Jackie Stouffer on how the pandemic has driven forward environment-focused change in business – and why FIDI’s 39 Club launched a series of workshops on this vital issue
As I was preparing to write this article, I took a walk through downtown Washington, DC – my home city – and, for the first time in quite a while, I felt encouraged by what I saw around me. After a year of looking like a ghost town, it felt like the wheels of the city were finally beginning to turn again. Having sometimes felt like I was stuck living in the 365th day of March 2020, it was a very welcome change seeing and feeling this momentum building around me.
This state of feeling ‘stuck’ is certainly not something we wish to prolong in our day-to-day lives, so why would it be something that we, as an industry, would accept, either? As a sector, we can be a bit slow to change, and far too many of us may easily fall into the trap of accepting “well, that’s just the way it’s always been done”.
Pre-move surveys were “always done” in person – until a year ago, when that became impossible. Now, our entire industry relies on some form of virtual survey as an accepted part of daily business. Too many of us were reactive to the change, instead of proactively looking into this new technology before it became necessary to our companies’ survival.
The past year has been a case study in demonstrating the serious pitfalls facing companies that remain stuck in the past. Those resistant or unable to adapt to change and innovation quickly found themselves in a position where they could no longer operate on a day-to-day basis – and, in severe cases, were forced to close their doors altogether.
The aim of the FIDI 39 Club is to be the catalyst for sustainable innovation in our industry; to promote and bring forward new ideas and assist in leading the industry into a new era.
We recognise that this will not be an easy task. Innovation can be clunky, and it doesn’t happen overnight. Some ideas will work, others will not, but the FIDI 39 Club will strive to move the industry towards a stronger and more readily adaptable future.
The first step towards this leadership was the launch of a series of FIDI Micro-Events, powered by the FIDI 39 Club with the first two hosted online on 8 and 9 June. The Micro-Events will cover two separate, yet related, topics over the course of two days, with a third event planned to follow later this year.
During these events, FIDI 39 Club will host cross-industry experts to identify and assess areas of innovation, creating a forum for open dialogue and the exchange of ideas.
The first event will look into existing challenges linked to climate neutrality and how to convert new client demands into opportunities, thereby improving your business model and competitiveness.
The FIDI 39 Club firmly believes that the next opportunity for innovation within our industry will be through sustainability leadership. ‘Going Green’ is not just a catchphrase any more; the public is taking an increasing interest in ‘green’ and sustainable policy, and it is only a matter of time before these policies become a requirement to win future business. Through the event, the FIDI 39 Club will identify the challenges currently preventing further innovation in this area, and what may be done to overcome these obstacles.
The second event will be an interactive, action-driven workshop, giving each participant the tools to start implementing sustainability in a practical, yet efficient, way in their products, services and business processes. Future leaders must understand how to drive innovation in the workplace to be effective, and this event aims to teach real-life practices for implementing sustainable change.
The Micro-Events are available to anyone working for a FIDI-affiliated company and are now open for registration.
You can find more information on the event’s website bit.ly/FIDI-Micro-Events2021 and on the FIDI 39 Club website www.fidi39club.org/home or contact the FIDI Events team for more information: admin@fidievents.org
