The E+E 100 are the VPs, directors, managers and engineers who are making significant strides in driving our industry. Watch for the report featuring all 100 at the end of June, or see the complete list here. And stay tuned for the Call for Submissions coming in the fall, when you can nominate your favorite sustainability or energy management professional!
Now, meet Charles McEwen, GEMS program manager and industrial hygienist for Atlanta Veterans Affairs Health Care System. The Atlanta VA Health Care System provides health care for veterans in the Atlanta area. As program manager for Green Environmental Management Systems (GEMS), McEwan is in charge of everything from compliance to sustainability. He works closely with Joshua Jenkins, another GEMS program manager. With just a two-person team, the GEMS program implements sustainability and energy management initiatives across a 26-acre hospital and 16 clinics.
What is the biggest challenge you have faced in the last year or two?
Growth, budget, and education. In terms of growth, Atlanta is a big city, and as it grows, we grow. That means more clinics and more opportunities, so as an environmental person, you need a place at the table.
I work closely with the engineers. We’re on the front end of all the contacts, because if we aren’t, the engineers get in there first and they want to do everything the cheapest they can. We need the chance to talk about things like environmental impacts, sustainable alternatives, or automation. If I don’t say, “What about automated systems?” they won’t use them. So I go in with the numbers and educate them.
How have you addressed that challenge?
We can’t do it all with only a two-person team. We needed a place at the table and the opportunity to find more champions. Then we inspire them, educate them. They could be employees, veterans, nurses, anesthesiologists. It’s very important to get champions in different service lines.
How do you get the champions? Data. Numbers and money. Like LEDs cost more than fluorescents. But then you need the manpower to take fluorescents down when they burn out. Or they break and you have an occupational health claim. Not to mention LEDs are a better product, especially in garages and parking decks and parking lots. The return is awesome when we give them the right information.
What advice would you give other professionals as they try to accomplish their sustainability or energy management goals?
Find your champions and think about yourself as a coach. And when you get your team, it’s about your players. Inspire them. Set goals and objectives that are measurable. Share your results with your champions. Have quarterly Q&As and lunches to share results.
Everybody loves food. They look forward to that. Then get feedback from them, which gives them ownership. It’s not just a job at that point.
Let everyone know, “It’s not Charles that did this.” We’ve won the Practice Green health award three years in a row, so I go out and say, “This is what our champions have done.” I make a certificate for each award we win. Each person as a champion gets a certificate, and the higher-ups sign them, so leadership knows it’s working and then it’s easier to get support.
Finally, be visible. It’s one thing to crunch numbers from a desk but you have to go out and touch people. Be proactive.
