HOUSTON — The International Facility Management Association (IFMA) has announced that Andrew Winston, an expert on green business, will be the keynote speaker for its World Workplace 2009 Conference & Expo, to be held Oct. 7-9 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla.

Winston will deliver the conference’s keynote presentation, “Green Recovery: Get Lean, Get Smart and Emerge from the Downturn on Top,” based on his upcoming book, on Wednesday, Oct. 7. He will make the case that going green — especially during an economic slowdown — saves money to help a business survive, drives innovation to create value for the long run, and represents a fundamentally new and better way of doing business.

Through his presentation, said IFMA, Winston will show how conference attendees can help their companies get lean by stepping up energy and resource efficiency to survive the downturn; get smart by using environmental data about products and value chains to save money, innovate, and generate a competitive advantage; get creative and rejuvenate innovation efforts; and get people engaged and excited by enlisting them to help solve environmental challenges.

“The forces driving the greening of business and society have not gone away because of the economic downturn,” said Winston. “Going green isn’t just something you have to do — it’s something you should embrace and want to do.

“At its core, being green is about doing more with less, getting lean and saving money, and making your business more resilient and relevant to customers and employees. By getting lean and green, you can play a critical role in freeing up capital to survive the downturn and invest in the business for future success. Think of facilities not as a cost center, but a strategic asset.”

Winston is the co-author of Green to Gold, a guide to what works — and what doesn’t — when companies go green, as well as the founder of Winston Eco-Strategies, a consulting firm.

IFMA’s World Workplace Conference & Expo is an annual three-day educational and networking event focused on the future of the built environment. Early registration for World Workplace 2009 is available through July 17. To learn more about the conference or to register, visit www.worldworkplace.org.

Publication date: 05/25/2009