Besides the terrifying cold (28 degrees to a Northern California resident is nonsensically cold), it has been a great first day. Considering the mayhem of the start of last year's Greenbuild in Chicago, the first day was smooth sailing. There was a much improved registration process and check-in. Remember last year's lines? Ususally there are Rolling Stones tickets at the end of lines like that. It seems that the USGBC did something that consistently successful organizations do as a rule: Learn from mistakes and adapt - even if that adaptation requires that we look outside the organization for help. Where am I going with this, you might ask? Some of you who know me well and have stared at my kneecaps while I was pontificating on my soapbox are already preparing for another of Wayne's launches into how the rank and file of the USGBC is virtually illiterate when it comes to the world of existing buildings. One might wonder at some USGBC events if some members actually know that after a few years of design and construction that the building actually has a shelf life of 50 to 100 years. However, today there will be none of that from me. You will hear no hope from me that the USGBC will become the EB machine. There is no pipe-dream about architects and desginers engaging facilities managers for their knowledge. No, the dream died today. This happened, not because I threw my hands up in disgust, but rather, I had the ultimate "EB"iphany today.
I realized today that, without a doubt, if either organization is going to make the maximum impact in the shortest amount of time, IFMA needs the USGBC and the USGBC needs IFMA. That's the bottom line (traditional or triple - you're choice). What I am saying is that USGBC has successfully forged territory and fostered markets for sustainability centered products and services. They have raised awareness, secured media coverage, and demonstrated results in the work of New Construction. They shouted from the rooftops and people began to muster. However, let's be honest. An organization with a critical mass of design and build members will never truly understand the challenges of the facilities manager in the built environment. If a facilities manager is the decathelete of the business world, the designers and architects are the stadium builders who have long since left town and are already scouting building locations in the city that will host the Olympics eight years from now. They could care less about your medal count - nor should they. They are concerned about different things.
Separately, the USGBC will only affect a small percentage of the problem (95% of built environment is EB stock). Separately, IFMA could not have spawned the huge wave of "greeness" that eminates from the USGBC and LEED. It is doubtfull that IFMA members would have access to the array of choices brought to bear on the market by interest ginned up by the USGBC NC market place. It hit me like a ton of salvaged bricks today - I need to stop expecting the USGBC to do something that they really will never do well enough on their own. And, secondly, I need to admit that, though IFMA is the ninja training school for the built environment, there would be few swords and throwing stars were it not for the USGBC.
We are a hydra in the making - a two-headed approach to slay the Enviro-Menace. Separately, the USGBC could design all kinds of weapons to slay the beast, but all the while the beast keeps birthing more beasts. Conversely, IFMA could go for the jugular on the enemy, but only create a puncture wound in the Enemies of Green becuase we lack weaponry and gravitas.
Let me put it another way. If the green building movement were like a terminal disease, a New Construction (NC) focus is like finding the gene that causes cancer and only treating one in a hundred thousand in-vitro babies to nullify this gene while all the existing grown people (EB's) remain untreated and continue to die from the disease. Conversely, without the scientists who discovered the gene through hard fought research (NC), there would be no hope for any one born or unborn.
The USGBC and IFMA desperately need each other if we are to achieve the goal of greening the built environment. The proper posture toward these goals is not to appraoch each other (IFMA to USGBC) in a courteous hand-shake gesture and find a way to work together and (insert business buzzwords here i.e. "Synergize Leveraged Ergonomics"). No, the first thing to do is for us to immediately turn our backs to one another, gather close, and fight like there is no tomorrow. There will be time later for pleasantries and tea-cakes. Now is the time for action, not combining hedgehog concepts into a new mission statement. On the battlefield where the enemy is insidiously attacking the very future of our children - OF OUR CHILDREN, the only cry you should hear is "USGBC - neutralize future threats and IFMA - subdue the enemy already on the battlefield!" Alone, we are exposed. Together, we can still fight while there is a chance. Will you join the battle?
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