July 11: IFMA Foundation presents a workshop for the United Nations on Sustainable Development Goals & the Built Environment

IFMA Foundation, granted special consultative status as a non-governmental organization (NGO) by the United Nation’s Economic and Social Council (ESOSOC) in 2022, will present a workshop for UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), as a side event during the UN’s High Level Political Forum (HLPF) in New York on July 11, 2023. One of ten Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Learning and Training Sessions, #4 is “Sustainability in Action: The Role of Facility Management and Electrotechnology’s Impact on the SDGs” will be presented by the IFMA Foundation and its co-presenter, the International Electrotechnology Organization (IEC).

This workshop will be webcast live from 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm Eastern Time on Tuesday, July 11, 2023. Register here for Session #4: “Sustainability in Action: The Role of Facility Management and Electrotechnology’s Impact on the SDGs.” Learn more about the HLPF and this workshop here.

The speakers include IFMA Foundation Executive Director, Diane Levine; IFMA Past Chair, Laurie Gilmer; IFMA Board Member Aykean Matthews; and Hanze University Professor Dr. Mark Mobach. They will describe how facility management (FM), an under-recognized field in the built environment, impacts all the Sustainable Development Goals, with particular emphasis in this workshop, on SDGs 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11 and 17. Several innovative case studies will be presented on the Foundation’s workforce development programs and partnerships with government agencies, non-profits, and Global Workforce Initiative Advisors JLL, ABM, Newmark and Sodexo in training incumbent workers in sustainable facility management practices.

Ian Gardner will present the work of IEC, which is involved with critical standards for electrotechnology, an area critical to facility management practices, and will describe the key role electricity plays in all of the SDGs, with particular emphasis on their new Global Impact Fund which invests in infrastructure projects, as exemplified by the battery recycling program in Africa.