Welcome to the latest edition of Impacts, which is dedicated to the topic of tipping points. When we decided on this year’s theme, we had no way of knowing that we were on the brink of probably the greatest tipping point of our lifetimes – Covid-19. Sadly, the pandemic continues to claim lives and disrupt all aspects of our society.

We know the world will not be the same after Covid-19, but the new normality has yet to be written. Our Impacts programme has always been focused on the longer term and our articles take this perspective, hopefully to look through to the other side of our current circumstances.

Our global experiment of working from home will not make offices redundant, but they will change. A new flexibility will be embedded into many of our working lives with less time spent in offices. Occupiers may not take less space, but office design is likely to become less dense, better respecting our health and wellbeing as well as social distancing.

As building owners have looked to incorporate technology into our building management, there may have been a sense of avoiding too much of a ‘big brother’ environment. Now, we think occupiers will be more open to technology, such as robotic cleaning, thermal monitoring on entry and remote sensors controlling lifts.

We are capable of changing our behaviour dramatically in the face of crises

But probably the most important message for the longer term is that the pandemic has shown that we are capable of changing our behaviour dramatically in the face of crises. One major issue we address in this issue is climate change. As our columnist, UN Sustainable Development Goals ambassador Ruud Veltenaar points out here, we need to respond to the climate emergency as though it is an immediate crisis, and take lessons on how we are learning to adapt through this pandemic.

We are sure you will find our report thought-provoking, and welcome any feedback. With many parts of the world still experiencing lockdown provisions in their communities, we hope you, your families and your colleagues remain safe.

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