Stakeholders in the real estate value chain and sustainability experts made a clarion call to facility management (FM) practitioners to inculcate sustainability in their activities to protect the planet, improve the African economy and create added value for clients. This summation was made at the just-concluded 10th Nigerian FM Roundtable organised by Alpha Mead Facilities in commemoration of the World FM Day in Lagos. Themed.
“The Role of Facility Management in Building a Sustainable Africa” the event gathered experts to deliberate the way forward for FM and real estate at large in Africa. In his welcome address, the Managing Director of Alpha Mead Facilities and Chief Host of the annual thought-leadership gathering, Wole Olufore, maintained that the adoption of sustainable facilities management practices is pivotal to the sector and environment at large. Olufore said: “We all know that as facility managers, our activities revolve around the built environment and with the International Energy Agency (IEA) positing that buildings generate nearly 40% of annual global CO2 emissions, we need to pay close attention to the energy efficiency of the buildings we manage and accelerate the transition to sustainable energy.”He added:
Besides the energy performance of buildings, waste recycling is another key component of sustainability that should be addressed. These practices are contained under sustainable facilities management which is aimed at achieving high performance and safety of buildings, low resource utilization, and so on. Sustainable FM is not as prominent as it should be due to a wide array of reasons ranging from lack of training and tools, lack of relevant laws and regulation, and lack of awareness in that order. But that narrative needs to change fast.
”On his part, the keynote speaker and Chairman of the technical committee charged with formulating ISO standards for FM and former Global FM, Duncan Waddell stated: “Facility managers no longer have the option of practicing sustainability because we think it is a nice thing to do, but it is becoming required. Not exactly by law but by the expectations of the end-users. FM connects substantially to the sustainability of an organisation because it covers a broad spectrum of activities including economic, environmental, and social aspects. It is not just about going green; it has an impact financially and social aspects of day-to-day life. With its holistic approach, facilities management will play an important role in managing future requirements.
”On how harnessing ISO standards will help achieve sustainable FM practices, Waddell said: “He added: “One of the most important aims of facilities management is to ensure that the support it provides is in line with the demand of the organisation’s mission and strategy. The adoption of FM standards helps with the improvement of quality, productivity, and financial performance. It also enhances sustainability and reduces negative environmental impact. FM standards also aid with maintaining regulatory compliance and providing safe workplaces; optimising lifecycle and costs and improving resilience and relevance.
”In his Technical Paper, the Group Managing Director of Alpha Mead, Engr. Femi Akintunde highlighted the impact of infrastructure on sustainable living. Upon delineating between the two broad categories of infrastructure: economic and social, he presented an assessment of the current state of infrastructure provision in Nigeria.
This assessment was done by the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) in collaboration with Alpha Mead Group as part of the NSE Infrastructure Scorecard Report and presented to the Federal Minister of Works and Housing in December of 2021. Akintunde identified the 7 key priority areas for Nigerians to live sustainably as: education, healthcare, agriculture, electricity, transportation, housing and law & security.
Akintunde said: “Infrastructure influences real estate value. A good housing estate with poor infrastructure will be sub optimally valued. Today in Nigeria, due to inadequate infrastructure support, our real estate sector is underperforming. What is missing is not just inadequate provision but maintaining what we have because the absence of maintenance leads to value loss and increased cost.
.”The event also had a panel session that featured top executives including the Commercial Director of sustainability firm and net-zero promoters, Sintali Group; Eleni Polychroniadou, the General Manager of the Lagos State Infrastructure Asset Management Agency, Adenike Adekanbi; President of the Nigerian Chapter of the International Facility Management Association (IFMA), Segun Adebayo; Managing Director of Alpha Mead Development Company, Wale Odufalu, and moderated by the Chief Host and Managing Director of Alpha Mead Facilities, Wole Olufore.