where we are today.

There is no doubt that this past year has been challenging for our people as we have dealt with the ongoing impact of COVID-19, as well as significant organisational change. Looking after them has therefore remained a top priority. This year we have maintained our focus on supporting our people’s wellbeing, keeping them connected, establishing new ways of working to help us all create the right work-life balance, and making RICS an even more inclusive place to work.

The health, safety and welfare of our people is something we take seriously. We know that we can only achieve great things with happy and healthy employees, which is why – recognising the difficult times we are all living through – we gave all our people an additional day of annual leave in 2021 to use as a wellbeing day and as a thank you for all their hard work during the pandemic.

Whether spending quality time reconnecting with family and friends, or getting outdoors for some fresh air, we have encouraged our people to use their wellbeing day however they like, doing something rejuvenating and restorative for them.

This year we also partnered with our charity LionHeart to offer free wellbeing support, counselling, coaching, workshops and webinars to our people worldwide, while our new wellbeing hub has brought together all our resources in one place for colleagues to access at any time.

"I found spending a whole day away from work commitments and focusing on relaxing gave me the opportunity to recharge and reflect. I am thankful that RICS gave us this opportunity to take care of ourselves. Having this extra day with the specific purpose of wellbeing has definitely helped me and my colleagues."

Anke Schnell, Assessment Coordinator

Empowering our people to manage their work lifestyle

The world of work has evolved at a rapid pace over the past 12 months, with COVID-19 accelerating many modern working practices. This has created rich opportunities for us to reimagine our new normal ways of working at RICS.

We listened carefully to our people’s views on this, running surveys and focus groups to gain a deeper understanding of where and how they feel they work best. Taking on board everything our colleagues shared with us – and as a diverse and inclusive employer committed to performance rather than presenteeism – we introduced a new agile working policy that empowers and entrusts our people to determine for themselves where they deliver their role most effectively, whether at home, in the office, or both. This ensures we have relevant, future-focused working practices that enhance employee experience.

While agile working has many benefits, not least in enabling our people to maintain a healthy work-life balance, we also recognise the importance of being together in person to collaborate, share ideas and build relationships. Wherever possible this year, as local guidelines have allowed, we have made our global office spaces available for colleagues to meet and socialise, particularly for those who have found remote working during the pandemic difficult or isolating.

Our workplace management team continues to ensure our office spaces are COVID-19 secure and compliant with all government guidelines, as well as our own risk management and wellbeing standards, to provide the safest and most comfortable experience possible for all our people.

"The agile working policy at RICS has been helpful, especially during COVID-19 when it has made it easier for me to deal with local travel restrictions when commuting to and from work. Although I am also enjoying face-to-face interactions, the combination of flexible working options makes it convenient to work with peers, especially those who are in different time zones."

AK Huang, Member Engagement Lead, APAC

Celebrating the magic of our families

We recognise that having the right balance of work and family life is critical to many of our colleagues. So, to mark International Day of Families this year, renowned magician Nick Einhorn hosted virtual magic shows for all our people and their families. Nick’s spellbinding performances brought our colleagues’ children, grandparents, siblings, cousins, partners and even pets together for some ‘wand-erful’ time with each other.

"My little boy loved ‘working’ with me for the afternoon and getting to watch a real magic show. He was amazed that he could see other RICS families from all over the world. It was lovely to watch him feel so involved and engaged with what I do."

Tamsin Livermore, Partner Development Manager

Appreciation and recognition

This year, RICS colleagues sent 1,259 messages of appreciation through our digital recognition platform to recognise outstanding contributions to our success.

Keeping everyone at RICS connected

While COVID-19 has kept most of us apart physically, our monthly all-employee virtual meeting, The Loop, has ensured we have stayed connected as one RICS team.

Our Loop sessions are an opportunity for us all to come together to celebrate our work and achievements. This year we have also welcomed members of our Governing Council to speak with colleagues and discuss their backgrounds, day-to-day roles, and what makes them proud to be part of our profession. Olympic gold medallist Ben Hunt-Davis also joined us this year for an inspiring talk on resilience, giving us all some practical advice and tips on how to navigate unprecedented times.

Advancing inclusion and diversity for the better

We have always believed that inclusion and diversity are critical to our success, and that all our people should feel able to be their true selves at work and know that they belong. We strive to align our organisational approach with the profession to apply best practice on diversity, inclusion and equality.

We have continued to work flexibly with all our employees to ensure inclusion remains at the top of our agenda, and our 2020 gender pay gap report reflects this, showing a further narrowing of our median gender pay gap measurement. Our median gender pay gap has almost halved over the past three years.

We are committed to improvements where there are still differences, and this is something our people feel passionate about too. Our employee-led inclusion group meets monthly to discuss how we can make things better around a range of issues, including mental health, disability and neurodiversity, inclusion for women, and specific race and cultural inclusion issues in different countries.