New White Paper Addresses Emerging Topics Shaping Facility Management Industry

The International Facility Management Association has released its latest white paper “Evolution is Never Finished: Insights From IFMA’s Emerging Topics Working Group on How Six Key Topics are Transforming the FM Industry.”

Available for download in IFMA’s Knowledge Library (bit.ly/KLEvolution), the report focuses on six dominant issues, trends and drivers shaping the profession of facility management: PropTech, AI/Generative AI, Contending with Climate Change, Circular Economy, Environmental, Social and Governance Reporting and Workplace Wellness and Well-being. It is designed to stimulate thought and discussion on FM’s role in preparing for and responding to complex built environment challenges.

IFMA established an Emerging Topics Working Group in 2022 to identify and explore the implications of high-impact emerging topics, and to engage FM professionals in developing practices to address them. Twenty-three industry experts and seven members of the association’s professional staff, including IFMA President and CEO Don Gilpin, were led by the Chair of IFMA’s Global Board of Directors Dean Stanberry, CFM, SFP.

The working group considered the rise of smart building technologies, elevated focus on occupant safety and engagement, heightened awareness of buildings’ massive environmental footprints and increasing directives to meet ambitious net zero goals to present their findings.

Moving forward, the process for ongoing analysis and reporting of emerging industry topics will be institutionalized within the association. “Evolution is Never Finished” is the first in a series of resources that IFMA will share globally with the FM community.