From droughts in Africa, to wild fires in California and floods in the UK, every part of the world is now being disrupted by extreme weather events fuelled by climate change. How can Facilities Managers help turn the tide and save the world from itself?
What is sustainable facility management?
Sustainable FM is about controlling supply chains, energy use and asset management to help companies achieve a carbon neutral or even ‘net positive’ impact on the environment.
The aim is to maximise energy efficiency in buildings while maintaining, reusing and recycling assets to extend life-span and reduce carbon footprints.
How are we doing so far?
Facility Managers are missing sustainability targets
Many sustainability goals are being missed by organisations without the oversight tools to optimise their approach:
- UK building emissions are reducing - but only by 13% in 5 years
- 1.2 million office desks and 1.8 million office chairs end up in landfill annually
- Companies are still procuring single-use items instead of opting for reusables
- FMs are postponing investments in energy-efficient tech due to upfront costs
But environmental regulation in the UK and EU is increasing
The EU and UK are intensifying regulations to penalise polluting companies and meet international climate obligations. In the EU, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will take effect in 2026, requiring companies to pay carbon taxes on imported goods.
The UK has recently eliminated the cap on penalties for environmental offences, allowing for unlimited fines proportionate to company size and the nature of the violation.
Sustainable facilities management: Who's ready?
Some businesses already have smart building technology and digitally driven sustainable practices in place. They’re using IoT-enabled equipment and even AI to track, model, and control asset condition and energy consumption in their companies.
Others are much less advanced in their building and equipment management.
But these businesses still need effective digital data and controls to minimise their environmental impact and improve operational efficiency.
With flexible, cloud-based facilities management software, companies without smart building infrastructure in place can establish the sustainability framework to make this happen.
9 ways a CAFM can make businesses more sustainable
1. Tighten supply chain management
More control and visibility over the supply chain is vital for making environmentally sound decisions and proving compliance with regulations. The right CAFM helps manage record-keeping for different suppliers to meet standards like ISO 14001:2015:
- Keeping up-to-date records about sustainability certifications and accreditations
- Setting supplier sustainability KPIs and measuring performance
2. Enable sustainable procurement
A great CAFM helps you use parts ordering software to:
- Manage all orders through approved suppliers
- Procure with sustainability in mind
- Achieve economies of scale
- Group deliveries to save unnecessary journeys
3. Increase asset lifespan
Digital asset registers give Facilities Managers detailed oversight of equipment performance to support their sustainability efforts. This allows them to:
- Service equipment regularly to reduce failure
- Plan preventive maintenance
- Increase asset longevity
- Manage waste generation and responsible disposal
4. Identify inefficient assets
Access to data trends through digital asset management tools can help identify inefficiently performing assets.
A great CAFM ensure engineers have the notifications and data to:
- Take action to optimise critical asset performance
- Control overall energy consumption
- Make the right investment decisions
5. Integrate building management and CAFM systems
Pave the way for more joined-up and energy-efficient management of your facilities.
Gary Bark at Optimised Buildings points out that although cutting-edge technology (solar panelling and predictive analytics) is a key part of the drive towards net zero we need to start looking at low-hanging fruit first.
Too many businesses are ignoring opportuinities for improved energy management that tighter processes and procedures can offer:
- Air conditioning and heating units left on the same settings all year
- Lights left on in businesses overnight
- HVAC systems running inefficiently - in need of maintenance and filter changes
With more integration between BMS (Business Management Systems) and CAFM systems businesses can:
- Flow energy usage data to FM teams dashboards
- Trigger workflows for routine energy conservation procedures
- Automatically flag and correct detected energy waste across your estate
6. Reduce over-maintenance
Badly organised maintenance schedules can contribute to the unnecessary carbon footprint of a company who are spread out over multiple sites.
Choosing the right CAFM system can help you plan the movement of engineers and contractors more logically, reducing the amount of time they need to spend on the road.
7. Embrace the circular economy
In the hospitality industry 11.8 megatonnes of catering equipment goes to landfill, globally.
This throw away culture is increasing carbon footprint as we get in an endlessly repeated cycle of ‘buy and dispose’.
As we drive towards net- zero, we need to procure more responsibly and improve your waste management and asset recycling process.
A CAFM can give you the data about the performance and longevity of equipment that can help you make the right investment decisions.
Our CAFM shows managers what we are spending on assets and where they could potentially drive new efficiencies. This is important because FM is a massive part of P&L in our business. Giving our workers these digital tools contributes to cost savings and increases profitability.
Shakeel Jivraj (Head of Operations for Queensway Coffee Houses).
8. Streamline FM services
In businesses with multiple sites and FM teams a single, cloud-based CAFM system built for mobile, can help you shift to a paperless approach.
Many clients have found they can operate entirely virtual helpdesks which reduce the need for workers to commute and required office space.
Centralising the helpdesk has helped us utilise our labour better. I don’t need as many people and I can recruit from anywhere. They can all work together using our CAFM as one team, remotely.
Alan Jones (Head of Facilities at Activate Learning Group).
9. Become eco-data driven
Net-zero initiatives need to be targeted and measured.
You need control over people and process to ensure you are procuring responsibly and managing assets in the most efficient way possible. Using a CAFM can create a framework for sustainable working that will become 'the way you do things' - it helps you turn targets into real-world KPIs that can be measured and tracked.
Why FM must act on sustainability
The US is on the brink of withdrawing from the Paris agreement, and Trump wants to ‘Drill, baby, drill! ' But the reality is that the world must generate and use energy more responsibly to secure a safer planet.
If we don’t, countries can expect more extreme weather events, damage to infrastructure, and escalating costs.
And if the politicians and corporations won’t act to improve their Corporate Social Responsibility - it seems consumers and employees will vote with their feet.
Customers and workers want change
The need to become greener and more efficient is now also being driven directly by customers and workers.
- 70% of consumers’ decision-making is driven by environmental considerations.
- 83% of workers think their companies are ‘not doing enough’ on climate change
- 65% of workers say they want to work for a company with a strong environmental policy
- 75% of millennial workers said that they’d take a salary cut to work in a 'greener' company
The planet is in the ‘emergency room’ - what can we do?
“Our planet is still in the emergency room”, says António Guterres, Secretary General of the UN. We must drastically reduce emissions now. The world still needs a giant leap on climate ambition.”
But taking steps to deliver on net zero doesn’t have to be about investing in expensive photovoltaic cells for your roof or costly IoT straight away. There are smaller but still significant steps FM teams can take with more focus on process and digitisation.
By improving oversight and control of facilities through a CAFM system you can begin to rein in previously invisible waste, control energy consumption, and justify CapEx decisions that can make your company an active part of the ‘circular economy’.
Editor’s note: this post was originally published in October 2021, and updated in January 2025 for accuracy.
