Business Case Studies & Business Publications

Environment, Entrepreneurship, and Innov...

Larson, Andrea, Lo...

Technical Note

Environment, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation: Systems Efficiency Strategies for Industrial and Commercial Facilities

Larson, Andrea; Lotspeich, Chris

ENT-0052 | Published August 28, 2003 | 17 pages Technical Note

Collection: Darden School of Business

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Many managers are unaware of the strategic advantages and cost savings possible through systems analysis applied to material, energy, and water use in building design and operation. This technical note provides whole-systems strategies for improving resource efficiency in industrial and commercial buildings. Green building, sustainability, environmental concerns, and resource efficiency are among the topics covered. Systems thinking and integrated, multidisciplinary methods are explained that can stimulate innovation in both the equipment (technical) systems that make up facilities, as well as the human (organizational) systems involved in the design-build-operate process. Identifying and using key leverage points and systemic synergies can dramatically increase the performance of buildings and the groups of people who make and run them. In practice those approaches have saved money, reduced environmental impacts, improved worker health and productivity, attracted new employees, and greatly decreased operating costs, while adding little or nothing to initial costs, and in some cases have even decreased capital costs.