Major asset owners and property management companies operating outside of the UK are seeing the benefits of certification in their resilience planning, writes Ian Pugh, Director of PAL Protect Consultancy, a division of Anchor Group Services. They’re the only UK partner able to deliver the SHORE certification.
They see the importance of having an external review to measure the optimum performance of their asset by adopting SHORE, the only global solution for evaluating and certifying operational risk and resilience for individual assets and property portfolios. So why should UK asset owners and property managers also adopt SHORE?
SHORE stands for SAFE, Hospitality, Offices, Retail and Exhibitions. It delivers confidence to the client that their management processes and risk management strategy is protecting not only their asset but their employees and the public who may visit them in providing a safe environment prepared to deal with any crisis situation.
Too often after major incidents have occurred, public inquiries have been held to determine what happened and invariably some organisations have been found wanting in their preparedness to deal with a major incident or found failing in a lack of cohesion around their management processes to deal with the incident. It is not always easy to open ourselves to detailed analysis of our ways of working and this can be because we are afraid of what might be found or that we just assume we are in a good place and don’t need outside support.
PAL Protect consultants will support the client and their teams every step of the way as they go through certification and will provide ongoing support through the process in developing procedures, if required, which will enhance the operation and deliver the highest level of certification available. The benefits are there for all to see for those companies who are adopting the SHORE Certification outside of the UK and we want to help UK organisations achieve the same benefits.
The benefits of SHORE Accreditation are:
•Demonstrate duty of care – Investors, owners and operators are expected to do everything ‘reasonably possible’ to protect the health and safety of employees, tenants and visitors.
•Boost property value – In routine valuations, investments are increasingly assessed for safety, security and risk.
•Increase brand value – Besides simply being safe, a premium location must also feel safe. This is crucial for attracting tenants and visitors, driving repeat visitation and increasing dwell time.
•Reduce risk and insurance costs – Minimising liability risks, protecting against security threats, and reducing the risk of business interruption allows the optimisation of insurance-related costs.
•Supporting your ESG Strategy:- Whilst most building certifications and benchmarks focus on environmental metrics and indicators, SHORE provides the important parts of the S and the G in terms of building and operations, building further confidence and trust in your stakeholders.
The work on going in Parliament to introduce the Terrorism (Protection of premises) legislation otherwise known as “Martyn’s Law” is welcome and fully supported by PAL Protect and Anchor Group Services. In my previous role as Group Head of Security at intu Plc I supported in the initial consultations. It is welcome and long overdue that legislation could be put in place.
The SHORE certification focuses on all aspects of evidencing safe management and operational preparedness of an organisation responsible for managing the asset not specifically at terrorism, while also evidencing the competence and preparedness of the service provider delivering in services to that asset. Organisations cannot wait until legislation is in place to determine if they are owning, managing or operating in a safe environment.
As SHORE Certified organisations worldwide (some who also own and operate assets in the UK) have seen the value of holding this accreditation, then UK organisations will also see the benefit.
Organisations who become SHORE accredited will be best prepared to evidence their commitment in delivering in ‘SAFE places’ in anticipation of the Protect Duty coming into law and any requirements that the new legislation will place on businesses around terrorism preparedness.
As director of PAL Protect consultancy, I look forward to working with organisations who wish to become SHORE certified and sharing my 38 years’ experience of working within the security industry operating across Publicly Accessible Locations (PALs) to help them, with my fellow consultants and the CEO of Safe Asset Group, Erik Engstrand, the founder of SHORE, to begin the UK journey to certification and creating safer places for employees and the public to work, visit and stay.
Visit https://www.anchorgroupservices.co.uk/.
