Despite increasing awareness of issues around energy security and climate change, this is not being translated into behaviour relating to energy use in buildings. For facilities managers, persuading people to think differently about how they use the spaces they inhabit and equipping them with the right tools to make change happen is key to success, says Annie Westaway, low carbon buildings manager at Sustain.
It'll take too much time; it'll be too expensive; the occupants won't engage - these are all perceived barriers that prevent facilities management teams from reaching the holy grail of getting occupants fully engaged with energy saving in their building.
In reality, it can be an empowering process which can strengthen the relationship between the occupants and the facilities management team while adding to the bottom line.
The first step must be diagnosing current energy use. Are air conditioning units being left on in meeting rooms? How much energy is being wasted from lights left on? By identifying, in real time, the peaks, troughs and locations of energy consumption, it is possible to determine appropriate solutions. All too often, organisations are sold 'green bling', which doesn't deliver, and this is often because the root of the problem wasn't accurately diagnosed.
For the best chance of success, technology upgrades must be aligned with a robust strategy to improve energy awareness. Active and regular engagement will help occupants understand, and reap the benefits of, their building's efficiency.
Sharing information on how the building is performing is crucial to showing occupants the effect their behaviour can have. Making this as visible as possible will encourage people to think twice about switching things off the next time they leave a room. The information has to be relayed to the occupants as soon as possible. It's no use presenting them with a graph a week or month later.
Setting up an energy steering group is another essential part of getting buy-in from the different building stakeholders and it should not all rest on the shoulders of the FM team. This group holds responsibility for setting objectives, devising a plan and monitoring the project's progress. Bringing this group together requires skills such as facilitation, negotiation and persuasion which may not come naturally to an FM manager whose strengths traditionally lie in managing technology rather than people.
Introducing incentives can also help. These can range from individual rewards to setting up a league table to inject an element of healthy competition.
We have found that behaviour-focused approach reduced lighting and equipment electricity use by 25 per cent during the day and 30 per cent out-of-hours in a state of the art new office building at the University of Reading.
Embedding new behaviours requires commitment from the top down and bottom up. It is a constantly evolving process that draws on a continual process of calculation, communication and collaboration. By understanding the underlying issues within a building and equipping people with the practical tools and know-how that make change possible, FM teams can make a tangible contribution to a strategy that will inspire, engage and enthuse.
