Dear Business Friends:

As President of the Southeastern Wisconsin Chapter of the International Facility Management Association (SEW IFMA), I am charged with advancing the goals of our chapter. Those are: 1) to educate the business community on the importance of facility management and its role in contributing to business profitability; 2) to raise awareness of facility management as a career option among our youth; and 3) to make the built environment better. In particular, more sustainable and more conducive to worker productivity.

Recently, I attended he annual IFMA SEW IFMA World Workplace Conference attended by more than 5,500 business owners, architects, facilities managers and planners from around the world. One prevalent theme emerged from the conference that unifies SEW IFMA’s three goals. That is the need to continue focusing on the sustainabiliry of our facilities. Energy consumption goes hand-in-hand with carbon emissions. Reducing energy during the operational phase of a facility’s life similarly reduces carbon emissions. When you consider that 3096-40% of our country’s total carbon emissions is attributable to buildings and other constructed facilities, it is dear that the role of the Facilities Manager has never been as important as it is today.

Besides just being the right thing to do for the environment, companies that reduce energy consumption are rewarded fiscally. Those environmentally friendly practices are reflected on their bottom line. Examples abound.

One recent example is AT&T which purchased a fleet of eco-friendly service vehides that will save 15 million gallons of gas per year. That translates into a cost-savings of $37 million far AT&T.

The cost-savings for a company in terms of reduced energy consumption is only the half of it. Companies that offer a work environment that reflects concern for the environment are also rewarded with increased worker productivity.

Hats off to IFMA members who are advancing the sustainable built environment. Just recendy, Johnson Controls announced a new program to help owners of centrifugal chillers to reduce their chiller energy use by up to 40 percent. The program encourages facility managers to install variable-speed drive technologies and identifies rebates and other financial incentives to assist with the payback.

The Southeastern Wisconsin Chapter of IFMA is here to share best practices such as these. We are also here to raise awareness of career opportunities among our youth. We know that our youth are highly cognizant of the need to protect the environment and they are more than ever pursuing green jobs and careers. Our chapter is visiting colleges and universities such as MSOE, MATC and UWM to discuss careers in Facilities Management.

Recently, we just awarded a scholarship to UWM student Kristin Lee Kratz to further her career in facilities management and urban planning. Kristin plans to graduate in 2010 with a BS in Architecture, a BA in Art History and a certificate in urban planning. SEW IFMA chose Kristin as our scholarship winner for the diversity of her studies as well as her aspirations to teach the next generation.

This past year MATC began offering a new, three-course certificate program in ‘Sustainable Facility Operations” as part of a cluster of new environmentally related certificates. The program is drawing professionals from construction, engineering, architecture, interior design, manu fact ing and technology who want to learn how Co make their companies’ operations more efficient and sustainable.

IFMA congratulates Kristin as we salute AT&T, Johnson Controls, MATC and the myriad other examples of companies, organizations and schools that are helping to create more sustainable work environments.

If your company or school would like to learn more about how SEW IFMA can help advance your business or your students’ careers, I urge you to call me at 262.207.6394 or email me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it