ICSECM 2015 - Facilities Management Approaches for Sustainability

Abstract

In its most general sense sustainability is the capacity to endure. Sustainability has emerged as a result of significant concerns about the unintended social, environmental, and economic consequences of rapid population growth, economic growth and consumption of natural resources. Sustainability depends on three basic pillars; environmental, social and economical sustainability. In order to be sustainable, these three areas of sustainability must be achieved throughout the life cycle of a facility. The facility manager is in a unique position to view the entire process and is often the leader of the only group that has influence over the entire life cycle of a facility. Therefore, the facility manager often becomes the proponent of sustainable and green practices. Armed with the proper approaches, the Facility Manager can create long-lasting value to the organisation by developing, implementing and maintaining sustainable facility practices. Therefore, this study attempts to pinpoint the Facilities Management approaches to achieve and maintain environmental, social and economical sustainability. A comprehensive literature review was carried out on a broader perspective with the purpose of getting familiarize with the research phenomena. Interview guidelines were developed based on the findings of the literature review. In order to validate and further the literature findings five expert interviews were carried out with experienced industry practitioners. Research findings revealed that in Sri Lankan context, a Facility Manager's involvement for maintaining sustainability is most crucial in the operational phase of a facility. FM should have a clear view of environmental, social and economical aspects of sustainability. He / She should equally value the three pillars and a balanced approach needs to be taken in order to maintain a facility that is sustainable.