SFP key terms

A decision framework that evaluates performance against three interdependent outcomes - financial profit, social equity, and environmental quality - rather than financial results alone. Facility strategies are justified when they balance all three.

Environmental, social, and governance factors used to assess an organization's sustainability performance and risk exposure. Investors, tenants, and regulators increasingly use these criteria to compare organizations and inform their decisions.

A structured process for identifying which sustainability issues matter most to an organization and its stakeholders, weighing business impact against stakeholder concern. Results focus resources on the topics carrying the greatest risk or opportunity.

A formal written commitment by leadership that sets the organization's sustainability objectives, principles, and accountabilities. It authorizes goals, assigns responsibility, and signals priorities to staff, suppliers, and other stakeholders.

A long-range document linking an organization's mission and business goals to facility investments, space needs, and performance targets. It sequences capital decisions so buildings support organizational strategy over a multi-year horizon.

The full cost of acquiring, operating, maintaining, and eventually disposing of an asset over its useful life, including energy, water, and labor. It reveals savings that first-cost comparisons hide.

A financial method that compares design or equipment alternatives by discounting all costs and savings across a defined study period. It supports decisions where higher upfront investment yields lower operating costs later.

A lease agreement that allocates sustainability responsibilities and data sharing between landlord and tenant, often covering energy reporting, fit-out standards, and cost recovery for efficiency improvements. It aligns both parties' incentives.

A greenhouse gas reduction goal consistent with the scale of cuts climate science says are needed to limit global warming, typically validated against a recognized methodology. It connects facility emission plans to global climate goals.

The planned process of identifying, informing, and involving the people and groups affected by facility decisions. Early, structured input builds trust, surfaces risks, and improves the durability of sustainability commitments.

The public disclosure of an organization's environmental, social, and governance performance using a recognized framework. It creates accountability for stated goals and supplies data that investors, customers, and regulators expect.

The structured methods used to help people adopt new processes, technologies, or behaviors. In facility sustainability programs it addresses resistance and builds the habits needed for savings to persist.

A building's annual energy consumption divided by its floor area, expressed in a common unit such as kilowatt-hours per square meter. It allows comparison of buildings of different sizes and tracking of performance over time.

Comparing a building's measured performance - energy, water, waste, or cost - against peers, its own past performance, or a target. Results reveal outliers and prioritize where improvement efforts will pay off.

The combined condition of indoor air, thermal comfort, lighting, and acoustics as experienced by occupants. Poor IEQ reduces health, satisfaction, and productivity, making it a core sustainability outcome.

A systematic process of testing and adjusting an existing building's systems to confirm they operate as intended. It typically uncovers low-cost and no-cost savings without major capital investment.

A networked control system that monitors and adjusts heating, cooling, ventilation, lighting, and other equipment. It enables scheduling, fault detection, and the data collection needed to manage performance.

Scheduled servicing of equipment performed before failures occur. It protects efficiency, extends asset life, and prevents the energy waste and downtime caused by neglected systems.

The measurement of how much building space exists and how often it is actually used. Low utilization signals opportunities to consolidate, reconfigure, or release space, reducing cost and environmental footprint.

The share of total waste that is recycled, composted, or otherwise kept out of landfill and incineration. It measures how well a facility's waste program captures recoverable materials.

The greenhouse gas emissions associated with extracting, manufacturing, transporting, installing, and disposing of building materials. It is incurred once, mainly at construction or renovation, unlike ongoing operational emissions.

A method that quantifies environmental impacts of a product or building across all stages, from raw material extraction through use and end of life. It supports comparing design options on more than energy alone.

Purchasing goods and services with explicit environmental and social criteria alongside price and performance. It uses the organization's spending to reduce supply chain impacts and reward responsible suppliers.

An evaluation of how acute hazards and chronic climate conditions could disrupt a facility, plus the capacity of systems and plans to absorb shock and recover. It informs adaptation investments and continuity planning.

Third-party recognition that a building meets defined sustainability criteria across categories such as energy, water, materials, and indoor environment. Certification provides verified benchmarks and external credibility.

A long-term contract to buy electricity, often from a renewable generator, at a set price. Such agreements can secure clean supply and price certainty while transferring project development risk to the seller.

A systematic inspection and analysis of how a facility uses energy, identifying waste and cost-effective improvement measures. Audits range from walk-through reviews to detailed engineering studies with savings calculations.

Installing meters on individual circuits, tenants, or systems so consumption can be tracked separately from the whole-building total. Granular data pinpoints problems and supports accurate cost allocation.

A program in which a facility reduces or shifts electricity use during grid peak events in exchange for payments or lower rates. It supports grid reliability and can lower energy costs.

Programmed temperature or lighting settings that relax comfort conditions when a space is unoccupied. Properly applied setbacks cut waste during nights, weekends, and holidays without affecting occupants.

A control strategy that uses cool outdoor air instead of mechanical cooling when conditions allow. It reduces compressor energy use during mild weather and improves part-load efficiency.

Controlling the energy used by equipment plugged into outlets - computers, monitors, appliances, chargers - through policies, smart power strips, and timers. These loads often persist unnoticed outside occupied hours.

Ongoing analysis of building automation data to detect faults and performance drift long after initial commissioning. It sustains savings by catching problems early rather than waiting for the next retro-commissioning study.

Water consumption per unit of floor area, occupant, or production output over a period. It normalizes use so facilities of different sizes can be compared and savings tracked.

A pest control approach emphasizing prevention, monitoring, and least-toxic treatments rather than routine chemical spraying. It protects indoor air quality and reduces chemical exposure for occupants and staff.

Planned communication, feedback, and incentives that help building users adopt energy- and water-saving behaviors. Engagement amplifies technical savings and builds support for sustainability goals.

Scope 1 covers fuels burned on site, such as natural gas in boilers; Scope 2 covers purchased electricity, steam, or cooling. Together they define the operational emissions a facility manager directly influences.

Lighting controls that dim or switch electric lights in response to available daylight, holding illumination at the target level while cutting electricity use. Sensor placement and calibration determine how well it performs.

Preparing the organization to keep critical functions running and recover quickly after disruption. Sustainability adds climate hazard scenarios and backup power considerations to traditional planning.