COP26 over, long live COP27…
After the large-scale “show” and in anticipation of the next one, let us return to the real world.
This is not about playing politics, but about trying to make a small contribution to the changes that need to take place in companies, and more specifically in the fields of facility management and workspaces.
In terms of sustainability, the two above-mentioned sectors can make contributions that are not very visible, but concrete. Whether by reducing the impact on facilities, surfaces, products used or operational choices.
Some examples?
• Introduce shared workspaces to “optimise” the use of space in terms of time and number.
• Introducing teleworking where possible to reduce travel and therefore energy (and time) consumption.
• Reduce the amount of waste by introducing the “bin less office”, which has a rather bad name…
• Increase and reduce the power of air conditioning, ventilation and heating systems according to the number of people in the building, using IOT or other technologies.
• Locate 24-hour units in the same areas or floors so that heating, ventilation, lighting and other functions can be reduced in other areas of the building.
• Select environmentally friendly cleaning products and do cleaning based on need, not on a fixed schedule.
• Have people use the stairs rather than the lifts to get from one floor to another. It is also good for your health…
• Use environmentally friendly consumables while not turning the company into a burden for the staff.
Apart from the fact that employees are becoming more and more aware of these aspects, in many cases these small and easy-to-implement measures reduce the financial burden, so why not do something about it?
Participating in demonstrations and other walks certainly brings visibility to the challenges that are out there, but logisticians learned long ago that their business is about silent efficiency: they are only talked about when something is not working.
New space planners and FM staff have long known that rhetoric often fades in the face of reality and practicality. So, let’s get it right and do it fast: the investment is worth it.
Good choice, good thoughts and good reading.