Christmas and the New Year celebrations are over and by the time you read this column will most probably be a distant memory for most FMs and it will be business as usual.
28 January 2010
Christmas and the New Year celebrations are over and by the time you read this column will most probably be a distant memory for most FMs and it will be business as usual.
Some of the media coverage in the run up to the New Year was centred on the risk to the beach life in parts of Australia due to rising sea levels caused by global warming. It was such a pity that governments did not achieve more during the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen and move forward with some form of step change legislation to significantly reduce carbon emissions and thus slow down the effects of global warming.
While one can put forward reasonable arguments as to the lack of progress such as the effects of the slow down of economies and the resulting pressures on governments in developed countries not to mention likely changes in the way we live in developed changes. However I cannot but help thinking that we will all pay in the long term and that it is better to act now and introduce gradual change.
This subject will no doubt pose further challenges for the FM industry and designers of buildings to come up with even more energy efficient buildings and associated plant equipment that is also capable of dealing with the extremes of weather that are fast becoming the norm in not only the UK but around the world.
To help meet such challenges head on our institute facilitates the exchange of best practice information between its members and also with other UK and international based institutes resulting in a very powerful medium for individual as well as corporate members alike.
We can all play our part and it doesn't have to be complicated as by just trimming back and cutting down on waste much can be gained to make a positive impact. We have become such a throw away society and following the festive period research suggested that local councils in the UK were faced with an additional bill of 78 million to dispose of our Christmas waste with most going to landfill due to a lack of recycling and this is not to mention the incredible amount of food waste caused by overbuying. Equate this to the savings that we as FMs could make in industry by just cutting back on waste and recycling more.
Current trends are looking good in the world of FM as the job market is improving and organisations press ahead with new tenders for non-core activities, which is further helping the industry and the future looks good if we can just weather out the storm.
Have a successful 2010.
By BIFM deputy chair Rob Greenfield