The challenging economic times of the past decade have left many to wonder what professions will truly need employees in the future. As can be expected, many look for the new cutting-edge job or the one that offers some security. What about facility management? Can anyone say that there won’t be facilities in the future?

While telecommuting, virtual offices and the tech gadget you’re probably using to read this blog make it easier for you to work outside of your company’s facility, I think you’ll have a hard time finding anyone who says that companies won’t have headquarters, manufacturing organizations won’t have plants, doctors won’t treat patients in hospitals or universities will be vacant. As long as there are facilities inhabited by companies whose goal is a positive triple bottom line, who want to create environment that fosters productivity, there will be a need for facility managers.

The good news for the current FM and those looking to the field as a career possibility is that compensation is on the upswing. According to IFMA’s “Profiles 2011 Salary and Demographics Report,” combining base salary and bonus pay, the average FM pulls in US$99,578 in total compensation annually which is up from US$91,766 in 2007. Even those do well when they first enter the profession, as practitioners with three or fewer years in facility management earn US$65,000 a year, up from US$56,000 in 2004.

Profiles 2011 also found other positive salary-related info for FMs. Read more about it through the Profiles 2011 IFMA news release.

Today marks the first day of IFMA’s World Workplace 2011 Conference & Expo, an annual three-day educational and networking event focused on the future of the built environment. Building on the professional development opportunities available through the association year-round, the World Workplace experience includes a conference focused entirely on education and an exposition incorporating product demonstration and instruction.

World Workplace will also offer attendees a glimpse into the future of the workplace, as they get the first look at the new products and services debuting in 2012. The conference’s expo floor will feature more than 280 exhibitors — including companies such as AlliedBarton, IBM, KBR, Kimball Office, Lowe’s, Staples, Steelcase, Toshiba and UGL — as well as governmental agencies including the U.S. State Department and General Services Administration. A number of local Phoenix-area exhibitors will also be on hand.

This year’s expo will be open on Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 26-27. Members of the public are invited to attend free of charge. The expo will be open from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 26, and from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 27.

While companies may have varying reasons for committing to sustainability, it looks like their efforts have positive returns when it comes to both retaining employees and attracting new ones.

The Society for Human Resource Management, in conjunction with BSR and Aurosoorya, recently released a research report on Advancing Sustainability: HR’s Role. While the study wasn’t FM focused, it does have some useful information for the facility manager who is part of a company’s sustainability effort or is working to find a way to convince the C-suite that sustainability should be part of the company’s vision.

Respondents for this study came from 728 companies; of these companies, 68 had a sustainability policy. The main reasons organizations have invested in sustainability include contribution to society, competitive financial advantage, environmental considerations, saving money for operational costs, and health and safety considerations.

According to the report, companies with sustainability practices report improved employee morale (55 percent) and more efficient business practices (43 percent). In addition, 49 percent of those with sustainable workplaces or business practices responded that their commitment to sustainability helped them attract top talent for the company and 40 percent stated their sustainability program was key for increasing employee retention.

If you’re company is concerned about ROI for a sustainability program, this study reports that of the participants whose companies calculate ROI, 47 percent had a positive return on investment and no company reported a negative ROI.

At most universities, once a student is well into her major, she’s only collaborating with other students on the same track. At Arizona State University (ASU), that practice is changing as students from diverse majors – such as biology and design – are teaming up in courses on biomimicry.

What is biomimicry? Simply put, it’s looking to nature to see how its solves problems and then applying these solutions to design, engineering and development. At its core, biomimicry can play a crucial role in product and workplace sustainability efforts.

This past spring, ASU offered its first biomimicry course, “Biologically Inspired Design” led by professors from the School of Life Sciences in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and The Design School in the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts. Students worked on projects ranging from reducing water consumption to utilizing solar radiation.

Since the biomimicry program began in 2008, ASU’s InnnovationSpace has used biomimicry for sustainable design, business and engineering education. “We have active research in biomimicry that could affect such fields as renewable energy, new materials and bioengineering,” said ASU President Michael Crow. “We also are working to integrate biomimicry into our curriculum offerings to our students, with the goal of educating future generations of students in this important technological field.”

When a factory shuts down, what’s to be done with the land where the factory was housed? Panasonic has found a unique reuse for a 47-acre site in Fujisawa, a city about 30 miles southwest of Tokyo in the Kanagawa Prefecture — build a smart town.

Panasonic is partnering with Accenture, Mitsui & Co., Ltd., Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd., Nihon Sekkei, ORIX Corp., PanaHome Corp., Sumitomo Trust & Banking and Tokyo Gas to create an innovative smart town, known as Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town (SST). The nine companies will work closely on every phase of the master planned community from the initial ideas through the actual operation of the town that will be home to 3,000 people in 1,000 houses.

The estimated price tag of Fujisawa SST is US$739 million with a targeted completion date of March 2014. Preliminary plans for SST include some cool features such as EV recharging stations, LED lighting, solar powered energy and “wind paths” to accommodate Fujisawa’s wind patterns.

If its works, SST could be a model for other smart towns in its use of technology to create a green, energy efficient community. We’ll see if Panasonic reaches its goal of reducing CO2 emissions by 70 percent as compared with 1990 levels in SST.

If you’re interested in learning more about SST, visit Panasonic’s press room site.