"Sustainability is embedded in our culture."
That's what my colleague Tish Lascelle, Johnson & Johnson's senior director environment, health and safety, says in "The Green Imperative" feature found in this issue of Site Selection. She and Jed Richardson, Johnson & Johnson's global energy director, offer some great insights into how a company's environmental, energy, efficiency, community and cost priorities can converge for the betterment of all.
As they note, J&J will be asking for public sustainability commitments from our key suppliers as part of our goals for 2015. We also have committed to attaining LEED certification for any new facility requiring an investment of $5 million or more, and have focused just as strongly on existing facilities, including our LEED GOLD (existing building) headquarters in New Brunswick, N.J. It certainly appears that LEED principles of green building are now embedded in most corporate real estate and facilities leaders' approach. Just flip through the pages of this or any recent issue of Site Selection for proof.
I'm writing this from one of the greenest places on this earth: Brazil. In addition to its famous rainforests, it's a place primed for growth in so many areas, from life sciences to energy. And its leaders are looking to manage it all as sustainably as possible.
As we move forward in our daily work, as well as our IAMC 2020 initiative, it only makes sense to ask how embedded our individual and collective notions of sustainability are, or can be. Beyond the physical environment, there are broader implications to social impact and community commitment.
I've been especially pleased to see how enthusiastically IAMC members have participated in recent community service events at our Professional Forums, including a river cleanup in Philadelphia and the reconstruction of a trading post at a Native American reservation near Albuquerque. My thanks to Rick Little, past IAMC chair and director, real estate for Weyerheuser for his leadership in launching this new volunteer opportunity as part of our IAMC Professional Forum experience. You should plan to come and get involved with Rick and his community service committee in Austin, as they look to built a native plant garden in the Colorado River Refuge and to host a children's art sale on the Forum site to benefit those affected by the catastrophic fires in the area last year.
Sustainability principles also apply to honorably negotiating a new lease agreement or incentives deal down the street or in the state next door — perhaps in a novel reimagining of an existing facility. In fact, sustainable thinking can apply to just about everything we do in corporate real estate and facilities organizations.
There's no denying the growing level of energy and engagement of industrial asset managers in helping to lead their corporations' sustainability programs into the future. You might call us green shoots. Here's hoping your engagement in IAMC sustains and gives energy to your working life and relationships in 2012.
Mert Livingstone
IAMC Chair
