Achieving and Maintaining Existing Building Sustainability Certification at Georgetown University

Sustainability is the promotion of high performance, healthful, energy-efficient, and environmentally stable buildings. Buildings intended for sustainable certification must meet guidelines developed by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) of the U.S. Green Building Council. The problem is that LEED certification often fails to be sustained because of the difficulties involved in balancing competing demands of funding resources for university operations and maintenance. This research was conducted as a qualitative, holistic single case study using as a unit of analysis how operations and maintenance (O&M) supports or does not support the achievement and continued sustainment of LEED certification of existing buildings, known as LEED-EBOM. Fifteen purposefully selected participants were interviewed and included managers and administrators of supported departments, and administrators involved in approving funding for operations and maintenance. Information was collected utilizing a conversational face-to-face interview process. Patterns were assessed, grouped into categories and then themes, analyzed for similarities and differences, and interpreted for meaning. Member checking with peer professionals was used to confirm accuracy and credibility of findings. Two predominant themes resulted during the analysis: organizational demands and financial demands. These themes were supported by participant interviews, the university documents reviewed, and the literature review. The study concluded there is a gap in the literature concerning the need to add additional O&M funding and staffing to achieve, operate, maintain, and sustain existing buildings as LEED certified buildings. Future research should include an expansion of this study to include more universities. All institutions struggle with the sustainability question. Public institutions have tight financial constraints and are more restricted in their revenue sources, and how they spend it. Private institutions have more flexibility to spend and obtain funds. LEED-EBOM certification at Georgetown has not focused on the additional cost and the need for staff to keep existing buildings certified. The recommendations portray a roadmap for LEED-EBOM to succeed at Georgetown; however, upfront funding is required. As the University facilities and infrastructure age, deferred maintenance grows exponentially, to the point that it will be cost prohibitive to correct, and it may take decades to do so. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]