FM Alert: Free Sustainability Guide

carbon footprintThe IFMA Environmental Stewardship, Utilities and Stewardship Strategic Advisory Group (ESUS) has released the latest guide in the widely acclaimed series on sustainability for facility managers, “Sustainability How-To Guide: Carbon Footprint.” The guide, available for free download from IFMA’s Knowledge Library, examines carbon footprinting from the perspective of a facility management professional, providing the tools needed to understand the process, analyze the results, and plan for the future.

Authors Sharon Jaye and Trevor Anderson address the critical management tools of carbon footprinting, otherwise known as greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories. GHG inventories enable organizations to identify and manage their emission sources and can be used to establish baselines for tracking emission trends, develop mitigation strategies, and assess progress. With a detailed overview of the GHG inventory process and real-world examples, the 71-page guide offers instrumental advice for facility managers to implement comprehensive carbon footprint accounting.

“Carbon has become the currency of the sustainability movement,” the authors write in the guide’s Executive Summary. “Whether considering energy management, waste handling, environmental impact, purchasing, air quality, or a host of other sustainability issues, carbon footprint is the standard measurement of the production of greenhouse gases. In the U.S., about 40 percent of carbon emissions can be attributed to the construction, operation and maintenance of buildings. This places much of the attention for carbon footprint squarely on the facility manager.”

The “Sustainability How-To Guide: Carbon Footprint” was published for free, one of 17 in the series, and is available for download.