Our association headquarters at 1 East Greenway Plaza in Houston, Texas, has served us well over the years as the nexus for our international operations. 
The IFMA Foundation's purpose is to provide greater resources and educational opportunities to facility management professionals and those who support the FM industry. 
Bricsnet offers the industry's most powerful and easy-to-use technology solutions for facility management and real estate operations. 
Paul D. Ring
Energy Management
FMJ Articles
The FMJ is written specifically for professionals concerned with developing and maintaining productive workplaces. To view more recent articles on sustainability related topics, please log in to the FMJ Online: http://www.fmjonline.com/
Sustainability 101: Ask the ExpertsBesides implementing sustainable operations and maintenance in my building, what can I do as a facility manager to assure sustainability is part of my company’s core mission? New green products are filling the marketplace but how can I be sure they are actually sustainable? I’m starting a green project and need to know where to look to find green products for my building.
In the Green
Brazil is attentive to the movements and changes within the corporate world. Boosted by globalization, the presence of multinational companies and international interaction play integral parts in today’s Brazilian business arena.
In the Green
Thanks to all of the IFMA members who participated in the second annual Johnson Controls Energy Efficiency Indicator research study. This groundbreaking online survey provides key insights into the decision-making process of facility executives across North America (see related article on page 14). This year’s research uncovers a couple of trends that I think are timely and worth discussing in more detail.
The Response to Rising Energy Costs
In 2007, Johnson Controls sponsored ground-breaking research to get a broad view of how businesses and other organizations were responding to rising energy prices—were they changing their operations, placing more importance on energy efficiency, embracing energy management strategies?
The Carbon Footprint: A Step in the Wrong Direction
As we seek ways to reduce our overall ecological imprint, the single measure of a carbon footprint is the factor generating news, Web commentary and organizations around climate change. Industrial growth in Asia coupled with the implementation of the Phase One Kyoto Protocol reductions will continue to draw attention to this key environmental impact.
Go Gold and Save Green
The pressure is on. Corporate executives are pushing for green alternatives, keen public awareness is reaching a threshold, and while your facility may certainly be doing its part to reduce its carbon footprint, your main objective is resolute—to improve efficiency and reduce expenses. Is it possible to merge the two initiatives into a winning strategy that will reduce expenses and promote environmental stewardship?
Does Your Landlord Create a Sustainable Space?
When window shopping, we look at items out of our price range, thinking about possibilities. We fantasize about what we could do with this or that. Then we go back to business as usual, what if scenarios relegated to wishful thinking. If what we want stops being a luxury, and through external pressures becomes a necessity, we always seem to find a way to achieve what was once deemed unattainable. It is a tribute to our capability and resourcefulness that nothing is out of reach. Once we set our minds to it, any window can be opened.
Designing with Excellence
Warehouse 7, a drab former military structure, sat on the 138-acre General Services Administration’s Auburn, Washington Campus as an underutilized relic from the distant past. One of eight virtually identical World War II-era warehouses comprising the federal government’s GSA regional complex, the structure, for all practical purposes, appeared to be at the end of its useful life. However, when GSA was faced with finding a new home for the Social Security Administration (SSA) “800”-number call center serving residents of the Pacific Time Zone, the building received a rare gift. The GSA recognized that an adaptive reuse of the existing structure represented a unique opportunity to fulfill their mandate to provide sustainable government buildings, while giving taxpayers added value by transforming a minimally used federal asset into first-class, contemporary office space.
A Global Effort to Address Climate Change
Hybrid vehicles. Biofuels. Solar-powered cars. While transportation often receives the most attention in regard to energy use and environmental impact, it’s not the largest conservation target. Transportation only accounts for 27 percent of the energy consumed in the United States.
Environmental Initiatives for Federal Buildings
The federal government is the largest consumer of energy in the United States, and about 30 percent of that consumption is in federal buildings. With about 1,513 federal assets in its inventory, the U.S. General Services Administration is the civilian government’s largest building owner. GSA is keeping step with the federal government’s ever-increasing efforts to conserve energy and is leading the way in many areas of building design, construction and management.
Green-lighting Your Environmental Strategy
So you've decided to go green. Good choice, because with 80 percent of corporate America expecting to engage in green at least 16 percent of the time by next year, it's a safe bet that your peers and competitors are either doing likewise or about to. And considering the scrutiny real estate companies receive from investors, building occupants, lawmakers and consumers—not to mention the US$24 billion price tag on annual commercial real estate energy consumption—it makes sense to incorporate eco-friendliness as a core business strategy element. The idea ties environmental consciousness to such bottom-line concerns as tenant attraction and retention, compliance, tracking, and reporting.
How to Develop a Renewable Energy Strategy
Carbon's environmental footprint is having a profound impact on the way companies conduct business. Not only are business owners faced with paying higher taxes and increasing energy and commodity prices, but regulatory agencies, investors and customers are also influencing their business and environmental management decisions.
Growing Your Roof with the Right Ingredients
In the few warm and humid states where they grow, palm trees are considered a prized, highly valued plant. Large, older specimens are in great demand and often command a premium price. Where they grow naturally, palm trees are often removed from existing landscape sites or from a commercial nursery field, transported and replanted at another site—creating an instant mature landscape.
Accelerating Sustainability
The drive toward sustainability continues unabated. Worried about energy security, unstable fuel prices and greenhouse gas emissions, a growing number of schools, universities, governments, businesses and other organizations are committed to improving their environmental and social performance along with their financial results—their triple bottom lines.
Breezing Through the Energy Battle
A recent research study has confirmed what some energy-savvy retailers and commercial building owners have known for some time—air curtains (air doors) provide a better environmental separation and save significantly more energy than vestibules.
Tools & Resources
IFMA Sustainability Member Community
Sustainability SIG discussion forum for IFMA members only
Tools & Links: Sustainability
Green and sustainable resources for facility managers
Energy Star Information
IFMA's Energy Star Challenge
IFMA Energy Star Challenge Master Account Building Categories (.PDF)
Full list of Building Category Types for Energy Star
IFMA Energy Star Challenge Tech (.PDF)
The IFMA Energy Challenge is to reduce measured facility energy use by 15%.
Sustainability Knowledge
Browse a variety of sustainability-related content for the facility practitioner including the IFMA Foundation’s “Sustainability 'How-To' Guide Series,” recent research publications and helpful links.
CONTACT US
IFMA SUSTAINABILITY EMAIL
Email IFMA's Sustainability team »
