Facility management must become a main driver of future change

The facility management (FM) industry has to anticipate future change in order to be able to adapt quickly and to become a professional innovator for FM clients and customers. This is one major outcome of the European Facility Management Conference (EFMC) which took place from 23 to 25 May in Copenhagen.

More than 600 delegates from Europe and abroad had come to Bella Center, one of the most modern trade fair and congress centres in Europe, where over 80 international experts presented at the Business Conference and the Research Symposium. The key topics discussed were corporate social responsibility (CSR), sustainability, technology, collaboration, terminology, standards and added value.

EFMC 2012 was hosted by the International Facility Management Association (IFMA) and the European association EuroFM, with the Dansk Facilities Management Netværk (DFM) being the local host this time. The conference and trade exhibition was supported by the Centre for Facilities Management (CFM) from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), the Danish Industry Association (DI), the Danish Association of Building Experts, Managers and Surveyors (KF), the Danish Property Federation (DPF), the Danish Association of Construction Clients (DACC) as well as the Danish Purchasing and Logistics Forum (DILF). ISS, Sodexo and Planon sponsored the event and also participated in the trade show with almost 20 exhibitors; Sodexo even offered concierge and hospitality service at their stand, thus presenting “live” one of the core disciplines of FM.

For more information on EFMC go to www.efmc-conference.com.

The next EFMC will take place from 22 to 24 May 2013 in Prague and will be hosted together by Czech and Slovakian FM organisations.