by Brianna Crandall — August 30, 2013—The International Facility Management Association’s (IFMA) sustainability committee and the nonprofit IFMA Foundation announced on August 28 the release of Waste: A Comprehensive Guide to Waste Stream Management, which provides facilities managers with workable solutions to minimize waste. The guide is the latest free publication in IFMA’s Sustainability ‘How-to’ Guide Series.
“To recycle an old cliche, ‘waste not, want not,'” said Marina Badoian-Kriticos, sustainability director at IFMA. “The modern facility manager is under tremendous pressure to do more with less. One way to accomplish this is by managing the waste stream to reduce the amount of waste in the built environment. Waste flow management is one of the most profound examples of sustainable practices saving money, improving productivity and benefiting the triple bottom line for organizations around the world.”
According to IFMA, “waste” is defined loosely as the useless consumption or expenditure of resources. This not only encompasses the popular understanding of waste (in terms of energy and garbage), but wasted time and effort as well. Waste stream management is defined as the process of tracking resources from the beginning to the end of their existence. Below is an excerpt from the executive summary that IFMA provided for the guide:
“This guide covers the use of resources from harvest through manufacture/production, transportation, use and disposal of materials. It discusses environmentally preferred purchasing programs, life cycle assessment and various disposal methods. It explains rapidly renewable resources, embedded energy, virtual water, package design, the effect of materials on indoor environmental quality, recycling, document destruction and landfills. It focuses on the four “Rs”—reduce, reuse, recycle and rethink—in managing resources and the waste products derived from them. Finally, the guide shows how managing resources throughout a product’s life cycle will save time and money.”
Among the subjects covered in the new guide are:
- Best practices for conducting a waste audit
- A guide for environmentally preferred purchasing
- Best practices to reduce, reuse, recycle and rethink
- Tips for making the business case for waste reduction
- Detailed case studies
The peer-reviewed guide was co-written by Bill Conley, IFMA Fellow, CFM, SFP, FMP, CFMJ, LEED AP and Sharon Jaye, D.Ed., SFP.
Bill Conley has more than 35 years of experience in facilities management. He has managed facilities for VeriFone, Hewlett-Packard and SCAN Health Plan, and has served as managing director of the LEED/Sustainability Development Group for Pacific Building Care (PBC). He has served in various capacities at various levels for IFMA, including on the board of directors. He currently practices as an FM/sustainability consultant through his own company, CFM2.
Sharon Jaye is the director of sustainability at the New York City Department of Education Division of School Facilities. With a bachelor’s degree in business administration, a master’s in project management, and a doctorate of education in educational leadership, she holds Sustainability Facility Professional accreditation through IFMA and currently serves on IFMA’s sustainability committee.
Waste: A Comprehensive Guide to Waste Stream Management is available online free of charge, with submission of a valid e-mail address. In total, 14 publications from the Sustainability ‘How-to’ Guide Series are available online. The IFMA Foundation produced the guide in partnership with the IFMA Sustainability Committee.
