SFMI seeks partners for pioneering Scope 3 Project

Embarking on the next phase of its groundbreaking Scope 3 Project, the Sustainable Facilities Management Index (SFMI), an initiative of Acclaro Advisory, is expanding its partnership of organisations and building on the work spearheaded by the collaboration of industry giants BAM FM, Equans, Skanska and Optima Grupo.

In today’s landscape, net zero plans within the built environment remain incomplete without accounting for FM Scope 3 emissions. Together with esteemed industry partners RICS, IWFM and IEMA, the SFMI is positioning its FM partners as key players in delivering zero-carbon in the built environment – both through delivering improved operational building performance and driving decarbonisation throughout the supply chain.

The Scope 3 project is divided into four key stages. While the first two stages focused on developing and testing the Scope 3 Framework for FM with SFMI partners on a smaller scale, the third stage will take this a step further through the collection and analysis of significant data sets to understand the current emissions gap in the built environment’s carbon footprint.

Key objectives of this stage include:

• Applying the Scope 3 FM Framework to 200 contract-level projects, enabling comprehensive data analysis for performance evaluation and initial emissions factors assessment.
• Embedding Scope 3 FM reporting into the Whole Life Building Assessment, including Category 16 (carbon handprints)​.
• Developing a web-based tool to capture and host data with the ability for bespoke contract dashboards.
• Understanding from data the significance of the gap of FM data not currently reported and engage with the industry on means to incorporate this.
• Aligning the approach with transition planning and the ability to generate robust data that will provide assurance on funding and delivery.

Chris Havers, Acclaro Advisory Director and Project Director of Phase 3 said: “Businesses that get involved in phase 3 will hold significant competitor advantage as the FM industry is positioning itself as a zero-carbon solutions provider. Being part of the project will upskill teams, embed new practices and streamline data systems, all while collaborating and learning from the other partners. This will place our partners on the front foot to take advantage of integrating scope 3 emissions into their service provision in a much shorter period than others.”

With data analysis being a crucial part of this stage, Acclaro is prioritising this by partnering with Datore, the only UK Analytics as a Service provider specialising in the built environment. Acclaro will work with Datore to offer a single validated score to provide comparable measures and benchmarking for GHG emissions against other FM companies and suppliers. Partners of the project will benefit by using the technology for enhanced analysis and drawing further value from the data.

Building on the success of Phase 2, the SFMI are seeking 10 forward-thinking partners for Stage 3. They will gain a myriad of benefits including upskilling opportunities, media exposure, bespoke dashboard development, and recognition as a sustainable FM leader. If you would like to learn more about getting involved in the Scope 3 research project or the SFMI programme as a whole, please contact Chris Havers at chris.havers@acclaro-advisory.com.

The SFMI are hosting a webinar on 30 April at 9am to mark the launch of the 2024 SFMI programme, which will also include a regulatory update for the FM industry and further details on the next stage of the Scope 3 Project. Register for the webinar here.