Facilities Management Publishes First Sustainability Profile


Facilities Management announces the publication of the first comprehensive report of FM sustainability initiatives and successes.

Over the last number of years, Facilities Management (FM) has endeavored to enhance its policies, practices and focus in order to contribute to the success of university sustainability. In 2012, under the direction and leadership of Melissa Rockwell-Hopkins, Executive Director, FM decided to embrace sustainability. Inspired by Albert Einstein’s observation that “we can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them”, FM changed its organizational structure to best carry out its approach to sustainability. FM sustainability strategies are closely aligned with the metrics and guidelines established by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (AASHE STARS). 

FM Sustainability Profile

FM Sustainability Profile

The “FM Sustainability Profile” publication serves as a guide to help the campus community better understand the imprint of FM’s current sustainability initiatives as well as a preview of future programmatic activities as it continues to collaborate with other university departments and partners. The document is a first, both in its issuance and in its intention to set the stage for biennial updates. It describes FM’s ten-point sustainability identity in three realms: staff resource development, programs and projects and community engagement. FM leadership believes that the strength, invention and dedication of staff are the reason for the success of these initiatives. Guided by the FM organizational philosophy, “We Think, Therefore We Are -- Becoming Benchmarks of Service, Stewardship and Sustainability”, this report brings concrete meaning to FM sustainability through examples of newly launched and anticipated programs, projects and engagement. Future FM Sustainability Profiles will track the evolution of these ten points reflective of the challenges and successes that the group experiences.  To view the FM Sustainability Profile publication, click on the image or visit the website at http://www.uh.edu/plantops/sustainability/.

For more information about the FM Sustainability Program, please contact Michael Burriello, Assistant Director and FM Sustainability Team Lead at mlburrie@central.uh.edu or 713-743-4562.


About the University of Houston
The University of Houston is a comprehensive national research institution serving the globally competitive Houston and Gulf Coast Region by providing world-class faculty, experiential learning and strategic industry partnerships. UH serves more than 40,700 students in the nation’s fourth-largest city, located in the most ethnically and culturally diverse region of the country.