Chair’s Blog – Sep/Oct 2021

Hello ESUS Community Members,

Fall is here and IFMA’s World Workplace 2021 was Live in Kissimmee, Florida!!!! For the first time in two years, we could be together and it felt marvelous!!!
World Workplace 2021 was incredible, very well attended, both in-person and virtually. I attended in person and there was a lot of traffic on the exhibit floor. It was good to see new and old exhibitors and learn about their products and services. The sessions addressed topical subjects and had good attendance. I especially enjoyed seeing old IFMA friends, as well as, meeting new IFMA friends. So glad some of our friends from outside the United States were able to attend, too. Appreciated all the steps IFMA took to ensure everyone’s safety in these COVID-19 times, at the Gaylord Palm. Having the Clear app on the phone made it easy to get in and around the conference center. The Red, Yellow, Green wrist bands to identify levels of social distancing were well received, by all. Everyone had a good time and is looking forward to attending next year when World Workplace 2022 will be in Nashville, TN, USA. Hoping to see you there!!!

The ESUS Community was onsite and virtual at World Workplace 2021. For those who participated, “thanks” for your support. As you know from last month’s newsletter and our website, ESUS had two very timely sessions. The first on October 26th was with the Workplace Evolutionaries (WE) and ESUS, “The Circular Economy: Our Time and Responsibility to Act” (Session 5.01), and on October 27th ESUS presented, “Today, Tomorrow & Beyond – Waste Management” (Session 6.01). Both sessions were available in person or virtually, so if you were registered for World Workplace and didn’t attend, you can log in to the Conference Proceedings to view the sessions: http://events.ifma.org/worldworkplace/2021/. You can also download copies of the presentations.

Thanks to Alexa Stone, ecoPreserve for moderating “The Circular Economy: Our Time and Responsibility to Act” and to our panelists: Lisa Whited and Celeste Tel, Advanced-Workplace Associates, Ltd. This session focused on the United Nations’ global report on climate change and how FMs can take action in the built environment, especially in areas where we can educate, inform and promote. Circular Economy is a practical field of opportunity on our journey to fight climate change.

ESUS also wants to thank Jessica Wright and Ashley Schnetzer, from ecoPreserve and Jenny Yeung, from Citibank in Hong Kong. The ESUS session, “Today, Tomorrow & Beyond – Waste Management”, addressed strategies to keep waste materials out of landfill through Circular Economy. Our panel described how they dealt with today’s challenges and future opportunities to reduce landfill waste. We were honored to have Jeff Benavides, Chief Sustainability & Resilience Officer, Orange County, FL join us and tell us about the sustainable initiatives currently go on in the county. Also, Resham Shirsat, Sustainability Specialist, Minimalist, Holistic Medicine Enthusiast, from the City of Orlando provided insight into Orlando’s Sustainability Programs. Our presentation included videos from Contributing Partners, here are a few of the links:

Yvett Watson; Cofounder, PHI Factory, Netherlands

yvette.watson@phifactory.com

https://phifactory.com/en/what-does-phi-do/circular-procurement


Justin Lam; Business Executive Officer, Nespresso Hong Kong and Macau

justin.lam1@nespresso.com

https://www.sustainability.nespresso.com/?categorie=circular-economy

Chong BorHung; Head of Business Development, NEFIN Group, South East Asia
borhung@nefinco.com

http://nefinco.com/sustainability/

The session went on beyond the time allotted, but the audience remained, as the topic was so engaging.

The sessions were very well received, sparking conversations about Circular Economy throughout World Workplace. ESUS set the stage for our 2022 programing, as we will be focusing on the Circular or Regenerative Economy.

Save the Dates:

  • February 9th at 1:00 PM Eastern Standard Time
  • May 11th at 1:00 PM Eastern Standard Time
  • August 10th at 1:00 PM Eastern Standard Time
  • November 9th at 1:00 PM Eastern Standard Time

Details will be posted on the ESUS Website https://esus.ifma.org and in future newsletters. All sessions will be recorded, so the entire ESUS Community will have access to the recordings.

Do you have topics of interest or a project you would like to highlight? Please let us know, so we can address and share the information. Remember, we’re a community so we need to help each other as we work to achieve our ESG and Sustainability goals.

Shout outs to the Capital and New York City Chapters, who recently hosted webinars: “Sustainable Furniture Decommissioning/re Purpose” and “Reducing Waste in the Workplace”. Checkout the Chapter’s websites for recaps of the sessions and links to the recordings.

If you’re in the New Brunswick, New Jersey area on November 10, 2021, register to join the New Jersey Chapter as they present, “What FMs Can Do to Help Mitigate Climate Change in Their Facilities”. Visit the chapters website for the particulars:
http://njifma.com/event/what-fms-can-do-to-help-mitigate-climate-change-in-their-facilities/

Does your Chapter have an upcoming Sustainability Program? Send ESUS an invite at sustainability@ifma.org, so we can distribute the info to the Community. If you record your sessions, please send us a link, ESUS can post it on the website. If your Chapter needs speakers or topics for your future Sustainability programs, ESUS would welcome the opportunity to assist you.

The ESUS Community is seeking volunteers, we invite you to get involved and join one of our newly formed Committees:

  • Membership, Outreach & Partnerships
  • Newsletter
  • Programs
  • Publications
  • Public Relations

Email us at sustainability@ifma.org to sign-up for a committee and while you’re at it, tell us what you’re working on, so we can feature an article in a future newsletter.

Looking forward to seeing you at upcoming ESUS programs.

Debbie

Debbie Jaslow Shatz, CFM, LEED AP