Abstract:
As recently as forty years ago, the Facilities Management profession was relatively unknown in the built
environment industry. Buildings were generally maintained serviced and cleaned. The Facilities
Management profession is now one of the fastest growing professions in the UK and as a result, there is a
growing list of services to provide, including delivering on environmental commitments and sustainable
practices. This research adds to the growing body of literature on the profound effects sustainable buildings
can have on its occupants and converts these benefits into financial metrics which benefit both landlords
and tenants of commercial buildings. Although there is conclusive evidence of the benefits, there is still a
perception that building green does not represent value for money. This paper aims to investigate to what
extent facilities managers are responsible for introducing sustainable initiatives that enhance the health
well-being and productivity of employees. To achieve this aim, primary data was gathered through face to
face interviews with Facilities Management professionals.
The findings reveal that although sustainability was viewed as important and is highly valued by most
organisations, there are more important priorities to focus on. The results from the interviews found that
100% percent of the organisations who participated had sustainability policies in place and the main drivers
for introducing those policies was to comply with legislation and to provide a healthier, more attractive
workplace for their employees. Although sustainability and the health, well-being and productivity of
employees was a main driver, as well as being embraced and promoted by Facilities Managers, ultimately,
they felt that they had more important responsibilities to focus on, hence it did not feature as a priority in
their day to day job. This was also identified as one of the main barriers for sustainable Facilities
Management to improve, as well as cost, the current skillset and knowledge of Facilities Managers
