ISC Partner News

Sunday, September 22nd, 2024

• IFMA’s WORKPLACE EVOLUTIONARIES (WE) – CIRCULAR ECONOMY 

WE (Workplace Evolutionaries) are a global Community of Practice within IFMA.  WE are comprised of industry professionals and other thought-leaders focused on supporting workforce effectiveness through workplace transformation.  WE supports members and the community at large through knowledge sharing, professional development and Networking/community building.  WE focus on leadership and strategy to enable people and organizations to create, lead and implement workplace experiences that support a happy, healthy workforce while driving business results. 

Workplace strategies increasingly include sustainability goals such as reducing carbon footprints, increasing energy efficiency and optimizing building systems.  Aligning people, place and process with the enterprise objectives accelerates business success and workforce health and well-being. For example, “Circular Workplace” is a joint initiative of the WE and ISC communities. This initiative applies Circular Economy principles and business models to achieve sustainability goals.

In 2022, IFMA’s Emerging Topics Working Group identified Circular Economy as one of six key topics transforming the FM industry. This led to the publications of the IFMA whitepaper “Evolution is Never Finished” in 2023 (https://www.ifma.org/news/whats-new-at-ifma-new/ifma-publishes-white-paper-on-key-emerging-topics-shaping-the-fm-industry/, and the IFMA research report “Circular FM” in 2024 . IFMA is now a Strategic Partner Association with the Circular Economy Institute extending member benefits. Since 2020, the topic of Circular Economy has been presented numerous times in IFMA forums, including both Facility Fusion and World Workplace conferences, WEbinars and WE Mosh Pits.

Here is the link to the Circular FM report: https://shorturl.at/2HtVa

Join WE and the ISC! Help change the world for the better!

Article Contributors:

Gary Miciunas, Principal, https://www.chiefcircularityofficer.com/

Pat Turnbull, IFMA Fellow, LEED AP, MA https://we.ifma.org/

• ASHRAE – Annual 2024 Conference Recap by Richard Gunpat, ISC Board Member, ASHRAE Member

ASHRAE has closed out a successful 2024 ASHRAE Annual Conference, held from June 22-26 in Indianapolis. The event gathered 2,040 registered HVAC&R and building science professionals and supporters to discuss key topics such as legislative initiatives, building decarbonization, artificial intelligence and more.

Registrants explored more than 80 sessions across eight technical tracks. The top attended sessions are detailed below:

• Seminar 19: LIVESTREAM: Farewell VRP: Paving the Way for Indoor Air in the Future of Ventilation and Air Quality 
• Seminar 41: LIVESTREAM: Advancements of Low GWP Refrigerants 
• Seminar 39: Simplifying the Electrification of Hydronic Systems 
• Seminar 42: LIVESTREAM: Changing World for Electric and Thermal Batteries 
• Seminar 12: How High Can You Get with High Temperature Heat Pumps? 

In addition to the Annual Conference, registrants also had full access to the 2024 ASHRAE Conference for Integrated Design, Construction & Operations (CIDCO), held June 24-26 in Indianapolis. CIDCO Seminar 1: AI and Building Performance: An Overview and Practical Application drew strong attendance.

At the Conference, 2023-24 ASHRAE President Ginger Scoggins shared updates pertaining to the Society’s current theme, “Challenge Accepted: Tackling the Climate Crisis” during her State of the Society address.

1. Dennis Knight, P.E., BEMP, Fellow Life Member ASHRAE was installed as 2024-25 ASHRAE Society President. During his inaugural address as president, Knight introduced ASHRAE’s new Society Year theme, “Empowering Our Workforce: Building a Sustainable Future.” He highlighted the importance of identifying and attracting more professionals to the HVAC&R industry in order to meet growing demand precipitated by world events.

“Over the last several years, we accepted the challenge of being vital players in addressing the most severe threats to our planet in our lifetimes: The COVID-19 pandemic and the climate crisis,” said Knight. “That said, our industry is facing its own crisis. One that will hinder our ability to meet the challenges we’ve accepted, the targets we’ve set and the commitments we’ve made. That crisis is with our workforce – or more appropriately, the lack of skilled people like you who have the capability and desire to choose a career in Heating, Ventilation, Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration (HVACR). The truth is, we need more people like YOU. Your skills, your passion and your commitment are what will drive our industry forward and ensure its viability for years to come.” Knight’s full address manuscript and presentation can be found at ashrae.org/president.

Richard Gunpat, IFMA ISC Board Member and 2022 SFP Scholarship award winner, had the distinct opportunity to attend this annual conference, where he again served as a technical monitor, volunteering to supervise various technical sessions, which is in keeping with the ASHRAE vision of volunteerism. During the conference, he also participated in the following volunteer activities and network with other distinguished professionals focused on enhancing the HVAC and FM professions:

• Certified Decarbonization Professional (CDP) Credential – This ground breaking industry credential, ASHRAE CDP, was launched on June 26, 2024 at the Conference. A number of examinees sat for the exam. Richard is currently working with the exam sub-committee to develop the passing score for the CDP, so that those that passed, will earn the CDP.
• Young Engineers in ASHRAE (ASHRAE YEA) – Richard participated in the YEA Committee meeting held at the conference. As a seasoned IFMA member and ambassador for the Eric Teicholz SFP scholarship program, Richard seized this opportunity to speak to the YEA about IFMA and the upcoming scholarship program with the view of making ASHRAE more aware of IFMA and this amazing opportunity for the YEA to earn a sustainability credential. ASHRAE has committed support and we are sure this will foster a closer collaboration with IFMA and ASHRAE to achieve decarbonization and sustainability targets, as we know, decarbonization has now become the new “Sustainability.”
• Technical Monitor – Richard supervised various technical sessions to include Project Scheduling – Rules and Basis of Pull Planning and Creating a Competitive Advantage by Leveraging Company Culture.
• Networking – Richard actively networked with ASHRAE members at the conference. Only recently ISC held a webinar on June 11, 2024 – Resilience Planning for Facility Managers. One of the speakers, Kurt Monteiro, Senior Principal at Smith & Anderson attended the ASHRAE conference. Richard leverages his ASHRAE network for the benefit of IFMA and ISC. For those that missed the webinar, see link for recording: View Recording Resilience Planning for FM
• Scholarship Sponsor – Richard networked with Anuj Gupta at the conference. Through Richard’s efforts, his company is now a sponsor for the Eric Teicholz SFP Scholarship Program.  Anuj is an outstanding ASHRAE member, having earned various ASHRAE awards, served as ASHRAE Communications Chair and he is also the Co-Founder of D2O Learning, based in India. Very soon Anuj will be speaking with the ISC Community, as a result of Richard’s active network with ASHRAE members.