A new report helps facility managers reduce the effects of climate change for the organizations they support.
Adapting to Climate Change for Facility Management Professionals is a follow-up to the 2019 report, Climate Change Fundamentals for Facility Management Professionals. It was written by facility managers and published in a partnership between IFMA’s Environmental Stewardship, Utilities and Sustainability Community (ESUS) and the FM Research and Benchmarking Institute, sponsored by BGIS.
FMs will need to address two aspects of climate change—impacts to the business and reduction of their business’ impacts on the planet. In some cases, these two may overlap, but it is important to look at both aspects since assessments and action plans may differ for each.
“Failing to prepare for environmental extremes can become an expensive and disastrous oversight,” said author Kathy Roper. This new report presents tools and resources for performing climate change risk assessments and developing solid plans for resilience. It also contains specific risk scenarios to help you build focused plans for varying climate change realities.”
The report also helps FMs learn the language and skills associated with risk management and adaptation. A focus is provided on assessing climate risk for a specific property or geography; then providing resources to learn about potential adaptations for the assessed risk.
“Our first report provided FMs with meaningful insight into the impact of climate change on their roles as stewards of the built environment. ‘Adapting to Climate Change’ is a proactive guide to safeguarding facilities against environmental risks,” said Dean Stanberry, chair, IFMA Environmental Stewardship, Utilities and Sustainability Community. “We all need to brace for the unprecedented threat that climate change poses to the built environment and our roles as FMs. Be aware and be prepared.”
The report covers the major topics of risk management, how to conduct a climate change risk assessment, relevant climate change components, mitigation techniques associated with components, factors that impact mitigation, and supplemental resources available to the reader.
Adapting to Climate Change for Facility Management Professionals is available as a free download in IFMA’s Knowledge Library.
