The International Facility Management Association has joined the High-Performance Commercial Green Building Partnership, a consortium of leading organizations from the building community that seeks to provide guidance and technical expertise on sustainability issues to the Department of Energy’s Building Technologies Program.
The partnership was formed by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, along with a steering committee of nine other leading organizations, in response to a DOE request for consortia to advise the department on high-performance building issues. IFMA will serve as an advisory member in the group, where it will represent building owners and operators from the public and private sectors.
“IFMA is pleased to join this consortium and represent the facility management community in advancing the high performance building issues at the core of every workplace professional’s strategic facility plan,” said IFMA President and CEO David J. Brady. “Our members are continually finding new ways to minimize their organizations’ carbon footprints, reduce energy consumption, and increase productivity, and this collaboration will enable us to share these insights with the DOE and related agencies.”
The partnership intends to be recognized as a “Partnership Consortium” by the DOE as requested in response to the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, Section 421. This section deals with the formation of the Net-Zero Commercial Building Initiative, which is intended to establish a research, development and deployment strategy toward achieving net-zero energy performance levels in commercial buildings.
The partnership will also assemble a resource network beyond the steering committee and advisory members consisting of individual design professionals, construction companies, universities, utility companies, agencies, manufacturers, and other parties that have demonstrated leadership in high-performance and sustainable building.
