GU-Q participates in ‘sustainability’ event

Initiated by the Global Facility Management Association (Global FM), a worldwide federation of organisations committed to providing leadership in the facility management profession, World FM Day is quickly becoming an important occasion to shed light on the importance of community education and activism to help shape a sustainable  environment.

“One of the things we talk about in class is how global politics and policy influences not just countries, but cities and institutions. Buildings are one of the greatest consumers of energy, so facilities management teams within institutions play a critical role, and one that is often overlooked,” said GU-Q Research Fellow and course instructor James Olsen.

The Middle East Facility Management Association (MEFMA), an NGO dedicated to education, legislative governance and face-to-face networking events to promote FM issues throughout the GCC, organised the event that brought Imdaad, the event sponsor, to GU-Q.

Imdaad Qatar country manager Keith Birch said: “We started this initiative to talk to the students of Georgetown to make them aware of the Integrated sustainable waste management initiative, and hopefully to grow from the grassroots - from the students upwards - to enable them to handle waste management in the city a bit better.”

Olsen explained the dual purpose of the World FM day event for students, saying: “There is a dance between theorising or thinking seriously and rigorously about the problems that face our society, and students’ economic and career focus. They’re looking to the future at the kind of jobs that are out there. This gives my students an opportunity to see these big discussions - to ask what we can do to make things more sustainable, what levels need to be analysed and acted upon.”

Clare Wait, director of Facilities Management at GU-Q, helped organise the event. “Most of our sustainability initiatives are aimed at promoting education and awareness. It was a pleasure to welcome MEFMA and Imdaad for the 2013 FM day, and we look forward to assisting in educating our students on sustainability and facilities management across the Middle East on World FM day, as well as year round,” she said.