Achieving High-Performance Federal Facilities Strategies and Approaches for Transformational Change (2011) / Chapter Skim
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3 Levers of Change
3 Levers of Change
Pages 27-38
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From page 27... ...
3 Levers of Change The committee was asked to identify "approaches, tools, and technologies for overcoming identified challenges, barriers, and gaps in knowledge." To do so, the committee devised levers of change, which it defined as "areas where federal agencies can leverage their resources to spur transformational actions and to make sustainability the preferred choice at all levels of decision making." As noted in Chapter 1, the intent was not to recommend changes to the budget process or to directly confront other challenges, which was outside the scope of the study, but to find ways for federal agencies to overcome such barriers and achieve a range of objectives related to high-performance green buildings. The committee's levers of change include • Systems-based thinking, • Portfolio-based facilities management, • Integrated work processes, • Procurement, contracting, and finance, • Communication and feedback for behavioral change, • Standards and guidelines, and • Technologies and tools.
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From page 28... ...
Systems-based thinking provides a life-cycle perspective that can overcome challenges posed by the budget process and by segmented work processes. It can help federal agencies meet ambitious mandates for the environment and quality of life by providing a more comprehensive understanding of the use of resources and their interrelationships.
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From page 29... ...
For federal agencies and other organizations, the question to be answered is Which measure should be used when the goal is to minimize energy intensity per square foot of floor area? If a building is all electric this would not matter, but most buildings use both electricity and natural gas.
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From page 30... ...
Well-designed facilities portfolio management programs start with a clear framing of facilitiesmanagement goals linked to overarching organizational goals and missions. The goals are used as a 1 Grey water is wastewater from hand washing, showers, and kitchen appliances such as dishwashers and washing machines.
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From page 31... ...
The importance of site selection for building new high-performance facilities is recognized in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, the "Guiding Principles for Federal Leadership in High Performance and Sustainable Buildings," and in Executive Order 13514. In April 2010, "Recommendations on Sustainable Siting for Federal Facilities" was published.
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From page 32... ...
3 directs the GSA, in consultation with others, to identify the core competencies necessary for federal personnel performing building operations and maintenance, energy management, safety, and design functions. The competencies include those related to building operations and maintenance, energy management, sustainability, water efficiency, safety (including electrical safety)
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From page 33... ...
4 recently launched the theme "Improving construction and use through integrated design solutions." The CIB stated that Integrated design solutions use collaborative work processes and enhanced skills, with integrated data, information, and knowledge management to minimize structural and process inefficiencies and to enhance the value delivered during design, build, and operation, and across projects.
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From page 34... ...
COMMUNICATION AND FEEDBACK FOR BEHAVIORAL CHANGE Implementing systems-based thinking, portfolio-based facilities management, and integrated work processes requires changes in mindset throughout federal agencies. Change within an organization requires leadership and effective communication so that all members of the organization understand and accept that the goals and objectives are the right ones to pursue.
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From page 35... ...
TECHNOLOGIES AND TOOLS Many new technologies are available for use in new high-performance facilities and for retrofits of existing buildings. These technologies can be used to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; reduce the use of energy, water, fossil fuels, potable water, and toxic and hazardous materials; improve stormwater management; increase the use of renewable sources of energy; and take advantage of natural resources, including daylight, solar power, and geothermal.
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From page 36... ...
• Porous pavers, cisterns, and low-flow irrigation systems to reduce the use of potable water and improve stormwater management; grey water systems that can recycle potable water, rainwater and stormwater for use in building equipment and for the landscape. Where facilities occupy large, contiguous land areas, federal agencies have opportunities to install combined heat and power (co-generation)
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From page 37... ...
Advanced systems use municipal solid waste, biofuels, and combined cycle solar and fuels for the combined generation of power and heat at the lowest energy cost. Systems-based thinking combined with portfolio-based facilities management can also enable the use of grey water technologies to achieve more efficient use of potable water, the use of rainwater capture systems, and technologies for stormwater management such as porous pavers.
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From page 38... ...
The commitment to on-site rainwater capture reduces the use of potable water for nonpotable uses, which can result in measurable energy savings and reductions in the use of hazardous chemicals for water treatment and transport. These examples are intended to illustrate the importance of identifying the lever or set of levers most critical to enabling each technology or integrated design solution to rapidly advance the energy and environmental performance of federal buildings.
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