The way organisations use their buildings has changed dramatically over the past few years. Hybrid working has altered occupancy patterns, energy costs remain under pressure, and increasingly ambitious sustainability targets are forcing organisations to rethink how they manage their estates.

Yet many of the decisions being made about office space, building services and decarbonisation are still based on assumptions rather than evidence.

To explore how organisations can make better-informed decisions, Abintra brought together three specialists with complementary expertise: David Maddison, Senior Workspace Consultant at Abintra; Steve Loughney, an expert in smart building technologies and environmental control systems; and Tony O’Keeffe, Chief Operating Officer at OPNBuildings.

Over the coming weeks, this series examines the practical questions facing organisations responsible for workplaces and estates. Drawing on the discussion between our panel, each article explores one key issue—from measuring workplace utilisation and integrating building data to improving energy performance, supporting employee wellbeing and achieving net zero with confidence.

Together, the series makes a simple case: better buildings begin with better data, and better data leads to better decisions.

Part one of our series, From Hybrid Working to Net Zero: Making Better Estate Decisions, asks a simple but fundamental question: what is stopping organisations from balancing workplace flexibility, rising costs and increasingly demanding sustainability targets?

Our three industry specialists share their perspectives on why poor-quality data, disconnected decision-making and organisational silos remain some of the biggest barriers to creating more efficient, more sustainable buildings.