Marking the 40th anniversary of their relationship, ASHRAE and the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) recently signed an agreement to implement a range of new initiatives to promote a more sustainable world.
While the two organizations have been working closely together for four decades, this agreement represents the first time they have committed to a joint approach to promoting their mutual global interests. New activities and goals include: collaborating strategically on projects in each other’s regions; creating a long-term staff exchange program; encouraging collaboration between regions, groups, and chapters; and mutually promoting the publication of new codes and standards.
Alongside a wider commitment to improve knowledge sharing between the two organizations, including jointly presenting work to industry, members, and legislators, the agreement formalizes a commitment to working at a grass-roots level. This includes encouraging cooperation between ASHRAE chapters and CIBSE regions; coordinating the programs of similar groups, such as Women in Building Services Engineering and Women in ASHRAE; aligning activity for young engineers of both organizations; and working together on emerging topics such as Legionella, resiliency, and cybersecurity.
John Field, president of CIBSE, said: “It is a tremendous honor to be able to sign this agreement and start a new era of even closer cooperation between our institutions. This is an unprecedented opportunity to spread the benefits of our work together through every level of our organizations. Building-services engineers are doing some of the most important work on the planet, and our two organizations have done invaluable work over the last 40 years to raise standards across our industries and across the world. With this agreement in place, I look forward to continuing this work for many more decades to come.”
Tim Wentz, ASHRAE president, added: “Collaboration and sharing of knowledge are key to advancing the built-environment industry. ASHRAE’s partnership with CIBSE over the last 40 years has proven to be an invaluable collaboration for our respective members and the industry at large. Our joint work through conferences, publications, and education has greatly added to the worldwide best-practices databank of innovative and successful technologies. I am pleased to celebrate this milestone and look forward to many more.”