The International Facility Management Association has announced its newest credential, the Sustainability Facility Professional™. More than a building certification and rating system, the SFP™ will help facility professionals play a key leadership role in creating, managing, and operating sustainable facilities by giving them the skills they need to impact their organizations’ economic, environmental, and social bottom lines.
Professionals can earn the new designation through the SFP Credential Program™, which offers complete training and assessment materials in three course areas: Strategy and Alignment for Sustainable Facility Management, Managing Sustainable Facilities, and Operating Sustainable Facilities. Taken together, these courses provide a complete picture of how SFPs can improve the sustainability of their facilities in the eight major categories of sustainability defined by IFMA: energy, water, materials and resources, workplace management, indoor environmental quality, quality of services, waste, and site impact.
The SFP Credential Program will equip practitioners to: integrate sustainability efforts with their organizations’ values and strategies, present a business case for sustainability initiatives, evaluate their efforts from a financial perspective, and track and report their progress. In sum, achievement of the SFP will demonstrate a proven comprehension of environmental stewardship and sustainability in facility management.
“I am highly energized by the introduction of this assessment-based certificate program, which fills a critical void by providing facility managers with the tools they need to align sustainable FM practices with their organizations’ business models to impact the triple bottom line,” said Francis J. Kuhn, CFM, CFMJ, chair of the IFMA board of directors. “This goes beyond certifying sustainable facilities; it presents a shift in enterprise wide business practices for everyone within an organization — from the C-suite to the rank and file — with facility professionals taking the lead.”
The SFP Credential Program features comprehensive training available in self-study or instructor-led classroom format. The self-study program will be available in mid-March and is available now for pre-purchase, while the instructor-led courses will debut in summer 2011. Both learning methods feature interactive programming including print and online study tools to provide practical career training and consistent preparation and assessment. The SFP is also a three-year certificate, requiring designees to take a reassessment course every third year to keep their skills current.
The SFP is open to all professionals, and those pursuing the credential are not required to have the association’s Facility Management Professional or Certified Facility Manager® designation beforehand. A foundation of facility management knowledge, however, is needed to get the most out of the program.
IFMA representatives will formally announce the new credential on March 23 during the opening keynote and luncheon of the association’s Facility Fusion Conference & Expo in Boston, MA.
A complete list of details about the new SFP credential is available online.
