September 24, 2020

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 into 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. It also 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.

Download report here