Facilities Managers require a ‘business case’ for eco-friendly offices say IFMA members following Steelcase and Green-Works presentations

Steelcase reports on the recent International Facilities Management Association (IFMA) event at Steelcase.

One of the most interesting points to be made during the recent IFMA event on ‘Moving to zero landfill’ held at Steelcase was that office manufacturers must move on from trying to convince facilities managers of the benefits of their sustainable business practices and sustainable products and start helping them to make a strong ‘business case’ to their superiors for creating a sustainable office.

In the week that the Stern report was dominating headlines across the globe what certain members of the congregation were saying was that we need to be careful that the information we provide to facilities managers, dealers and potential customers is not ‘preaching to the converted’. Most people now fully accept the importance of minimising their impact on the environment in their personal and professional lives but they need help in getting colleagues on board when it comes to implementing particular schemes.

Karin Gintz, Marketing Director at Steelcase gave an informative presentation, even for our internal staff, on Steelcase’s life-cycle approach to product development. She outlined the way in which Steelcase assesses and tries to reduce the toll that their practices take on the environment from the early stages of research and design right the way through to the products end of life.

Steelcase aids facilities managers trying to ‘sell-in’ sustainable choices by providing them with eco-friendly alternative products at competitive prices, by reducing packaging and transportation, by providing easy to read and comparable summaries on the eco-credentials of their products and by consistently innovating.

Also speaking at the event was Colin Crooks, Chief Executive of social enterprise and furniture take-back back specialist Green-works, with which Steelcase has recently formed a partnership. Colin made an excellent case for the benefits of recycling office furniture via the Green-works scheme, which redistributes items to local charities and schools.

We hope to collaborate and follow-up on the points raised to provide a more business orientated briefing on the Green-works initiative which addresses liability, cost effectiveness, operational issues and potential contribution to existing CSR programmes.

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