Major industry bodies get behind new decarbonisation standard for FM industry

SFMI and BAM FM have announced that five industry bodies have been helping to develop a framework for a standardised approach for the FM community to measure the emissions generated by its services, and support organisations with their zero carbon journey.

Joining the SFMI and BAM FM are the IEMA (Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment), RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors), the UKGBC (UK Green Building Council), IWFM (Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management), and ACE (Association for consultancy and engineers) who will all play a key role in the critical review process of a new standard for Scope 3 emissions measurement. This collaboration on a standardised approach will be crucial to giving clients confidence in the carbon data FM provides as they continue their journey towards Net Zero.

According to SFMI most FM providers currently see their impacts as their direct emissions only (Scope 1 & 2 in technical talk), which includes those generated via transport and building operations. Some go a little further and measure their indirect emissions from business travel and waste, which are part of Scope 3. However, this reporting typically captures less than 20 per cent of the providers’ full impacts, meaning that most carbon emissions are going unmanaged and unreported, even in cases where companies are stating that they are Net Zero. What is not considered by most adds the SFMI, are the goods procured by FM and the emissions that exist on the client sites.

FM can help customers to achieve zero carbon but for this to happen the industry needs a standardised approach for categorising and measuring carbon emissions, understanding the carbon impact of its services, and then going as far to isolate emissions for its clients. This can then deliver the impact that FM services have on a customer’s Scope 1,2 & 3 emissions. This will help FM providers to decarbonise their business while also being a key part of their customers’ zero carbon journeys.

The SFMI has invited BAM FM, the five industry bodies and key FM providers, to provide insight and to review the developing standards. Collaboration and industry acceptance of the approach is critical to ensure that the standard is adopted widely, says the SFMI.

The release of the initial report will serve to upskill the sector and give FM providers and their clients the expectations of the boundaries that their emissions portfolio should include. Then, in early 2022, this report will be expanded to provide detailed guidance for the sector to deliver the approach and start their journey on the maturity curve.

Registration for the soft launch on 25 November is open and available here. The report will be published on the Acclaro website here.

Chris Havers, SFMI Programme Director, said: “The FM community must collaborate to measure carbon emissions. A failure to do so will cause clients to lose confidence in the carbon data we provide. To tackle this, we need to develop a standardised approach, which reflects the nuances of how facilities managers operate with their clients. Having the support of these major industry bodies, FM providers and the client side will help us to achieve this and give clients the confidence they need to continue their journey towards net zero.”

Louise Williamson, Managing Director BAM FM, said: “BAM FM has successfully delivered FM and Energy services across the UK for over 20 years, and we have a strong track record in delivering sustainable FM solutions. Our partnership with SFMI to create a standardised approach to measuring FM carbon emissions, puts BAM FM at the forefront of industry efforts towards net zero carbon within the built environment.”

For more information please see FMJ’s recent article ‘Measure to measure‘ where SFMI’s Chris Havers and BAM’s Reid Cunningham and Anthony Heaton explain the framework in more detail.