Kwawu, W and Elmualim, A (2011) Sustainability in facilities management: A review of drivers and policy issues. In: Egbu, C and Lou, E C W (eds.) Proceedings of 27th Annual ARCOM Conference, 5-7 September 2011, Bristol, UK.
Abstract
Spurred on by a variety of drivers and policy issues, the continued growth in the development and implementation sustainability, as an obligation and expectation within businesses, has placed more responsibilities on facilities managers. However, it is not clear which of the drivers, issues and responsibilities are most important for facilities managers to develop skills and knowledge in. It is also not clear how issues such as energy management and productivity are closely linked to responsibilities. Drawing on a web based self-administered questionnaire survey of facilities managers, the key drivers, issues and responsibilities are identified and ranked. With a response rate of 22% representing 268 respondents, the results indicate that legislative directives, corporate image and organisational ethos are the most important drivers for the development and implementation of sustainable practices. Similarly, the keys issues and responsibilities identified are energy management, waste and recycling management, health and safety, and carbon footprint. These findings demand that facilities managers develop competences in the identified areas in order to manage and improve the environmental performance of their businesses. Clearly, sustainability policies and responsibilities continue to be influenced by the proliferation of energy and carbon footprint related environmental issues than a balanced approach which takes into consideration the wider social and economic aspects of sustainability. The trend in developing and implementing sustainability will continue due to new statutory directives and requirements.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | carbon footprint; energy management; facilities management; sustainability policy; waste management |
| Index terms: | energy management, implementation, facilities management, waste management, questionnaire, facilities manager, competence, survey, recycling, productivity, drawing, sustainable practice, health and safety, environmental issue, carbon footprint, environmental performance |
| Subjects: | health safety and environment, personnel development, management, sustainability assessment, sustainable practices, environmental impact, waste management, environmental issues, practitioner, data collection methods, contractual arrangements, sustainability and energy, technical documentation |
| Topics: | Human Resources, Design Practice, Research Practice, Health and Safety, Business Strategy, Sustainability, Procurement, Roles and Professions |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here