NEWS & ANALYSIS FMJ.CO.UK
ASSOCIATION NEWS
FM INSTITUTES TEAM UP TO HELP
TACKLE CLIMATE CHANGE
Wednesday 22 April marks Earth Day 2020,
this year’s theme of which is climate action,
the most pressing topic for the campaign’s
50th anniversary. Over the last 150 years, our
planet has warmed around 1°C. It doesn’t sound
like much, right? But that one degree has been
enough to melt glaciers, raise sea levels and
shake up seasons.
Signs of global warming are being observed all
over the planet. This winter, Brits have witnessed
a more than average amount of rainfall. Storm
Dennis has cost people their homes and their lives.
As of the 21 February, there were nearly 100 flood
warnings in place.
Jakarta has also encountered far from ordinary
rain. In fact, the Indonesian capital hasn’t had this
much rain for at least 24 years when records first
began. This January, 62,000 people were evacuated
out of the city. Twenty-one people died.
In Australia, there is the same problem but with
di erent symptoms. Bushfire season, as it’s called,
usually falls between late January into February.
The bushfires that hit the headlines began in
September 2019, four months early. And these fires
continue to burn. Since then, at least 33 people
IWFM CONFERENCE 2020: JOIN US TO
NAVIGATE THESE TURBULENT TIMES
8 MARCH 2020
have been killed - including four firefighters.
More than 27.2 million acres of bush, forest and
parks across Australia has burned. The fires have
destroyed 2,500 homes and killed nearly a billion
animals.
Obviously, these fires aren’t solely climate
change related. Fire chiefs in Australia have been
warning the government for years that there will
be a disaster if they don’t maintain clearing and
back burning rural areas. In previous decades these
practices were adhered to much more rigorously,
whereas now – they’re not.
The UK FM industry bodies, the International
Facility Management Association (IFMA) UK
Chapter and the Institute of Workplace and
Facilities Management (IWFM), alongside the
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
and volunteer groups including LGBT+ in FM and
Emerging Workplace Leaders (EWL), have joined
together on a bushfires appeal. By collectively
donating, UK FM whose Australian counterparts
will be an integral part of the response to the
devastating e ects of the fires, can show the power
the industry can have in supporting this country
and its people to get back on track as soon as
possible. To donate, please visit: https://www.
justgiving.com/fundraising/uk-fm-support.
To support worldwide crises, consider donating
to the DEC Emergency Fund. The DEC works with
member charities to identify the most e ective
use of the Emergency Fund, allowing it to respond
quickly to natural disasters, or enabling it to reach
people a ected by crises which aren’t making
headlines.
Here at home, the British Red Cross and National
Flood Forum is helping those worst a ected by the
floods, and there are also local disaster appeals
running in the worst a ected areas across the
North West, South West, Wales, Yorkshire and
Humber.
There have been warnings that people must
adapt and respond to the impact of climate
change. The future of humanity depends on it. The
world needs you — and your actions — for Earth
Day 2020. It’s not just about giving money. There’s
so much else you can do to help protect and restore
our planet, from joining a clean-up or climate
strike, to hosting an event in your own community.
By Antony Law, MD of Churchill; Jo Sutherland, MD
of Magenta Associates – board members of the IFMA
UK chapter
Recently I was at
the Confederation
of British Industry
where a wall in their
member lounge has a
timeline of their history,
including their 2009
conference where Steve
Ballmer (then Microso ’s
CEO) gave a talk. The wreckage from the global
financial crash was still smouldering and, quite
understandably, anxiety was high around the
business world. Ballmer’s message that day:
business could not only ‘survive’ the financial
crisis, but in fact ‘thrive’. Prophetic or truism? A
bit of both, perhaps.
I must admit, the organisation I worked for at the
time – the Chartered Institute of Marketing – took
a similar tack, and why wouldn’t we? It was very
much the ‘in thing’ at the time and it helped that
‘survive’ and ‘thrive’ rhymed, but here we are, 11
years later, still waiting for things to settle down.
If it isn’t economic catastrophe, it’s Brexit, hot,
cold and lukewarm wars, trade wars, environmental
and existential threats, disruptive technologies,
mental health crises, and so on. They say that, as
each generation ages, it tends to look back with
rose-tinted glasses, longing for simpler times, but
it really does feel like the last decade or so has seen
such an extraordinary amount of disruption and
change.
Everyone is trying to cut through the noise to
get your attention and the best way to do that is
to be sensational. The reality is that a conference
which takes a challenging position is more likely to
succeed than one which leads with ‘everything is
great!’.
Our theme for IWFM Conference 2020 is
‘navigating turbulent times’. Does that sound
sensational? Maybe a tiny bit, at a stretch, but
turbulence is defined as ‘an irregular motion of the
air’: sometimes you barely feel it, sometimes you’re
told to belt up, but each time the plane has to
adjust. It’s fair to say that our profession is having to
do a fair amount of adjusting.
Instead of deep diving into a single topic, we’ve
picked out four main areas - or megatrends – to
which our profession needs to upskill and respond:
climate action, wellbeing, technology, and the
changing nature of work.
Each presents di erent challenges, so we’ve
scoured the market to bring you the very best
speakers in these fields. Arctic explorer Pen Hadow
is far better placed to talk to you about the impact
of climate change than someone who spends
their days in an o ice. Views on the future of work
are plenty, but we’ve brought in Matthew Taylor,
who the UK Government commissioned to outline
what ‘Good Work’ looks like. For wellbeing, we
have Marjorie Wallace CBE, CEO of mental health
charity SANE and for technology we have CEO of
The Envisioners, Dave Coplin. Bookending our four
trends are world-class speakers to get you fired up
with the motivation and spirit to make a di erence
for your organisation or your community, while also
outlining the seemingly chaotic environment we
operate in.
We’re really excited to present this programme to
you. Turbulent times? Sure, but that doesn’t mean
we can’t navigate them. Join us on 24 March in
central London and get the knowledge you need to
sail through.
Chris Moriarty, Director of Insight and
Engagement, IWFM
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