The Increasing Importance of Sustainability in FM: IWFM Survey
The findings from January 2019’s Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management (IWFM, formerly BIFM) have been released. The results indicate that there is an increasing awareness of the importance of sustainability within the facilities management sector:
- 31% of FM respondents said sustainability was “extremely important”
- 35% of FM respondents said sustainability was “very important”
The trend reflects wider UK awareness in sustainability issues and the IWFM recognises that programmes such as the BBC’s Blue Planet series have been a factor in engaging the public around environmental issues.
The survey reports that a total of 48% of respondents said that the most frequent sustainability criterion stated in tenders is environmental considerations.
Ann Beavis represents Crown Workspace in the IWFM sustainability special interest group and helps to feed in to what the survey covers, focusing on social value. She comments: “Procurement criteria are a good indicator of how far sustainability is embedded in the FM sector. Increasing public awareness means that Crown Workspace sustainability credentials are viewed in a positive light during tenders, and affirms that more and more organisations are focusing on social values.”
At Crown Workspace, we aim to push forward with innovation in this area and participate fully in the conversation around sustainability and the circular economy.
Related stories
Walk into modern offices and you’ll see the motifs of sustainability: a living wall in reception, branded reusable mugs in the pantry, perhaps even a rooftop beehive. These are the sort of things that photograph well and tick boxes in annual reports. But what truly makes an office “green”? The uncomfortable truth is that many […]
Sustainability is everywhere in workplace design. From rooftop gardens to recycled coffee cups, offices are quick to showcase their “green” credentials. But how much of this activity delivers genuine environmental impact, and how much is simply optics?
Let’s start with the conclusion: The honest answer is that both stories are true. Some organizations are taking up more and larger offices, others are compressing. What ties the two together is a single idea that now sits at the heart of Facilities Management: rightsizing. Size follows purpose. If the purpose is clearer collaboration, better […]