Situation

SEGRO is a leader in providing modern, adaptable warehouses to high sustainability standards, both in their development and in their operation. SEGRO Park Enfield is a 21,600m2 speculative scheme, comprising three best-in-class industrial units. 

SEGRO introduced a series of wellness and sustainability innovations at SEGRO Park Enfield. These include smart building technology, as part of a wider corporate pilot to shape the warehouse of the future, and their first WELL Silver certified building, led by the SEGRO Project Manager. Drivers included growing customer interest in how their buildings perform and the impact that has on their business, employees and the wider environment.

As standard on all new SEGRO developments, the project team also targeted a high BREEAM sustainability rating and Energy Performance Certificate score from the outset, along with on-site renewable energy generation and electric vehicle charging capability. The project team included architect Michael Sparks Associates, design consultant WPP, main contractor Winvic Construction Ltd and WELL consultant XCO2. 

Actions

Wellness

The building has been optimised to ensure that users enjoy enhanced daylight access, thereby boosting mood, circadian health and productivity. Over 90% of regularly occupied spaces receive at least 300 lux of natural daylight for half of all occupied hours. In addition to visual, emotional and psychological benefits, providing high levels of natural light reduces building energy use associated with electric lighting. Windows are operable for natural ventilation and, to reduce glare, all windows have adjustable blinds. 

Located near the King George V Reservoir and River Lea, the development also offers 4,690m2 of green space, with 189 trees planted to date. This will provide opportunities for customers’ employees to experience nature in their daily lives, which studies show can contribute to wellbeing and productivity.

To encourage active lifestyles, fitness equipment has been installed and a riverside footpath has been created, connecting to local footpaths. There are also cycle spaces, on-site showers and changing facilities, along with a water cooler for bottle refilling.

Air quality sensors in Unit 3 will monitor aspects including particulate matter, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and volatile organic compounds, so customers can actively manage the environment for wellbeing. Air quality thresholds have been set and lease agreements allow for sensors to be calibrated annually.

Unit 3, which is the largest building at SEGRO Park Enfield, has achieved WELL certification, and the other two units have incorporated WELL features, with the potential for certification where there is customer demand. 

Informed by this project, wellbeing enhancements that are now used across new SEGRO  developments in London include sensors to monitor air quality, water cooling, daylight and acoustics; enhanced air filters; water coolers; blinds to windows; acoustic seals to office doors; outdoor gyms and bike repair stands.

Smart building management

As part of the wider corporate pilot, sensors in Unit 3 will capture a range of data, including:

• Energy use: identifying opportunities to improve efficiency, including through loading bay door management.
• Wellbeing: monitoring and managing air quality, noise and temperature for employee wellbeing and productivity.
• Utilisation: gaining insights into how space is being used to improve performance. To protect privacy, SEGRO uses radar-based technology rather than cameras. Radars are almost as accurate in detecting vehicles and people as cameras.
• Plant performance: improving preventative maintenance programmes. For instance, monitoring how often loading bays are used before there are performance issues will enable proactive maintenance and inform lifecycle analysis, influencing future product choices.

Over time, SEGRO will pull this data together to give it and its customers a rich picture of how a building is performing through a dashboard available to all parties.

Reducing carbon emissions

Low carbon features at SEGRO Park Enfield include photovoltaic panels on the roofs, LED lighting and Twin-Therm roofing, which delivers low U-values and low air permeability for energy efficiency. There are also electric car charging points for every unit. The photovoltaics will generate an estimated 353,207 kWh annually, providing renewable energy for customers. 

Social regeneration

SEGRO has a strong social focus. Local contributions during the development of SEGRO Park Enfield include £1.1m local spend on materials and services, supporting the local economy and employment.

In addition, 275 people accessed training or employment opportunities during construction, through SEGRO’s £35,000 donation to local charities. One apprentice worked on site for six months, progressing towards a Level 3 Site Management qualification. Contractors also participated in a local secondary school careers event.

A report commissioned by SEGRO, Keep London Working, highlighted the importance of industrial land in London and the vital role it has to play in supporting the capital’s future economic and population growth.

There will be community access to the new riverfront green space at SEGRO Park Enfield. SEGRO will also continue to make a positive social impact to the Enfield community through its £10 million Centenary Fund. This will particularly help and inspire disadvantaged people into education, training and employment from communities across the UK and Continental Europe over the next decade.

Financial

Over time, SEGRO anticipates that smart and sustainable warehouses designed for wellbeing will become the norm for the prime market, and in the short term will be differentiators in marketing the development.

The photovoltaic panels will generate an estimated £46,000 of electricity annually, achieving payback within nine years. SEGRO will monitor energy efficiency cost savings through the metering system. 

Benefits

WELL benefits for customers at SEGRO Park Enfield include:

• Improving employee productivity by providing good air quality.
• Promoting productivity and better sleep patterns by providing good levels of natural light.
• Promoting wellbeing by providing a connection to nature and external restorative spaces.
• Providing space to encourage physical exercise.
• Reducing absenteeism and sick days by providing comfortable internal temperature and humidity levels.
• Reducing distractions and improving job satisfaction by providing good indoor acoustic performance.

Benefits of wellbeing and sustainability innovations for SEGRO include:

• Differentiating SEGRO from its competitors and keeping it at the leading edge in a changing world.
• Capturing the quality of SEGRO schemes and articulating benefits to customers, through WELL Silver certification, BREEAM Excellent sustainability rating and Energy Performance Certificate A+.
• Supporting SEGRO’s target to be net-zero carbon by 2030