“We always thought we were on the right track in terms of what we were doing. We just didn’t have it certified. NCZ gave us the evidence to back up what we already believed.”
Tommy Taylor | Think FM
ABOUT THINK FM
Think FM has been operating in the facilities management sector for over 20 years. Working at the high end of the market, the business partners with luxury brands and premium property managers across London and the surrounding boroughs. With around 250 staff and a deliberately flat management structure, there is no long chain between leadership and the people doing the work. That closeness to operations turns out to matter a great deal when it comes to sustainability.
HOW IT STARTED
Think FM’s sustainability journey did not begin with a strategy document or a client ultimatum. It began with a conversation. One of the directors spoke to someone outside the business, came away with a very strong sense that NCZ was the right partner, and set the process in motion from there.
There was no formal review or shortlist of providers. We had the confidence we needed and the decision was made on instinct, which was not entirely without foundation. Think FM had already been doing things differently for years. They just had no way of proving it.
The most distinctive example is one that most businesses in the sector have never seriously considered. Think FM has no company vehicles. None. Managers travel between sites by public transport or on foot, and the business does not operate outside the M25. These were not decisions made in response to a net zero target. They were simply how Think FM chose to run. By the time NCZ came into the picture, the bones of a strong sustainability story were already there. What was needed was the data and independent verification to back it up.
GETTING STARTED WITH NCZ
The initial conversations with the NCZ team were straightforward. The process felt accessible, and the expertise on the other side of the table gave Think FM confidence that they were in the right hands. As we developed our plans however, a real commitment of time and internal effort was needed.
Gathering the data needed for the higher certification levels is not a light undertaking for our business. In the early stages, building understanding internally around why the information was needed and why accuracy mattered took consistent work. Over time, that groundwork definitely paid off. Director-level engagement with the process is now firmly established. “I don’t have to convince the directors anymore,” as Tommy puts it. “They know we need it, otherwise we’re not going to get the certification.” Think FM has now not only maintained Gold certification, but has progressed to the Platinum level, which is perhaps the clearest measure of how far that commitment has come.
NCZ Gold Certification
THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE
The most significant ongoing challenge for Think FM isn’t the platform or the reporting framework. It is getting reliable data from the operational staff who generate it.
The workforce is largely remote, travelling from home to site and in many cases across several sites in a single day. For a significant number of staff, English is a second language. This means that before accurate travel data can be collected, the purpose behind it has to be clearly communicated and understood. That takes more than a simple request. It takes trust, explanation, and a sustained effort to bring people along.
Think FM has been building this steadily. The number of staff involved in the data collection process has grown with each certification cycle. Moving towards Platinum will require that pool to grow further still, alongside more structured internal communications and additional support for those working across language barriers. It is not a simple task, but it is one the business is already working through systematically.
WHAT THE DATA REVEALED
Every carbon footprint process surfaces something unexpected. For Think FM, it was a small anomaly that turned out to have a straightforward explanation. A member of staff who had previously been travelling regularly between Germany and the UK had since relocated to Britain full-time. On paper, the associated emissions might be expected to fall. Instead, they nudged slightly upward.
The NCZ team worked through the figures and explained the reason clearly. The movement was not detrimental, and once understood, it pointed to something more important: the level of detail that a thorough carbon footprint process can surface, and the value of having a team that understands the data well enough to explain these moments when they arise.
MAKING THE CASE TO CLIENTS
NCZ certification features in every new business pitch Think FM puts forward. It sits not as a standalone badge but as part of a broader picture of how the company operates, the decisions it has made, and the standards it holds itself to.
A number of Think FM’s existing clients are already well advanced in their own net zero journeys. The move towards Platinum certification, which will require suppliers to participate directly in the process, is seen as an opportunity to bring those relationships further along a shared path rather than simply demonstrating Think FM’s own progress in isolation.
THE ROAD TO PLATINUM
Think FM is now working towards NCZ Platinum certification. The roadmap is built around three practical commitments:
- Expanding the data collection process to include a wider pool of operational staff, supported by clearer internal communications and additional guidance for those working across language barriers.
- Bringing suppliers and clients into the process directly, using the Platinum journey as a way to deepen relationships with supply partners and luxury brand partners who are navigating their own sustainability commitments.
- Maintaining the operational principles that have always set the business apart: no company vehicles, no work outside the M25, and a continued focus on low-impact products across all client sites.
A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE BUILT OVER DECADES
Think FM’s zero-vehicle policy is unusual in the sector. Most comparable businesses run company cars for managers and vehicles for deliveries and site visits. Think FM does not, and has not. With six senior people travelling by public transport rather than by car, the carbon saving relative to industry peers is material and has been accumulating for years.
The business is not concerned about competitors reaching the same position. If others choose to follow a similar path, that is a positive development for the sector as a whole. What Think FM is focussed on is continuing to raise its own profile, strengthen its credentials, and ensure that both existing and prospective clients have a clear picture of where the business stands on its journey to net zero.
“There’s no reason why other companies can’t achieve what we’ve achieved. We’ve got senior managers and directors, so that’s six fewer cars on the road. We just don’t do that. And I think that’s quite unique in terms of where we sit in this industry.”
Tommy Taylor | Think FM