Facility Management is Environment Management

EFMC 2008 - THE European Facility Management Conference
10th and 11th June 2008, The Palace Hotel, Manchester, Great Britain

Düsseldorf/Manchester, April 2008. Climate protection is the central problem politics, economy and society have to deal with. Everyone's behaviour can contribute to climate and environmental protection, but it is particularly up to those who influence many people's conditions of living and working: facility managers. Facility management (FM) builds the infrastructure of organisations and is responsible for energy and water supply, waste management and building materials of premises and estates. "The FM profession represents collectively the largest group of multi-disciplinary built environment specialists," says Gordon Ludlow, sustainability expert at the British Institute of Facilities Management (BFIM). FM combines expertise in technology, ecology, economics and law. Christopher Hodges, board member of the International Facility Management Association (IFMA): "Facility managers control the operating costs of the facility, and they have the greatest amount of influence on the productivity." The climate change, however, does not only require measures for environmental protection, but also for building safety and catastrophe prevention. "Companies are exposed to many risks due to the climate change, but they are not prepared for the respective effects yet," warns Barend van Bergen, a director of KPMG Sustainability Services. The audit and consulting company published the "Climate Changes your Business" report in March and recommends optimising the risk management systems. This is another challenge for the facility managers since FM is a strategic business.

The European Facility Management Conference 2008 (EFMC), taking place on 10th and 11th June in Manchester, will deal with the climate change and other global challenges of facility management. It is hosted by the IFMA and the European Facility Management Network (EuroFM). More than 60 FM experts from Europe and overseas will inform the participants about sustainability and energy efficiency, risk and change management as well as about economic and technological trends. Added value and profitability of FM, service and quality management, globalisation strategies and international partnerships are other main topics. Keynote speakers of the EFMC 2008 are Hamish McRae and Dr. Paul A. Tiffany, who will talk about global business perspectives. Economic expert McRae is one the leading European futurologists; management expert Tiffany teaches at the University of California in Berkeley.

The 7th EuroFM Research Symposium, which accompanies the conference, focuses on usability concepts for real estate. More than 28 FM Professional Associations and 37 universities and research institutions from all over Europe will support the EFMC 2008. From the host country Great Britain, for example, the BIFM, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the University of Salford are actively involved in the event, which will already take place for the fifth time.

Information about the EFMC programme 2008 on the internet at: http://www.efmc2008.com

Contact:
Carsten M. Stammen
Press Relations Officer
IBC Euroforum GmbH (Informa Group)
Prinzenallee 3
D-40549 Düsseldorf
Telephone: +49 (0) 211 / 96 86-3390
E-Mail: carsten.stammen@informa.com

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