Dubai’s Cofely Besix Facility Management (CBFM) has been awarded the ISO 50001:2011 Energy Management System (EnMS) certification for the provision of facilities management services at Masdar City.

The EnMS framework ensures energy management activities are carried out in a systematic manner to improve energy performance. Objectives and targets are regularly set and reviewed to drive year-on-year energy performance improvement for Masdar City.

“We have chosen to integrate the EnMS into our CAFM system to assure ourselves of a standardised use, management and monitoring of utility consumptions and carbon emissions,” explained Bart Holsters, operations manager of Cofely Besix Facility Management.

“Moreover, this integration with our CAFM platform enables us to manage, share and benchmark energy conservation measures (ECMs) in a centralised manner which, in turn, empowers knowledge sharing across our organisation.”

The EnMS includes the understanding of the premises' efficiency and benchmarking, and setting objectives and targets to improve energy performance. Opportunities are identified and managed through the CAFM system, whilst an operational control plan which includes operational and management best practices is created. Annual energy audits are carried out, and all employees receive the required energy management awareness training to ensure consistency throughout the company.

“Implementing and obtaining the ISO50001 certification for our developed EnMS was a very important step within Cofely Besix FM’s overall sustainability programme,” added Holsters.

“We are very pleased with this achievement which will help us to further improve on our operational efficiency service delivery models and also to continuously reduce carbon emissions and utility expenditures within our operation.”

“In partnership with Masdar City, we have proven that an energy management system a client might already have in place can be shaped easily into a standardised ISO50001 EnMS model. Ultimately our goal is to make sure energy efficiency becomes a mandatory target, whilst preserving our precious environment,” concluded Holsters.

CBFM was initially awarded the three-year facilities management contract for Masdar City in January 2017. The scope of services includes full hard, soft and civil facility management services including operations and maintenance of electrical systems, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems, potable water, fire detection systems, life-safety critical systems, elevators, building management system (BMS), low-voltage systems and civil infrastructure work.

“At CBFM, we regard energy consumption as a business cost, like all other business costs,” explained Andre Mars, quality, health safety and environment manager of Cofely Besix Facility Management. “Being certified to ISO 50001 standards will not only yield benefits in terms of cost reduction to us as a business, but it also generates additional gains for our clients through energy savings, as we continually monitor their energy consumption and resolve anomalies that may cause energy waste.”

Masdar City, one of the world’s most sustainable urban communities, is a rapidly growing clean-tech cluster, business free-zone and residential neighbourhood containing one of the largest groups of low-carbon buildings in the world.

“The application of sustainable best practice is at the heart of Masdar City’s vision, from planning and design through to construction and operations, and it is essential that our suppliers have the same philosophy,” said Dr Nawal Al Hosany, executive director of Sustainability and Brand at Masdar.

“We welcome the award of this certification, which demonstrates the robustness of energy management activities at Masdar City, as well as reflecting our commitment to constantly improving energy performance.”

Masdar City is currently experiencing the most rapid development in its history. More than 176,000 sq m of completed buildings are fully leased and occupied, while a further 740,000 sq m of projects at Masdar City have firm development agreements in place, including schools, offices, hotels, shops, restaurants and private homes. – TradeArabia News Service