Sixth Annual European Facility Management Conference Heads to Amsterdam

International perspectives will take center stage as facility and private-sector experts from around the world convene at the Hotel Okura in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, June 16-17 for the sixth annual European Facility Management Conference. A joint venture between EuroFM and the International Facility Management Association (IFMA), EFMC 2009 will offer workplace professionals strategies for success in today’s global economy and analyze the business processes, best practices, and technology and energy management trends affecting the built environment. Featuring a business conference and research symposium integrated into one event, EFMC 2009 will address topics such as: FM strategies in a global world; the economics of FM; sustainability and energy management; future developments and innovations in FM; partnership across borders; life cycle management; and workplace trends.

The event will feature keynote presentations from Slovenian Cultural Ambassador Miha Pogacnik and Dutch information industry trend watcher Rob Creemers. Pogacnik will take attendees on a “Journey of Transformation,” a presentation in which he teaches how to overcome “lamentation paralysis” in order to revive personal and commercial success. Creemers’ address, “Development of FM, Collaboration of Business and Research,” will consider the global and European challenges surrounding the development of facility management.

Another highlight of this year’s conference will be the “FM Debate of the Year.” Host Magnus Kuchler, partner at Ernst Young AB, Sweden, will take attendees through an analysis of the pros and cons of facility management outsourcing.

Additionally, EFMC 2009 educational sessions will take an in-depth look at issues such as evidence based design, carbon management and sustainability, and performance monitoring. Educational session speakers include representatives from IBM, the LEGO Service Center, Saxion University, University College London, and the University of Salford.

“It’s really critical that national and international associations continue to network and work together on common initiatives, and a great example of this is the partnership between EuroFM and IFMA for EFMC,” said John McGee, MBA, COO of Ice Energy and chairman of the IFMA board of directors. “Such partnering allows the transfer of best practices, benchmarking, research and education across multiple countries, and the result is the advancement of the FM profession globally.”