The Carbon Trust standard estimates UK SME’s could collectively save nearly £400 million a year in energy costs and over 2.5 million tonnes of CO2 by reducing their carbon footprint. Consumers are now more willing to use a company that offers a less wasteful experience, and companies that are seen to be environmentally sensitive tend to create a vision of care too. So how can Estate Agencies improve?
An obvious way of reducing carbon emissions is to reduce the number of people driving to and from property viewings. I recently noticed one agent waxing lyrical that they had a high number ‘physical’ viewings of a property – this is great for the owner if all are genuinely wanting to buy that particular property, but this means a high number of potentially wasted return car journeys could be saved, and just think of the carbon footprint reduction too.
At David Phillip Estate Agents we have invested in 3D virtual tours, we feel that it is much more effective if potential buyers can, from the comfort of their sofa undertake an immersive property tour on a mobile phone or desktop before deciding to take a ‘physical’ look around the property – this reduces the carbon footprint, prevents having to use over congested roads whilst eliminating un-necessary viewings for the vendor. Having your property show home ready, the 3D virtual tour saves on ‘pre-tidying’ cleaning and using products that are likely to be released back into the environment. We recently sold a property to a buyer relocating to Yorkshire from Singapore – think of the carbon footprint saving for the viewing there!
If a potential buyer has viewed a property on the main portals, seen the 3D virtual tour, but is not familiar with the property location, then Estate Agents using local area videos can help reduce carbon emissions and excessive car journeys.
How much easier is it for someone looking to move to be able to view an area, the community and local shops on film – saving time and fuel money but also resulting in a reduction in carbon emissions that driving around an area would create. At David Phillip Estate Agents we use local area videos to showcase our trading area beautifully, filmed on a summer day they hi-light Wharfedale and the surrounding areas in an extremely positive way.
Document checking, copying and signing should now be done digitally, not only does this speed up the generally slow post-sale process, but saves paper, postal costs and also reduces the carbon footprint of the delivery companies – where paper needs to be used then re-cycled options should be the first choice.
24/7 technology has enhanced the Customer experience. The days of having large elaborate offices are long gone and along with that are the associated huge lighting and heating bills plus the heavy cost to the environment – People sell houses but clever technology can enhance the overall experience as well as positively impacting the environmental cost.
David Phillip Estate Agents are part of the National ‘Re-Fill’ initiative a network of over 20,000 businesses, where local people out walking can simply call into our re-fill ‘station’ to stay hydrated, save money and prevent plastic pollution. Ten million plastic water bottles could be saved if Re-fill stations are used just twice daily – this is a great initiative and one that we are happy to support.
Estate Agents are slowly waking up to the fact that by being sustainable, this can improve their bottom line, improve the Customer Experience and Vision of Care along with helping the environment and carbon footprint, something that all businesses urgently need to do.
If you are looking to sell your property, then call David Phillip Estate Agents, based in Bramhope, Wharfedale.
T: 01134 676 400
w: davidphillip.co.uk
e: info@davidphillip.co.uk
This is an advertorial blog for David Phillip Estate Agents
