Many of us in the facilities services and property management industries have been congratulating ourselves on our progress in implementing green practices, improving Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) and on the overall sustainability of our buildings – with good reason. We, as a group, have made tremendous progress over the last few years. Many of us have implemented programs to embrace the environment.
But making sustainability improvements is like going on a diet – the first few pounds are easy – the tough part is in continuing to lose weight and in keeping it off forever. That’s where we’re at with the green movement. We’re all looking at ourselves in the mirror and thinking we look pretty good, but we could look better and, if we’re not careful, we’ll slip back to our old ways.
So, what’s next?
Keep stepping on the scale – Keep informed Keep progressing We all have an obligation to stay on top of industry developments. There are continual product and equipment improvements; there are also procedural improvements that can have equally significant impacts. Suppliers and service providers will bring some of them to your attention, but others have to be sought out.
Look to industry forums and training programs, but keep an eye on broader business trends – energy management, cradle-to-cradle recycling and other innovations are gaining the attention of industry and government leaders. Computer energy consumption is a hot topic, for instance. These more strategic discussions often point the way towards tactical changes that can be made at your properties. They also highlight the perspectives that your board of directors and other company management who aren’t directly concerned with sustainability will bring to the table.
Watch your diet every day – Make sure that policies are implemented and not subverted by middle management who are not on board. Organize your building management structure to facilitate internal communications in order to harvest the best practices from within your organization. The irony is, many (if not most) of the more innovative environmental practices are generated by functional managers; but those same managers don’t have the resources to formalize and spread the practice throughout the organization. Find and nurture these ideas, and share them across the company.
Because it is difficult to drive sustainability from the facility level, many companies are instituting corporate-level committees and inviting facility managers to play key leadership roles. This process facilitates the development of workable approaches while harnessing both corporate and operational resources. Committees can research, communicate and advocate environmentally progressive practices throughout their organizations to put a structure around sustainability that helps keep everyone focused on the objectives.
Keep the weight off – Finally, change the corporate culture to embrace environmental practices at all levels of the organization extending from the boardroom to every operational unit. The environmental impact across your organization should be addressed, not only building issues, but manufacturing, transportation, waste recovery, etc. The best way to institutionalize real change is by creating a culture where environmental stewardship is not only the right way to go, it is the only way to go.
George Lohnes is Vice President of UNICCO Service Company, a leader in delivering best-in-class integrated facilities services to customers in a wide variety of markets including corporate, industrial and government. He can be reached at glohnes@unicco.com.
