Interesting times around the world

di Tony Keane, President and Chief Executive Officer, IFMA
 

The Union of European Football Associations’ European Championship, preparing for the Rio Olympics, the U.S. political campaigns and the UK’s vote to withdraw from the European Union are just a few of the events and activities touching our lives.
At the same time, we also have some clouds hanging over all of our heads in terms of safety from terrorism, financial uncertainty and fi nding ways to ensure that we leave the Earth a better place for generations to come.
 

In a world where change is a constant, FM professionals must be prepared for anything. Accordingly, resilience and sustainability are foundational to effective facility management. This issue focuses on sustainability as both an essential tool and mindset for FMs. We hope that the articles you read will inspire you to think more strategically about your organization’s resiliency plan and how you can increase the effectiveness of your sustainability initiatives to benefit the triple bottom line: people, profit and planet.
 

ACTING GLOBALLY

We recently participated in the final European Facility Management Conference (EFMC) jointly owned by IFMA and EuroFM. Moving forward, EuroFM has decided to offer an independent conference, and we are excited to share that in 2017 IFMA will be working with our European chapters to relaunch World Workplace Europe.
 

This event will take on new life as it serves the European FM marketplace, professionals and IFMA members. In planning international events like World Workplace Europe, we’ve found that there is a perception that IFMA is “North American.” IFMA represents a global profession, based upon core competencies derived from the input of FM professionals from around the world.
 

Our latest Global Job Task Analysis initiative represented feedback from FM practitioners in 60 different countries. While IFMA was founded in the United States and the majority of our staff are currently located in the U.S., our members span 104 countries, with chapters and alliance partners in 22 different countries.
 

All organizations start somewhere, but their origins do not need to limit their futures. Mercedes-Benz, for example, is a global company with a German heritage. It operates facilities all over the world and manufactures quality products to meet the needs of many countries, yet it is still perceived as a German company. Similarly, IFMA’s roots don’t mean that we only represent the needs and practices of those in the U.S. While IFMA may not have quite the same reach or presence as Mercedes-Benz, we already conduct business internationally, and our recent collaboration with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has only expanded our global footprint. This collaboration will benefit IFMA members around the world by increasing access to an infrastructure that can help support members and chapters, wherever they might be located.
 

When World Workplace Europe recommences in 2017, it will be an event designed specifically to serve the European marketplace and will be developed with signifi cant input from our European members and chapter leadership. It will also incorporate global perspectives by leveraging the worldwide network of IFMA members.

The same principle applies to our upcoming World Workplace Asia, India and Middle East conferences.
 

I would like to thank our IFMA Italia Chapter for co-hosting the EFMC conference in Milan; they did a magnifi cent job. I would also like to thank our chapter leaders in Austria, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland and Spain for productive meetings.

IFMA is a dynamic global association that is leading the way to enhance the application of facility management around the world. If your colleagues are not members of IFMA, please invite them to join and become part of the organization where the best in FM come together.


Editoriale pubblicato su FMJ - luglio/agosto 2016