by Shane Henson — April 27, 2012—Facilities managers wanting to gain a better understanding of greenhouse gas emissions accounting, reporting and minimization to assist their companies in becoming more sustainable may benefit from reading the IFMA Foundation’s new publication, Carbon Footprint, a free guide within its Sustainability How-to Guide Series.
Carbon has become the currency of the sustainability movement, impacting energy management, waste handling, air quality, environmental stewardship and a host of other sustainability issues. In the United States, about 40% of carbon emissions can be attributed to the construction, operation and maintenance of buildings—a fact that places much of the responsibility for carbon footprint management on facilities professionals, says IFMA, which works for the public good to promote research and educational opportunities for the advancement of facilities management.
Carbon Footprint provides facilities professionals with the tools they need to understand the carbon footprinting process, analyze their results, and plan for the future of their organizations.
The publication is divided into six sections that cover topics including:
- What is a carbon footprint?
- The role of the facilities manager
- Calculating greenhouse gas inventory
- Analyzing the results
- Best practices and benchmarking
- Setting goals for reduction (climate action planning)
- Making the business case (cost savings, tangible and intangible benefits)
