From the Editor
Has your organization undergone a culture shift related to sustainability?

While talking to facility professionals with Allegheny County, Pa., for a demand-response article in the March issue of Maintenance Solutions magazine, the phrase culture shift came up frequently when talking about building support for the county’s energy-load-shedding program. Because front-line technicians often deal with reactive tasks that require immediate attention, they can lose sight of big-picture goals. The culture shift can help technicians focus on both daily tasks and long-term projects.

"It's really a (change of culture)," said Philip La May, the county's deputy director of public works, while discussing reasons for the successful demand-response program and related energy-efficiency initiatives. "It's moving away from what we're used to toward what we hope to be the new norm. It means our employees learn about new equipment, new materials and new processes. In that process, we end up, hopefully, training a new normal."

The new normal is something many managers in commercial and institutional facilities are still trying to understand. In some facilities, sustainability initiatives are considered business as usual. In others, managers need to make a conscious effort to remind staff of the importance of green building practices.

Allegheny County is fortunate to have a persistent sustainability manager who works with facilities staff in developing and executing tasks designed to reduce facilities’ impact on the environment. But in those facilities without sustainability managers or green building advocates, the responsibility falls on managers.

La May admitted it can be difficult to focus on sustainability when simply maintaining smooth operations each day is difficult enough. But when managers can point to the type of savings Allegheny County has realized through its demand-response program, it creates a sense of ownership among reluctant staff who truly can feel like they are helping the bottom line.

That shift in thinking often is one of the largest hurdles for managers to overcome related to sustainability. But once they do, they have taken a big first step toward a new normal.

Chris Matt, Editor

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