On Wednesday, November 11 a group of students affiliated with the Rachel Carson College Sustainability Studies Minor, the Sustainability Lab and Engineers Without Borders were invited to visit and take a guided tour of the office space that houses Google’s Real Estate and Workplace Services (REWS) - the group responsible for operating Google's worldwide office spaces. The building at 1212 Bordeaux in Sunnyvale represents Google's first ground-up construction in the Bay Area and is a showcase for many of the green-building design features and operations that Google hopes to implement at other locations.
The visiting students were joined by Patrick Testoni, UCSC’s campus energy manager and hosted by UCSC’s IDEASS-LEED LAB mentors Dan Ackerstein and Peter Ouzts. Dan (far left in the photo) is a consultant working with Google’s Sustainable Operations team and is principal of Ackerstein Sustainability, a consulting firm in Santa Cruz. Ackerstein Sustainability collaborates with building operators, property managers, ownership groups, facility engineers, and corporate leadership to implement and manage programs to reduce the impacts of the built environment and to document their successes via sustainability certification programs such as the US Green Building Council’s LEED certification program. Peter Ouzts is a licensed mechanical engineer who develops and applies building energy simulation models to enable design and operation of industry leading energy efficient buildings.
Students and instructors met with staff members of the REWS Sustainable Operations team, including Program Manager Rich Navarro and discussed how the team proposes and implements workplace campaigns to reduce impacts on the environment while improving the quality of the working environment for Google employees. Students were impressed with the space, practices and amenities offered to Google employees and were inspired by the personal career trajectories of the staff members they interacted with on site. The visit was particularly applicable to students preparing to conduct feasibility studies on UCSC buildings and making recommendations to UCSC leadership for pursuing future LEED Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance certifications. Opportunities for UCSC undergraduates in the Rachel Carson College Sustainability Studies Minor to partner on future projects with the REWS Sustainable Operations team were also entertained and follow-up discussions are being planned.
Here is what students were saying about the visit:
“The field trip to the Google campus was phenomenal. Their Sustainable Operations team was welcoming and passionate about what they did. They taught us how they actively seek to help employees limit compostables and recyclables entering their waste streams, conserve on energy, and limit water usage on a day-to-day basis. Never have I seen a group of people so enthusiastic about pursuing a sustainable workplace while still aiming to provide an efficient and comfortable workplace for their employees. The building we toured is a glimpse into the near future of sustainable building, and gave my classmates and I a vision of what we can build on when we leave UCSC”.
“It was refreshing to see the same Bay Area ingenuity that has bolstered California to the 5th largest economy in the world, is not only cognizant about wicked sustainability problems in our built environment, but practicing practical solutions for our future”.
“I was so glad I went on the trip to Google. We need more of these kinds of experiences in our education. The opportunity to interact with true professionals and hear first-hand how they ended up in the positions they have now helps put the rest of what I am doing in my classes into perspective. It was inspiring to say the least.”
For more information on the Sustainability Minor or if you are interested in joining a project team contact Tamara Ball at ideass@ucsc.edu or tball@ucsc.edu. For information on how to get involved in the S-LAB or Engineers Without Borders contact Tela Favaoloro at tfavalor@ucsc.edu. The Sustainability Studies Minor is open to students from ALL majors we encourage you to try out one of our classes!
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