Green Products Require Occupant Buy-in
January 29, 2010
No matter how green a product is, unless there's buy-in from the building occupants and the facilities team, the product will need to be replaced before its expected life, negating the sustainable aspects.
Facility managers can get carried away in choosing the greenest products for a space. They may get excited over the green aspects of a certain product and weigh them too heavily against the practical aspects, resulting in a product that doesn't suit the needs of the people actually using it. Similarly, a highly sustainable product may be chosen that is difficult to maintain, or the proper training wasn't given to facilities staff, resulting in needless frustration.
To avoid a situation where a green product needs to be replaced for similar reasons, be sure to involve the facility occupants and facilities staff in the purchasing process.
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