by Harriet Whelihan
We are in the heat of summer here in the ATL – a slower time of year, when many are taking a well-deserved vacation, and there are purposefully fewer planned events for the chapter membership. Even though there are no formal educational events scheduled this month, that doesn’t mean that you don’t have resources at your fingertips to learn something new. Take charge of your FM education southern style, cuz’ its time to “sit a spell” on the front porch or back deck with a nice tall glass of iced tea or lemonade and catch up on your FM reading.
The how to guides in the IFMA.org knowledge base are a great place to start your summer reading program. For example, the article that caught my eye this week is the sustainability guide for “Engaging Occupants in Your Sustainability Program.” To download a virtual copy go to:
http://community.ifma.org/knowledge_library/m/free_fm_content/1057490
Readers of this guide will be able to:
- Discuss the benefits of occupant engagement and the steps involved
- Use the “research” checklist to identify target behaviors that afford opportunity and are measurable
- Use the “plan a project” checklist to develop a high level plan and resource commitment to propose to management
- Apply lessons learned from 9 case studies to address challenges and best practices in occupant engagement.
So, whether it’s defining occupant plug loads by having an employee engagement contest on which work groups can lower their electricity plug loads by remembering to power down at night and on weekends, or monitoring trash removal at occupants’ desks in a ‘Kick the Can’ campaign, there are a plethora of great ideas for getting people involved in your sustainability program. Best of all, you are advancing your FM noggin at the same time while gaining valuable insight into an SFP and CFM Core Compentency. What’s not to love about that?
