At the end of 2015 I made several predictions for 2016 and looking back I was miles off the mark on some of the issues that really mattered. I forecast that the UK economy would grow, interest rates would rise and the electorate would get their promised EU referendum and would vote to remain when faced with the economic consequences of exiting. Right, wrong and wrong! I also did not even envisage the potential impact the US election could have on all of us. Despite these surprises, over the last year our work with our clients to make their resources go further has not stopped. We’ve made a difference by improving the value they get from their facilities management and project investments, and reducing the energy used in their operations and buildings. We estimate that over the last twelve months we have saved our clients more than £5m operational costs, which dropped to their bottom line and over 5,000 tonnes of CO₂, from their carbon footprints. Our team are proud of the work we have delivered to make our clients organisations more financially and environmentally sustainable. In 2016, we also launched our Whole Life Performance Plus (WLP+) project to improve worker productivity, health and well-being. This is a ground-breaking project to develop an indoor environmental quality model to improve worker productivity by 10%, whilst reducing building energy use by 30%. We are working with our partners Argent, King’s College London, Emcor UK, Oxford Brookes University, British Council for Offices, Constructing Excellence and supported by Innovate UK and EPSRC. We will continue our focus on making our clients resources go further in 2017, the outcomes of the WLP+ project will help to make their workplaces more productive and healthier. Over the last two weeks, I have attended several events, including my daughter’s nativity play and our Christmas party, which are making it feel a lot like Christmas for me, so I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all our customers and partners for your support in 2016 and wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy 2017. And I hope that despite all of 2016’s surprises, it’s starting to feel a lot like Christmas for you too.   If you’d like to understand how your buildings and estate can work harder for your organisation in 2017, then contact John O’Brien, Founder and MD of LCMB on t: 01295 722823 or e: [email protected].