From the Editor
Building occupants often are the primary drivers of green building goals in commercial and institutional facilities.

Tenants in commercial offices push building owners to pursue LEED certification or an Energy Star label. Hotel guests embrace water-conservation initiatives, leading managers to change laundry operations or specify more efficient plumbing products.

So while these occupants definitely can have clout in the eyes of managers, the occupants who might have the strongest influence are students in higher education. Ambitious, progressive students often look for the next big thing to make their campuses unique from other institutions across the country, and pursuing sustainability initiatives is one way students recognize they can make their school stand out.

But students aren’t simply providing sustainability suggestions to managers and front-line staff. Instead, on some campuses, students are joining forces with maintenance and engineering departments to improve their organizations’ environmental responsibility. Such a collaboration was integral to the success of lighting retrofits at San Diego State University.

Students conducted lighting surveys that helped physical plant staff make decisions related to the type of fixtures specific buildings require. This important legwork, which also included extensive data collection, would have been difficult for the physical plant department to complete without student assistance.

The department deserves credit for listening to students’ ideas instead of simply looking at their suggestions as more work for a busy staff. Managers at the university know students are their top customers, and the relationship they’ve built benefits both parties, the environment, and the organization’s bottom line.

Lighting retrofits at San Diego State provide evidence that managers who view students — and building occupants in other types of facilities — as partners in green building efforts can lead to a productive relationship for their organizations.

To read more about lighting retrofits at San Diego State, visit the link below.

— Chris Matt, Editor

Green Strategies
Lighting Retrofits: Students Conduct Surveys, Inventory Fixtures
Students are joining San Diego State University's physical plant staff in conducting research for lighting retrofits that aim to reduce the maintenance workload, cut utility costs, and create a more environmentally conscious campus.

In the News
Green Guide for Health Care to Cease Operations
After 10 years of providing a green building roadmap for health care facilities, the Green Guide for Health Care will conclude operations at the end of 2011.

USGBC Launches Updated Demand-Response Pilot Credit
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) released an updated LEED Demand Response Pilot Credit. Originally published in 2010, the revised credit establishes guidelines that are expected to increase participation in automated demand-response programs.

Green Multimedia
Podcast: Lighting Retrofits
Betsy Pooley, director of building services with Aultman Hospital in Canton, Ohio, shares her lighting-retrofit success stories, including the use of LED technology.