CEN ISO/TR 41019:2024

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-september-2024
Vloga upravljanja objektov pri trajnostnosti, odpornosti in prilagodljivosti (ISO/TR
41019:2024)
Facility management’s role in sustainability, resilience and adaptability (ISO/TR
41019:2024)
Facility Management - Die Rolle von FM bei Nachhaltigkeit und Resilienz (ISO/TR
41019:2024)
Rôle du facility management dans le développement durable et la résilience (ISO/TR
41019:2024)
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: CEN ISO/TR 41019:2024
ICS:
03.080.10 Vzdrževalne storitve. Maintenance services.
Upravljanje objektov Facilities management
13.020.20 Okoljska ekonomija. Environmental economics.
Trajnostnost Sustainability
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

CEN ISO/TR 41019
TECHNICAL REPORT
RAPPORT TECHNIQUE
July 2024
TECHNISCHER REPORT
ICS 03.080.10; 13.020.20
English Version
Facility management's role in sustainability, resilience and
adaptability (ISO/TR 41019:2024)
Rôle du facility management dans la durabilité, la Facility Management - Die Rolle von FM bei
résilience et l'adaptabilité (ISO/TR 41019:2024) Nachhaltigkeit und Resilienz (ISO/TR 41019:2024)

This Technical Report was approved by CEN on 23 May 2024. It has been drawn up by the Technical Committee CEN/TC 348.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway,
Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and
United Kingdom.
EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION

EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG

CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Rue de la Science 23, B-1040 Brussels
© 2024 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. CEN ISO/TR 41019:2024 E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

Contents Page
European foreword . 3

European foreword
This document (CEN ISO/TR 41019:2024) has been prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 267
"Facility management" in collaboration with Technical Committee CEN/TC 348 “Facility Management”
the secretariat of which is held by SN.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. CEN shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
Any feedback and questions on this document should be directed to the users’ national standards
body/national committee. A complete listing of these bodies can be found on the CEN website.
Endorsement notice
The text of ISO/TR 41019:2024 has been approved by CEN as CEN ISO/TR 41019:2024 without any
modification.
Technical
Report
ISO/TR 41019
First edition
Facility management’s role in
2024-06
sustainability, resilience and
adaptability
Rôle du facility management dans la durabilité, la résilience et
l'adaptabilité
Reference number
ISO/TR 41019:2024(en) © ISO 2024

ISO/TR 41019:2024(en)
© ISO 2024
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, or required in the context of its implementation, no part of this publication may
be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or posting on
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ISO copyright office
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Phone: +41 22 749 01 11
Email: copyright@iso.org
Website: www.iso.org
Published in Switzerland
ii
ISO/TR 41019:2024(en)
Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Concepts, context and challenges . 4
4.1 United Nations 2030 Agenda .4
4.2 CSR and ESG .5
4.3 Business and finance context .5
4.3.1 General .5
4.3.2 Business .7
4.3.3 Finance .8
4.4 Climate change, net zero emissions and the circular economy .9
4.4.1 Climate change .9
4.4.2 Net zero emissions .10
4.4.3 Circular economy .11
4.5 Sustainability, resilience and adaptability . 12
4.5.1 General . 12
4.5.2 Sustainability . 12
4.5.3 Resilience . 13
4.5.4 Adaptability .14
5 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) .15
6 Role of International Standards in supporting the SDGs.16
7 FM and SDGs in context . 16
8 Role of the ISO 41000 family of standards . 19
9 Towards sustainable FM .21
Annex A (informative) Alignment of the ISO 41000 family of standards with the UN SDGs .25
Annex B (informative) Towards sustainable FM via the ISO 41000 family of standards .27
Annex C (informative) Related ISO committees .32
Bibliography .33

iii
ISO/TR 41019:2024(en)
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through
ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee
has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations,
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with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are described
in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the different types
of ISO document should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the editorial rules of the
ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).
ISO draws attention to the possibility that the implementation of this document may involve the use of (a)
patent(s). ISO takes no position concerning the evidence, validity or applicability of any claimed patent
rights in respect thereof. As of the date of publication of this document, ISO had not received notice of (a)
patent(s) which may be required to implement this document. However, implementers are cautioned that
this may not represent the latest information, which may be obtained from the patent database available at
www.iso.org/patents. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
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For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions
related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO’s adherence to the World Trade
Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), see www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.
This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 267, Facility management, in collaboration with
the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) Technical Committee CEN/TC 348, Facility Management,
in accordance with the Agreement on technical cooperation between ISO and CEN (Vienna Agreement).
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html.

iv
ISO/TR 41019:2024(en)
Introduction
Facility management’s (FM) contribution to sustainability, resilience and adaptability of the built
environment is evolving fast and is endorsed by an increasing number of countries and organizations. Given
this dynamic, FM has a key role to play in taking the bold and transformative steps which are urgently
needed to shift the world onto the path for a more sustainable, resilient and adaptive future.
The United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a holistic global framework for
addressing poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice. The 17 SDGs
were adopted by the UN’s 193 member countries in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect
the planet and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity. The management of the built
environment figures directly and substantially in achieving such aspirations.
This document is intended for use by organizations, regardless of size, maturity or industry, that wish to
work towards a more sustainable FM. The SDGs provide a holistic global framework for addressing and
reporting on a range of global challenges. Using this framework, this document provides contextual insight
into ways that demand organizations, FM professionals and their organizations can contribute to achieving
a more productive, sustainable and liveable built environment for all.

v
Technical Report ISO/TR 41019:2024(en)
Facility management’s role in sustainability, resilience and
adaptability
1 Scope
This document provides a broad societal context for facility management (FM) to inspire organizations that
wish to:
— establish and improve a sustainable integrated FM system;
— embrace the wide-ranging and positive contribution that FM makes in managing the built environment;
— support the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
This document provides a non-exhaustive contextual introduction to relevant concepts, initiatives and
terms that are in common use.
It is acknowledged that the practice of FM internationally is dynamic and diverse, hence this document
provides generic information based on current experience without setting out any specific requirements,
recommendations or permissions. Organizations are encouraged to make their own enquiries as to the
extent this document is applicable to their circumstances.
2 Normative references
There are no normative references in this document.
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminology databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https:// www .iso .org/ obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at https:// www .electropedia .org/
3.1
climate
statistical description of weather in terms of the mean and variability of relevant quantities over a period of
time ranging from months to thousands or millions of years
Note 1 to entry: The classical period for averaging these variables is 30 years, as defined by the World Meteorological
Organization.
Note 2 to entry: The relevant quantities are most often near-surface variables such as temperature, precipitation and wind.
[SOURCE: ISO 14090:2019, 3.4]
3.2
climate change
change in climate (3.1) that persists for an extended period, typically decades or longer
Note 1 to entry: Change in climate can be identified (e.g. by using statistical tests) by changes in the mean or the
variability of its properties, or both.

ISO/TR 41019:2024(en)
Note 2 to entry: Climate change might be due to natural processes, internal to the climate system, or external forcings
such as modulations of the solar cycles, volcanic eruptions, and persistent anthropogenic changes in the composition
of the atmosphere or in land use.
[SOURCE: ISO 14090:2019, 3.5, modified — Note 1 to entry has been modified.]
3.3
adaptation
climate change adaptation
process of adjustment to actual or expected climate (3.1) and its effects
Note 1 to entry: In human systems, adaptation seeks to moderate or avoid harm or exploit beneficial opportunities.
Note 2 to entry: In some natural systems, human intervention can facilitate adjustment to expected climate and its
effects.
[SOURCE: ISO 14090:2019, 3.1, modified — “to climate change” deleted from the preferred term.]
3.4
circular economy
economy that is restorative and regenerative by design, and which aims to keep products, components and
materials at their highest utility and value at all times, distinguishing between technical and biological cycles
[SOURCE: ISO 41011:2024, 3.6.3]
3.5
CO e
carbon dioxide equivalent
CO equivalent
unit for comparing the radiative forcing of a greenhouse gas (3.7) to that of carbon dioxide
Note 1 to entry: Mass of a greenhouse gas is converted into CO e using global warming potentials (ISO 14050:2020, 3.9.2).
[SOURCE: ISO 14050:2020, 3.9.3, modified — CO e becomes the preferred term. Note 1 to entry added.]
3.6
demand organization
entity which has a need and the authority to incur costs to have requirements met
Note 1 to entry: This is typically an authorized representative within a functional unit of an organization.
[SOURCE: ISO 41011:2024, 3.3.4]
3.7
greenhouse gas
GHG
gaseous constituent of the atmosphere, both natural and anthropogenic (resulting from or caused by human
activity), that absorbs and emits radiation at specific wavelengths within the spectrum of infrared radiation
emitted by the Earth’s surface, the atmosphere and clouds
Note 1 to entry: For a list of GHGs, refer to the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment report.
Note 2 to entry: Water vapour and ozone are anthropogenic as well as natural GHGs, but they are not included as
recognized GHGs due to difficulties, in most cases, in isolating the human-induced component of global warming
attributable to their presence in the atmosphere.
[SOURCE: ISO 41011:2024, 3.10.1]
3.8
greenhouse gas emission
GHG emission
release of a GHG (3.7) into the atmosphere
[SOURCE: ISO 14064-1:2018, 3.1.5, modified — Note 1 to entry deleted.]

ISO/TR 41019:2024(en)
3.9
facility management
FM
facilities management
organizational function which integrates people, place and process within the built environment with the
purpose of improving the quality of life of people and the productivity of the core business
[SOURCE: ISO 41011:2024, 3.1.1, modified — Note 1 to entry deleted.]
3.10
stakeholder
interested party
person or organization that can affect, be affected by, or perceive itself to be affected by a decision or an
activity
[SOURCE: ISO 41011:2024, 3.3.5]
3.11
life cycle
consecutive and interlinked stages related to a product, from raw material acquisition or generation from
natural resources to end-of-life treatment
[SOURCE: ISO 14067:2018, 3.1.4.2, modified — Notes to entry deleted.]
3.12
sustainability
state of the global system, including environmental, social and economic aspects, in which the needs of the
present are met without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
Note 1 to entry: The environmental, social and economic aspects interact, are interdependent and are often referred
to as the triple bottom line, also known as the three dimensions of sustainability.
Note 2 to entry: Sustainability is the goal of sustainable development (3.13).
[SOURCE: ISO 41011:2024, 3.10.4]
3.13
sustainable development
development that meets the environmental, social and economic needs of the present without compromising
the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
[53]
Note 1 to entry: Derived from the Brundtland Report .
[SOURCE: ISO 41011:2024, 3.7.22]
3.14
social responsibility
responsibility of an organization for the impacts of its decisions and activities on society and the
environment, through transparent and ethical behaviour that:
— contributes to sustainable development (3.13) including the health and the welfare of society;
— takes into account the expectations of stakeholders (3.10);
— is in compliance with applicable law and consistent with international norms of behaviour;
— is integrated throughout the organization and practised in its relationships.
Note 1 to entry: Activities include products, services and processes.
Note 2 to entry: Relationships refer to an organization’s activities within its sphere of influence.
[SOURCE: ISO 41011:2024, 3.3.8, modified — “stakeholders” replaced “interested parties”.]

ISO/TR 41019:2024(en)
3.15
resilience
adaptive capacity in a complex and changing environment
[SOURCE: ISO 41011:2024, 3.7.17]
4 Concepts, context and challenges
4.1 United Nations 2030 Agenda
In 2015, the UN set an ambitious 15-year plan to address some of the most pressing issues faced by the world.

All 193 Member States adopted “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”
[82]
(also referred to as the “2030 Agenda”) as a plan for achieving a better future for all.
The 2030 Agenda has at its heart the 17 SDGs and 169 targets. This agenda is a plan of action laying out a
path to end extreme poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and protect our planet.
The SDGs provide an integrated and indivisible balance of the three dimensions of sustainable development:
the economic, social and environmental, and are of critical importance to humanity. The SDGs focus areas
are: People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace and Partnership.
As an extract from the preamble of the UN General Assembly Resolution 70/1, adopted on 25 September
2015, these are described as:
— “People: We are determined to end poverty and hunger, in all their forms and dimensions, and to ensure
that all human beings can fulfil their potential in dignity and equality and in a healthy environment.
— Planet: We are determined to protect the planet from degradation, including through sustainable
consumption and production, sustainably managing its natural resources and taking urgent action on
climate change, so that it can support the needs of the present and future generations.
— Prosperity: We are determined to ensure that all human beings can enjoy prosperous and fulfilling lives
and that economic, social and technological progress occurs in harmony with nature.
— Peace: We are determined to foster peaceful, just and inclusive societies which are free from fear and
violence. There can be no sustainable development without peace and no peace without sustainable
development.
— Partnership: We are determined to mobilise the means required to implement this Agenda through a
revitalised Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, based on a spirit of strengthened global
solidarity, focused in particular on the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable and with the participation
of all countries, all stakeholders and all people.”
Fulfilling these ambitions will require unprecedented effort by all sectors of society and business.
[79]
The UN “The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2021” sets out that the global community is at a
critical moment in its pursuit of the SDGs. Reporting that progress in key areas had either stalled or reversed.
In the wake of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the human and economic toll has been unprecedented,
and recovery efforts so far have been uneven, inequitable and insufficiently geared towards achieving
sustainable development. Decades of development gains have been threatened, further delaying the urgent
transition to a greener, more inclusive economies, and throwing progress on the SDGs even further off track.
Under the UN Agenda 2030, the world could have been better prepared to face this crisis – with stronger
health systems, expanded social protection coverage, the resilience that comes from more equal societies,
and a healthier natural environment.
A recommitment by governments, cities, businesses and industries to ensure that the recovery reduces
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, conserves natural resources, creates better jobs, advances gender equality,
and tackles growing poverty and inequalities is a further imperative.

ISO/TR 41019:2024(en)
4.2 CSR and ESG
With its origins in the 1950s, and coined as a term in the 1970s, the corporate social responsibility (CSR)
concept is a self-regulating business model that helps an organization to be socially accountable to itself,
its stakeholders, and the community. CSR evolved through the 1980s and 1990s, and by 2000 had become
an essential strategy for many organizations. Through the practise of CSR, also sometimes referred to
as "corporate citizenship", organizations were able to demonstrate accountability for their impacts on
society, including economic, social and environmental issues.
By the 2000s, the environmental, social and governance (ESG) framework terminology emerged, taking the
holistic view that sustainability extends beyond just environmental issues.
Overall, ESG criteria are considered more specific and actionable than CSR initiatives, leading to a growth in
the alignment of ESG data with the UN SDGs since 2015.
In effect, CSR was the precursor to the ESG principles.
CSR provides a qualitative assessment of an organization’s effects on its stakeholders and society. ESG
measures an organization’s impact on the environment and society, using quantitative measurement
methods with the aim of delivering long-term stakeholder value. Concurrently, stakeholders and society are
requiring that organizations become more transparent about their performance and reporting.
There is evidence of growing acceptance of ESG principles and the positive correlation with total shareholder
return (TSR) as a measure of financial performance in terms of capital growth and dividends. There is also a
trend toward more active regulation with increasingly granular requirements.
Despite the diversity of approaches to assessing ESG performance (see Clause B.3), the push has been for more
accurate and robust disclosure. The implications of technologies, such as digital twins and data analytics,
further blur the lines between physical and digital environments, along with challenging traditional
concepts of connectivity, service level agreement, responsiveness, supply chains, carbon footprints, etc.
While the challenge remains that ESG has few uniform reporting standards, ESG principles, and making
them quantifiable, meaningful and understandable across industries and sectors, are fundamental to
achieving sustainability, resilience and adaptability.
4.3 Business and finance context
4.3.1 General
Global challenges and the rapidly changing complexity of society inform the development of mitigation plans.
Increasingly FM is being required to be proactive in enhancing the demand organization’s sustainability,
resilience and adaptability capability to contribute to the quality of life of end users and the wider community.
The SDGs provide an overarching framework that can inform FM’s contribution to a more sustainable,
resilient and adaptive built environment. The SDGs can be used by organizations to directly inform their
strategic goals, which in turn inform FM strategies, policies and operations.
In addition, the use of performance reporting frameworks, such as those observing the ESG principles, can
be designed to support improved organizational outcomes in terms of efficiency, productivity, liveability,
affordability, resilience and adaptability.
The prominence of the SDGs and ESG principles and influence on the demand organization’s FM strategies,
policies and operations, as shown in Figure 1, are crucial to achieving sustainable outcomes and addressing
contemporary performance metrics.

ISO/TR 41019:2024(en)
Figure 1 — Graphical representation of the broader societal context for the built environment and
FM’s contribution to quality of life
At a strategic level, the SDGs influence FM strategy as it relates to the organizational context and its impact on
the demand organization’s people and places with whom FM interacts in terms of core business, governance,
inclusiveness and risk management. The processes that FM uses in services delivery are determined in terms
of scope, specifications, sourcing and innovations. Specifically, examples include FM strategies covering:
— governance and context;
— core business activities;
— risk management;
— accessibility, inclusiveness and equalities of occupancy;
— functional requirements;
— scope of services;
— service specifications;
— outputs and targets;
— service levels, delivery, sourcing and innovations.
At the policy level, the SDGs inform by social responsibility, business relationships and financial systems,
and the development of health, safety, security, environmental and information plans for the support of the
demand organization’s assets, workplace and occupancy. Specifically, examples include FM policies covering:
— health, safety and security;
— social factors;
— environmental management;
— information security;
— business continuity and recovery;

ISO/TR 41019:2024(en)
— support functions and supply;
— workplace and occupancy.
At the operational level, the SDGs underpin the development of good-practice guidance for the design and
delivery of day-to-day activities. Operationally, the FM organization directly supports the people, place
and process dimensions along with the productivity of the core business. Specifically, examples include FM
operations covering:
— establishing criteria;
— implementing control;
— information management;
— relationship management;
— resource management, including the use of materials and energy efficiency;
— service level agreements;
— coordination of stakeholders;
— integration of services;
— emergency preparedness, monitoring and response;
— asset maintenance.
4.3.2 Business
Sustainable FM makes good business sense, contributing to the triple bottom line, expressed as the “three
P's” of profit, people and the planet. Purpose-driven leaders can effect positive change in the world while
improving financial performance. Adopting a reporting framework, such as ESG, can support business
success.
Sustainable FM is “the integrated whole of a complex sociotechnical system at the building level, consisting
of elements such as buildings and building operation, use, maintenance and management processes, and
how this system can be managed to contribute to sustainable development in society. Sustainable FM in
practice is not a simple matter but includes complex challenges with numerous dilemmas, such as how to
[70]
prioritize environmental e.g. energy savings in comparison with quality, economy and health.”
Sustainable FM is being driven by a combination of societal concern, investor pressure, risk mitigation,
regulatory changes and performance targets. In addition, a variety of organizations and end users are
increasingly aware of the well-being, social and environmental benefits of optimized facilities, sustainable
infrastructure and resilient urban systems. Hence, it is reasonable to assume that FM’s role in providing
ESG-friendly spaces will persist and the FM performance reporting requirements will expand.
Sustainable FM requires professionals to be aware of the global strategic context, and complexities of
current and future performance expectations. Increasingly, in recent years, multiple industry tools,
surveys and reports attest to the links between sustainability as a driver of an organization’s innovative
performance indicators and associated financial risks. Financial risks are always relevant to FM budgets and
capital projects, requiring substantive evidence of the focal areas for performance measuring and reporting.
Sustainable FM can expand this to additional issues such as:
— sustainability reporting;
— third party assurance and integrated reporting;
— GHG emissions (predominately carbon dioxide (CO ) reduction goals);
— risks with respect to climate change and loss of biodiversity;

ISO/TR 41019:2024(en)
— alignment of activities with SDGs, linked to economic growth, climate change and responsible
consumption becoming the priority;
— indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and working environment (lighting, acoustics, air quality, etc.) and
the correlation with staff performance and attendance;
— emergency preparedness and business continuity planning, including a review of training exercises
against the most common hazard threats;
— resilience assessment of internal systems and external supply chains.
If FM professionals are to play a key role in taking the bold and transformative steps required to shift
the world onto a more sustainable, resilient and adaptive path, then aligning their business cases and FM
reporting to recognized standards is essential. Verification of such requirements can be reflected within
an organization’s policies and strategic plan. Specific business sustainability areas where FM can be called
upon to support reporting include: economic performance, procurement, energy, water, waste, health and
safety, training, security, resourcing and others.
See Annex B for details on practical steps towards, and examples of, sustainable FM.
4.3.3 Finance
The SDGs were developed to be primarily actionable by governments and countries, rather than investors
and businesses. With the SDGs addressing an array of global challenges, it can seem difficult to translate
them into a core business strategy and meaningful FM actions.
There is no common or agreed methodology of measuring the SDGs contribution or impact from an
investment portfolio perspective. However, ISO 41012:2017 states that an “investment strategy should
include a clear investment model. It should also include an adaptive asset management strategy or plan and
a continuous follow up on maintenance”.
Globally, the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation is responsible for accounting
and sustainability disclosure standards across 77 industries, as developed by the International Accounting
Standards Board (IASB) and International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). As of August 2022, the
ISSB of the IFRS Foundation assumed responsibility for the SASB Standards.
In 2018, the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) developed SASB Standards for sustainability
accounting across a wide range of industries, including the real estate and engineering sectors. SASB
Standards contain disclosure topics, associated accounting metrics and technical protocols, and activity
metrics for each industry.
[58]
SASB’s “Industry Guide to the Sustainable Development Goals” provides guidance on SDG mapping for
business, noting that 6 of the 17 SDGs likely to present the greatest opportunity for business to contribute are:
— SDG 3 (good health and well-being);
— SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy);
— SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth);
— SDG 9 (industry, innovation, and infrastructure);
— SDG 12 (responsible consumption and production);
— SDG 13 (climate action).
It is widely acknowledged that some form of sustainability reporting is practised by a majority of modern
[68]
organizations, with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) as the dominant global reporting standard. GRI
claims to offer a complete set of sustainability reporting standards in support of the 2030 Agenda.
GRI Standards include indicators of performance on some subjects included in the SDGs. In general terms,
some investments, such as those in infrastructure, renewables, social housing and construction, aligned with
some SDGs, but currently the actual investment impact is not readily quantifiable nor is the contribution to

ISO/TR 41019:2024(en)
the SDGs a key driver of investment, or operational and life cycle decisions. However, in the interim, there
is a great deal FM can achieve through acknowledging the SDGs alignment with its activities and reporting.
4.4 Climate change, net zero emissions and the circular economy
4.4.1 Climate change
[64]
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2022 report ), there is unequivocal
evidence that human activity influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land. This has led, and if left
unchecked will continue to lead, to widespread and rapid changes in the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and
biosphere. Human-induced climate change is already affecting many weather and climate extremes in every
region across the globe, such as heatwaves, precipitation, droughts and storms.
Climate change represents a significant threat to life on Earth. Part of the solution has been identified
that society must reduce and ultimately eliminate GHGs, principally CO emissions, measured as CO e.
2 2
Fortunately, this transformation to a zero-carbon economy has commenced in many industrial, commercial
[65]
and governmental sectors, across local, national and regional markets. However, the IPCC 2023 report
highlights that current mitigation and adaptation actions and policies are not sufficient.
[63]
As detailed in the IPCC 2021 report , during 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic led to a rapid, temporary
decline in CO emissions. Overall, however, even lengthy lockdowns seem to have had a surprisingly small
impact on the global climate. Despite this, COVID-19 has provided the world with an opportunity to pause
and reflect that, without concerted global action, the path leads towards dangerous climate change.
With many governments and corporate leaders signalling a significant return to so-called “normality” in
2022 in terms of travel, trade, production, consumption, etc., the climate change challenge remains. Keeping
the Paris Agreement’s goal in sight to reduce CO emissions by 50 % and to limit global average temperature
to well below 2,0 °C above pre-industrial levels (preferably to 1,5 °C by 2050) will require investment in
widespread transformative structural change.
[64]
The IPCC 2022 report outlines five possible climate futures, all of which present challenges. The IPCC also
introduces a range of terms; the one which resonates with FM is “climate resilient development (CRD)”: the
process of implementing GHG mitigation and adaptation measures to support sustainable development.
The built environment is a major contributor to climate change in terms of operational and embodied carbon.
According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) “2021 Global Status Report for Buildings
[86] [59]
and Construction” and the International Energy Agency (IEA) “World Energy Outlook 2021” , the
buildings and construction sector accounted globally for 36 % of energy demand and 37 % of energy and
process-related CO emissions in 2020, 10 % of which resulted from manufacturing building materials and
products, such as steel, cement and glass.
In conjunction with a range of initiatives, significant CO savings can be achieved by 2030 by:
— improving facility design and construction;
— increasing reuse and recycling rates;
— contributing to deeper energy efficient retrofits;
— extending the life cycle of facilities.
In turn, climate change threatens the built environment’s resilience, the integrity of its assets and the ability
of facilities to provide consistently reliable services. Enhancing resilience, and adapting to the coming
changes, requires action to respond to capacity demands, extreme conditions, emergencies, and cope with
climate-related hazards and utilization changes. The impacts of climate change can be cumulative and often
have a complex interplay with other issues, such as social vulnerability and migration.
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The UNEP’s “Adaptation Gap Report 2022: Too Little, Too Slow” highlights that climate adaptation failure
puts the world at risk.
ISO/TR 41019:2024(en)
The 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27)
meeting in Egypt in November 2022, reported on a range of high-level goals. A summary of the COP27
commitments, expressed as specific actions for organizations, are as follows:
— support for the move to 100 % renewable electricity supply;
— plan and implement net zero emissions transformations;
— design for long-life products;
— creation of circular supply chains;
— work towards net zero emissions transportation;
— reduce travelling operations;
— review construction and building material business models;
— achieve net zero carbon owned or leased facilities.
In addition, the 15th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15)
meetings in December 2022 adopted the “Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework”, including 4
overarching global goals and 23 targets for achievement by 2030.
Not all of the 2030 Agenda’s targets for climate change and biodiversity are within the direct control of FM;
however, enhanced awareness of such issues is a start.
The International Facility Management Association (IFMA) published a white paper entitled “Climate Change
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Fundamentals for Facility Management Professionals” . This provides for an understanding of climate
change science, its impacts and areas of concern, specifically as it relates to managing the built environment.
4.4.2 Net zero emissions
CO is the most significant of the GHG emissions that acts as a cap in trapping heat in the Earth’s atmosphere,
creating the greenhouse effect. Organizations such as the Carbon Disclosure Project, UN Global Compact,
World Resources Institute and the Worldwide Fund have created the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
The SBTi provides guidance, criteria and recommendations to support the setting of net zero targets to
reduce GHG emissions aligned with the 2015 Paris Agreement goals. As of September 2022, 194 members of
the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are pa
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