University of Houston Facilities Management hosted members of the Johnson Space Center Sustainability Team during an Oct. 29 visit to the UH campus.

Members of the JSC team spent the day with Facilities Management staff led by Michael Burriello, assistant director and FM Sustainability lead, sharing ideas and seeking new ways to collaborate and build partnerships to enhance education and understanding of sustainability concepts.

The visit included a tour of the newly renovated and updated Central Plant facility, which incorporates numerous sustainable practices and projects, including a "visual" electric power section, tablet and smartphone building control capabilities, air-conditioning condensate recovery and reuse, variable speed motors, LED lighting and solar power generation. Burriello also shared information about other FM sustainability initiatives, such as the UH2O water bottle filling stations, the Big Belly solar trash collectors, Raspberry Pi automation (credit-card-sized, single-board computer), collaborations with several UH colleges to increase campus awareness, the Sustainability Profile publication and the Sustainability Campus publication.

The highlight of the visit was an afternoon presentation given by Laurie Peterson, who is not only the Johnson Space Center Sustainability Champion, but also serves as the NASA sustainability coordinator for its 10,000 employees and contractors. A group of 35 university staff, students and faculty members listened as Peterson shared her unique experiences as the developer of the JSC sustainability program and as lead for the space center's "lean initiatives."

For more information about the FM Sustainability program initiatives, visit the Sustainability section of the Plant Operations website.