Facility Management Going Green - Essay Example

The fundamental issue that needs to be clarified, and of which facility managers need to be educated, is the apparent additional cost of ‘greening’ a facility. ‘Green buildings provide financial benefits that conventional buildings do not’ (Kats 2003). This dissertation attempts to find an optimum path for green construction where the possibly higher costs of using sustainable technologies and materials can be offset by lower running costs of such facilities. Facilities management mainly deals with the management of facilities of communal buildings like offices, colleges, hospitals, etc. Facility management is very similar to property management but is in most cases applied to larger commercial properties where the operations and management of the building are more extensive and complex.

Newer buildings and facilities need to be developed with a ‘green’ design basis, contextual relevance, cost sensitivity, and adherence to building code as also the fundamental requirement of functioning in the best manner possible i.e. it is very important that the building serves its necessity (Atkins& Brooks, 2005). A green building consists of several aspects, including the building envelope, building services including HVAC, Electricals, IBMS, Efficient waste management (including solid waste and e-waste), and a Water Balance Plan that seeks to reach a point where all the amount of water that the facility needs is used productively within it.

Stress on the importance of the building envelope in the ‘greening’ of a facility is obvious, as it is in many ways the first line of defense against wasteful energy expenditure. It may be considered like an epidermal covering that regulates the inside, and also indicated the status of components within the body. It is important as a gateway between the climate-controlled interior and the uncontrolled exterior environment. This allows for differentiation from the surroundings and provides an entity for the building on its own (Barret & Baldry, 1991).