Alliance

Sustainability practices just got easier for the facility management profession. The International Facility Management Association has announced a collaborative agreement with the Alliance for Sustainable Built Environments to develop and deliver sustainability educational programs, as well as provide research and planning tools. Since 2003, the Alliance, which includes the international companies Johnson Controls, Milliken & Company, Forbo Flooring, Philips Lighting, JohnsonDiversey and Owens Corning, has been working to educate the marketplace and top management on the benefits of reducing the overall impact facilities have on the natural environment and on building occupants.

This partnership will bring sustainability concepts and state of the art practices to a vital division of all business organizations. Currently, more than 19,000 facility management professionals are members of IFMA, managing nearly 23 billion square feet of workspace combined.

IFMA/Alliance programming and activities will include a number of environmental metrics, including the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) programs, Energy Star, Climate Leaders and others.

ASHE

The International Facility Management Association and the American Society for Healthcare Engineering have joined together in a strategic alliance designed to advance the interests of engineering and health care facility professionals. IFMA and ASHE finalized this partnership with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding at the World Workplace 2007 Conference & Expo in New Orleans, La.

The Memorandum of Understanding outlines efforts to maintain effective communication, promote educational and research programs, create new products and services and collaborate with other professional organizations. It also encourages cooperative activities that promote professional development and certification and calls for the formation of joint task forces focused on sustainability and benchmarking.

EPA

The International Facility Management Association has joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR program as a Partner. As an ENERGY STAR Partner, IFMA makes a fundamental commitment to protect the environment through the promotion of continuous improvement in energy performance to its 19,000 members. The partnership was formally announced on Friday, Oct. 26, during the World Workplace 2007 Conference & Expo in New Orleans, La.

As an ENERGY STAR Partner, IFMA will:

• Set a goal for members to improve the energy efficiency of their facilities by 10 percent or more and develop and implement a plan to achieve this goal by following the ENERGY STAR Energy Management Guidelines;
• Ask members to commit to the ENERGY STAR Challenge — a national call to action designed to improve the energy efficiency of America’s commercial and industrial buildings by 10 percent or more;
• Encourage U.S. members to partner with ENERGY STAR and measure and track the energy performance of their facilities by using tools and training such as those offered through the ENERGY STAR program;
• Appeal to staff and members to learn about the benefits of energy efficiency and to implement appropriate energy efficiency measures;
• Highlight its achievements with recognition offered by ENERGY STAR and provide internal recognition to facility managers who achieve large annual energy savings.
• In partnership with IFMA, ENERGY STAR will:
• Assist IFMA in achieving its energy efficiency goals by providing informational, technical and educational support to the association and its members;
• Explore opportunities to collaborate on the development of new educational programs for facility managers.

In 2006, Americans — with the help of ENERGY STAR — saved about $14 billion dollars on their utility bills and avoided greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from 25 million vehicles, according to the EPA. To learn more about ENERGY STAR, visit www.energystar.gov.

EuroFM

The European Facility Management Network and the International Facility Management Association established a partnership agreement to present annual facility management conferences in Europe beginning in 2005.

This significant step combines IFMA's previous World Workplace Europe event and EuroFM's Annual Conference, linking two nationally recognized hosts on the European continent. It also enables the German FM association to host the first conference in 2005. This was formally announced at the EuroFM conference in Copenhagen on May 14, 2004.

The 2005 European Facility Management Conference, the first in the series, will take place April 19-21, 2005 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany and will be organized by Messago Messe Frankfurt GmbH, a leading manager of international exhibitions and conferences.

The European Facility Management Conference will provide an important international forum bringing together the leading professional bodies, engaging FM professionals in all areas of activity and bridging continents, countries and cultures.

The conference format will provide two intensive days of professional learning, an exchange of ideas and workshops followed by EuroFM's well-established Research Symposium on the third day, which will provide a showcase for the leading FM research projects underway. Social events will include tours, receptions and a gala dinner.

EuroFM is a network of more than 60 organizations, all focused on facility management. They are based in more than 15 European countries and represent professional (national) associations, education and research institutes. EuroFM's mission is the advancement of knowledge in facility management in Europe and its application in practice, education and research. For more information, visit www.eurofm.org.

OSCRE

The International Facility Management Association, the world’s leading association for professional facility managers, has joined the Open Standards Consortium for Real Estate as an Executive Member — the highest level of partnership with the organization. IFMA will support OSCRE’s efforts to develop workplace standards and improve the efficiency, consistency and transparency of data used in the corporate supply chain.

Facility management is a profession that encompasses many disciplines and integrates people, place, process and technology to ensure functionality of the built environment. As the world’s largest and most distinguished association for facility management professionals, IFMA represents thousands of members in countries around the world. IFMA members have a total combined purchasing power of $100 billion and manage more than 37 billion square feet of space.

As an Executive Member, IFMA will play a strategic part in establishing OSCRE’s roadmap for future development. The Executive Committee meets regularly to set OSCRE policy, including the priorities for the maintenance and development of standards. The committee also advises the board of directors on its business plan and provides resources to support the organization’s workgroups.

IFMA joins prominent executive OSCRE members such as the U.S. General Services Administration, Cisco Systems, Prudential Financial, CB Richard Ellis, Cushman & Wakefield, the National Association of Realtors, the U.S. Department of Defense and others.

OSCRE Americas, Inc., exists to establish a common business language for the Real Property industry that enables stakeholders throughout the supply chain to quickly, easily and cost effectively receive and send electronic business information regardless of the technology operating system or applications they use. Data standards are being developed to greatly reduce the cost companies currently incur for customized integrations, data scrubbing, manual data entry and re-entry.

Partners in FM Excellence

The International Facility Management Association, the British Institute of Facilities Management, and the Facilities Management Association of Australia have signed an International Memorandum of Understanding to promote the facility management profession globally, share knowledge, and establish standards and best practices guidelines for facility management as a professional business sector. The agreement is structured to provide an enhanced membership experience, educational opportunities, and the promotion of sound administrative, operational, and financial best practices for the more than 28,000 members represented by the three Associations. In addition, the IMOU covers joint meetings, membership benefits, advocacy, research, and certification.

The three bodies are also setting up an International FM Panel to review and report on the status of facility management around the world, to identify key issues that need to be addressed on an international basis, and to develop action plans to deal with these issues.

Of particular significance is a provision in the agreement which calls for the members of each organization to have electronic access to the Member’s Only section of each of the other Association’s web site. For more information, or to sign on, please go to the IFMAnet section of this Web site (IFMA members only).

People’s Republic of China

The International Facility Management Association has received formal recognition from the Occupational Skills Testing Authority of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, People’s Republic of China, to provide facility management education in China. OSTA awarded IFMA the certifying document bearing the PRC’s official seal, a prerequisite for providing certifiable education. The OSTA document also signifies that the Chinese government recognizes facility management as a distinct discipline and career pursuit.

Yingbiao Human Resources Ltd., a company recognized by OSTA, will be IFMA’s contract bureau and education partner in the PRC. IFMA and Yingbiao signed a partnering agreement in Beijing in July 2006.

Preparing to enter the Chinese market was a four-year process, including several visits between North American and Chinese delegations, educators and subject-matter experts.

Initially IFMA and Yingbiao will provide a series of courses in China based on the nine core facility management competencies IFMA has identified and developed since introducing the competency-based Certified Facility Manager credential in 1993. All facility management competency courses and supporting materials have been translated from English into Chinese and adapted and customized to fit Chinese culture and business practices. Those successfully completing a course will receive a special certificate for that competency. Certificates will be written in both English and Chinese. The nine facility management competencies are: planning and project management; real estate; leadership and management; finance; operations and maintenance; quality assessment and innovation; human and environmental factors; communication; and technology.

Yingbiao also will present IFMA’s comprehensive Business of FM course at selected times and locations throughout China. The course covers all aspects of facility management and demonstrates how good facility management practices enhance the value of the organization’s physical, human and intellectual assets. It also covers how the facility function can become more visible and achieve greater recognition by all stakeholders in the enterprise—from owners, to co-workers, to customers. The Business of FM course has been tremendously successful in North America, Europe and in other parts of Asia.

Additionally, among other China-related responsibilities outlined in the IFMA–Yingbiao agreement, Yingbiao will administer IFMA’s Certified Facility Manager and Facility Management Professional credentials; recruit individual and corporate members for IFMA; promote the importance of facility management education and its contributions to performance; and help safeguard IFMA’s intellectual property. IFMA is the largest and most widely recognized professional association for facility management, supporting more than 18,500 members. The Association’s members are represented in 125 chapters and 15 councils in 65 countries worldwide. Globally, IFMA certifies facility managers, conducts research, provides educational programs, recognizes facility management degree and certificate programs, and produces World Workplace, the largest facility management-related conference and exposition. For more information, visit www.ifma.org.

Yingbiao, an independent legal entity in the field of education and training, is committed to the introduction and promotion of various international professional qualifications and is entrusted by the Occupational Skill Testing Authority of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, People’s Republic of China. Yingbiao is the official examination office for Sino-British vocational qualifications and has experience with other international vocational certificates in China.

USGBC

The International Facility Management Association and the U.S. Green Building Council have signed a Memorandum of Intent outlining collaborative efforts to promote sustainability, energy efficiency and environmentally responsible building operations. Representatives of IFMA and USGBC signed the agreement on Thursday, Oct. 25, at IFMA’s World Workplace 2007 Conference & Expo in New Orleans, La.

The memorandum establishes a cooperative relationship between IFMA and USGBC that promotes healthy, sustainable and environmentally sound facility management practices. It acknowledges voluntary measures as the desired goal and calls for an open dialogue between the organizations on legislative and regulatory initiatives that embrace best practices in green construction and sustainable operations.

The agreement also encourages cooperative activities in the development of educational initiatives — such as USGBC workshops and IFMA core competency courses — and the cross-promotion of Continuing Education Units (CEU) and the LEED® AP exam. IFMA and USGBC will also collaborate at each organization’s annual conference.