Most recently, BIFM has announced the realise of its annual sustainability survey, servings as a means to observe the ways in which FM professionals and organisations are working, most specifically looking at their engagement with the agenda for sustainability.
Created in conjunction with BIFM’s sustainability special interest group, the survey effectively analyses the meaning of sustainability as interpreted and regarded by other businesses. Additionally, the survey also looks at which groups take the lead, the very nature of the role assumed by FM and how sustainability initiatives are both reported on and measured as a whole.
This will signify the 10th year of the survey thus far, and this year will also see a comparison drawn between the statistics of today and those of over the last decade; effectively, not solely providing static data, but highlighting trends, changes and the evolution of how sustainability is handled over the last decade. Key areas being monitored include collaborative cross-functional working, innovation levels, the usage of both process and system, and the challenges being faced by the industry in developing the application of sustainability policy yet further.
Of course, members of the FM community, including both individuals and businesses, are encouraged to participate in the survey so as best to gleam some valuable resource in the results. As highlighted by Peter Brogan, BIFM’s Research and Information Manager, it is those FM professionals themselves who are in a position whereby they can set the standard for models of sustainable practice as well as influence other businesses to also consider the sustainability agenda.
Of course, highlighting the changing trends relative to sustainability may be the core goal of the survey, but it is also expected to paint something of a picture for the future of the FM sector and how the evolution of the sustainability agenda may change this.
