IFMA Industries Forum 2009
Program at a Glance

Opening Keynote

Sustainable Facility Management:  It’s not just about the Environment! 
Efficient and Cost Effective Management of Your Facility in the Face of Limited Resources

Christopher P. Hodges, P.E., CFM, IFMA Fellow

Facility managers around the world are under increasing pressure to make their existing buildings more energy efficient, sustainable, and less costly to operate.  Now, we face some new challenges.  In difficult economic times, money, resources, and personnel are in short supply.  When the going gets rough, new initiatives are often the first to go, and that may mean that sustainability initiatives fall by the wayside.  But, the cost of doing nothing is far higher than we can imagine.

When faced with economic constraints, where do you start?  Obviously, you can’t just replace every suspect or inefficient building system, and you shouldn’t just pick the low hanging fruit.  You need to start somewhere, and this is the starting point; the 5 things you need to know about your facility to make a positive difference in a difficult time.

1. Energy Efficiency -- do you know your energy efficiency?  How can you improve it?  What does the future hold if we don’t improve our efficiency?
2. Water Efficiency – how much do you use and how can you benefit from conservation? 
3. What’s going into your facility? -- Sustainable purchasing; what are you buying for your facility and how can you conserve?
4. What’s coming out of your facility?  -- Material handling and recycling; what are the real economic benefits?
5. Indoor Environment -- How is your indoor environment effected by climate control and cleaning practices?

These 5 things do not represent a complete list of all of the things you will need to know, or that you will learn about sustainability, but they do represent the starting point.  Ready answers to these questions will give the facility manager a head start on efficiency, cost savings, and sustainability.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn the potential impact of sustainable facility management on facility operating cost and efficiency.
• Learn the five most important facilities attributes that effect efficiency and sustainability.
• Learn ways to conserve and reduce your use of resources in difficult times.