Thanks to a new training program sponsored by SEIU Local 32BJ and the Thomas Shortman Training Fund, hundreds of Big Apple building superintendents are gaining the knowledge and skills to make their buildings greener and more energy-efficient — helping to save the planet and save millions of dollars.
The first class of of 32BJ’s innovative 1,000 Green Superintendents program graduated this week. U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Congressman Jerry Nadler, and local real estate executives were all on hand to show their support.
“Trained and skilled workers like the supers here today are essential to realize the potential for energy efficiency. That’s why this program is so important and the Obama Administration is so proud to support it,” Secretary Chu said in his address to the crowd.
1,000 Green Supers provides building service workers with the latest, state-of-the-art practices in energy efficient operations. This cooperative effort between building owners, property managers, building service workers and 32BJ allows participating firms to send their supers to a 40-hour course that draws from standards established by the Building Performance Institute and the Urban Green Council. The curriculum trains workers to identify and address energy waste, create a green operating plan and perform cost-benefit analysis for building owners and managers.
“32BJ has achieved something amazing,” said Russell Unger, Executive Director of Urban Green Council, U.S. Green Building Council of New York. “They looked ahead to a changing market and greener city, set ambitious targets and created a cutting-edge training program. The whole city will benefit as 32BJ’s members apply their knowledge to increase energy and water efficiency, improve indoor air quality, and provide New Yorkers with the range of benefits that come from green buildings and operations.”
PHOTO: 32BJ member and building superintendent Victor Nazario won the Green Building Service Worker of the Year Award.
Officials say New York City’s buildings account for nearly 80% of all city greenhouse gas emissions. Energy savings from buildings is the lowest-cost method of reducing these emissions, and greener buildings could save the New York real estate industry as much as $230 million a year in operating expenses.
When Green Supers launched, Mayor Michael Bloomberg described the program as “a smart, practical and effective way to help make the Big Apple Green” and a “a low-cost way to make our buildings more energy and cost efficient, and our environment cleaner, all while saving our city millions of dollars.”
The program has now been expanded with a $2.8 million US Department of Labor grant as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which will help train 2,200 superintendents in building efficiency. The program also has the backing of the Realty Advisory Board on Labor Relations and the Real Estate Board of New York.
Watch the video below to learn how the Green Supers program is helping to make NYC’s buildings greener:
The Thomas Shortman Training Fund is a labor management partnership that offers training to more than 80,000 32BJ union members working in the property services industry. The Fund’s programs provide 150,000 hours of industry, academic, and computer courses at over 20 locations in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia.
This is not the first time SEIU Local 32BJ has partnered with the NYC real estate industry to improve the lives of New Yorkers. After the September 11 attacks, the two groups joined forces to create the New York Safe and Secure program, which trained building workers and security officers in the latest security techniques.
SEIU members are doing their part to strengthen the economy and make the Big Apple green, clean, and safe.
Article source: http://www.seiu.org/2011/05/a-greener-nyc.php
