Facility Management's Role in Organizational Sustainability

Facility managers have questions about sustainability. How do an organization's physical facilities--its built environment--and the management of them, influence the sustainability of the organization or institution as a whole? How important is Facility Management (FM) to the overall sustainability profile of an organization? Facility managers face a dizzying array of complexities in relation to sustainability in their facilities, and in the larger context of the sustainability of their organizations and the social and environmental contexts in which the organization exists. Facility managers must concern themselves with how operational sustainability fits into the strategic goals of the organization and how the overall organizational sustainability assessment is affected by its facilities. How to direct resources to achieve sustainability in FM, such as the best use of operations and capital renewal dollars, is a complex issue. (Contains 1 figure.)