Dormitory Authority Leads in Sustainability Training

Offers Innovative Session to Own Employees and Other State Agencies

The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY) today hosted cutting-edge “Smarter Business” training sessions in Albany and New York City to assist state agencies and authorities in achieving far-reaching goals to boost energy efficiency and environmental sustainability established by Gov. David A. Paterson.

Additionally, the training session drove home the point that the green strategies of successful profit-focused private companies can be adopted by state agencies and authorities seeking to increase sustainability and delivering high-quality services to New Yorkers while also closely managing their costs.

Paul T. Williams, Jr., Executive Director of the Dormitory Authority and host of the training session, said: “We are committed to achieving the state’s linked goals of increasing environmental sustainability and reducing energy use. We also understand the fundamental importance of operating our business as efficiently as possible to deliver great value and services to the people of New York State and to our financing and construction partners. We anticipate that this training will help us engage with our employees and greatly advance toward New York State’s green goals.

The four-hour training sessions included workshops, goal-oriented group discussions, sessions about improving state agency processes, and personal commitments to action. These workshops focused on the nexus between working toward sustainability and energy efficiency goals while also running more effective, cost-conscious and customer-focused enterprises.

A screening of the documentary film “so right so smart” by Schenectady-based MagicWig Productions, Inc. which makes the point that companies with a strict focus on the bottom line are leading the way in sustainability initiatives, was used as a springboard for discussion about improving government operations.

Another training segment focused on “The Power of One,” the potential for simple sustainability actions by committed individuals to add up to large cumulative gains.

The New York and Albany sessions combined drew nearly 300 participants, including Dormitory Authority staff and the sustainability coordinators from state agencies and authorities, among other attendees.

In a presentation at the Albany session, Jim Hartzfeld, former Chairman of the Board of the U.S. Green Building Council, and Managing Director of InterfaceRAISE, a sustainability consulting firm, stressed the concept that in a business anything not providing value to the client is waste.

“Both the public and private sectors must watch the bottom line and do what is right to serve society,” said Hartzfeld. “Many of the lessons learned from successful sustainability programs in business can translate directly to the public sector. The focus on sustainability can help any organization reduce its environmental impact, engage its employees and uncover better ways to more effectively achieve its mission.”

The “Smarter Business” training sessions will help state agencies and authorities meet goals established by multiple Executive Orders of Gov. Paterson for environmental sustainability and energy efficiency. These goals include state policies to increase state agency energy efficiency, reduce office waste, cut down on paper use, create agency sustainability plans, eliminate single-use water bottles, and use more alternate-fuel vehicles in state agency fleets.

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The Dormitory Authority, founded in 1944, is the largest higher education, health care and public-purpose issuer of public debt in the nation with an outstanding bond portfolio of more than $38 billion. The Dormitory Authority also is a major public builder in New York State with a construction pipeline of 719 projects valued at $6.9 billion.