Integrating Sustainability Initiatives into Facilities Management:
1. Adopt green cleaning:
Keeping facilities clean is one of your facilities management team’s core responsibilities.
In addition to the team following facilities management best practices, they can also introduce eco-friendly practices in the cleaning process by adopting green cleaning methods and products.
Using traditional cleaning chemicals can pose a health risk.
The proper selection and use of green cleaning products will protect your employees and the environment.
Here are some guidelines to help your team create an effective green cleaning program:
•Buy sustainable cleaning products and check their certifications from organizations such as Green seal
•Set measurable goals, for example, having 40% of cleaning products made from recycled materials
Lastly, continue improving and coming up with new green cleaning ideas.
2. Perform a facilities management sustainability analysis:
You and your team can audit the facility’s performance by looking at utility bills and energy consumption.
From here, you can develop sustainability strategies for the future.
While conducting the audit with your team, ask yourself these questions:
•Is there specific equipment that’s operating inefficiently?
•How often does energy consumption exceed typical consumption?
•Are there anomalies in your utility bills?
•What has been your environmental impact, and how can you reduce it?
•Are your suppliers committed to sustainability?
With this information, you and your team can
create a plan to reduce your environmental impact and make your facilities greener.
3. Conduct Preventive maintenance:
helps keep your equipment functioning well.
An older piece of equipment that isn’t performing optimally can lead to greater energy consumption, higher maintenance costs, and unwanted byproducts.
Your team’s commitment to regular maintenance can keep the equipment energy usage down in the long run. This routine upkeep can help extend the lifespan of your equipment as well.
4. Use sustainable materials and resources:
As a facility manager, you have a huge say in who provides you with supplies and materials.
As the team that consumes most of your company’s parts inventory and supplies, you can make a significant impact by partnering with sustainable vendors and choosing sustainable supplies and resources.
5. Update assets in the building:
Older buildings weren’t designed with the natural environment in mind.
Most companies only started caring about their carbon footprint impact recently.
Your team can update your building and assets by:
•Introducing motion sensor lights and replacing air conditioning units.
•Adopting the use of renewable energy sources, like solar.
•Replacing legacy boilers, windows, and HVAC units for quick energy savings.
•Adapting facilities to a more sustainable design and infrastructure.
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