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Shaping the future of our estate with Engie

February 19, 2021

Engie is a leading service, business energy and regeneration company. As you may be aware, they are also our new estates facilities management provider from the 5 April for our current hospitals and the Midland Metropolitan University Hospital.

In early 2019, Engie successfully bid and secured the contract to become our exclusive estate management provider for the next eleven years and will play a critical role in our move to Midland Met in 2022. Boasting a workforce of 17,000 people and managing over 25million m² of space, Engie currently works with 35 other healthcare sites and has 15 local authority partnerships, so it’s safe to say we’ll be working alongside an experienced service provider, helping to make the management of our estate activity as it changes more streamlined and dynamic.

But what will this change mean in reality for our organisation? Well, for starters you can expect to see Engie working closely with SWB, and colleagues in our Trust to not only look after our estate but to innovate, collaborate and actively seek ways to improve our working environment. From 5 April 2021, the team will be responsible for looking after estates facilities management, reactive maintenance, programmed planned maintenance, lifecycle works, small works and some capital works.

Many of our current estates colleagues will be joining the ENGIE team so we are lucky we will still be working with staff we know and who know our estate and services.  ENGIE are also currently working at Midland Met alongside Balfour Beatty, our construction partners getting to know the behind the scenes infrastructure before it is closed behind walls and above ceilings.  This insight is a significant benefit to managing the new real estate in the future.

So how do Engie ensure that innovation remains at the heart of their business model? They keep it simple and keep an eye on developing new ideas and managing their impact on the environment.

Engie’s unwavering commitment to the environment is clear to see – they actively support organisations to reach a zero carbon footprint. They will support this ambition by:

  • Reducing energy consumption
  • Greening supply through investment in decarbonised and decentralised infrastructure
  • Enabling progress through innovative technology, data and partnerships
  • Reconciling economic performance with a positive impact on people and the planet.

Rachel Barlow, Director of System Transformation, remarked: “We have been working closely with Engie to ensure the transition to using their service is as smooth as it can be. Over the coming weeks, we will be working with colleagues, holding engagement workshops and sharing what will be changing and how users can access the services they provide.’’

“We’ve all been working hard behind the scenes to move to Engie and, one of the things I am particularly excited about is their focus on sustainability and innovation. Being a forward-thinking organisation looking at how we can operate as carbon neutral as possible will stand us in good stead for the future. Plus, Engie works with over 30 hospitals across the NHS, so they are sharing that wealth of experience with us to impact positively on the work we do onsite and in our communities.”

Richard Samuda, our Chairman, previously remarked: “This is a key long term relationship for us, with a shared commitment to local procurement, local employment and the living wage.”