Sustainability and Environmental Issues

Sustainability and environmental issues are a major concern for all organisations. Sustainability is closed linked to corporate social responsibility, as organisations are striving to demonstrate good performance against sustainability benchmarks. FMs (facilities managers, or facilities management) often manage fuel and power, the safe use of hazardous substances or chemicals, and the safe disposal of waste. To gauge the impact of human activities, the concept of ecological footprint was developed by Wackernagle and Rees in Our Ecological Footprint: Reducing Human Impact on the Earth. Ecological footprint analysis compares human demands on nature with the biosphere’s ability to accommodate those demands and regenerate resources. One Planet Living is a vision of a sustainable world in which people everywhere can enjoy a high quality of life within the productive capacity of the planet, with space left for wildlife and wilderness. FMs need to control and minimise the adverse environmental impacts.