Wouldn't it be nice if managers had one guide they could use to navigate the challenging journey of operating and maintaining sustainable facilities?

While one guide never could be all-encompassing, managers do have plenty of resources at their disposal. In the last month or two, a handful of e-mails have arrived in my inbox touting some new how-to guides designed to help managers lessen their buildings' impact on the environment.

Managers in health care facilities are well aware of the Green Guide for Health Care, but organizations such as the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) are collaborating to develop resources that help guide managers through the sustainability process.

For example, ASHRAE and a handful of organizations, including USGBC, the American Institute of Architects, and the U.S. Department of Energy, recently released the newest version of the Advanced Energy Design Guide.

The guide offers a range of tips to improve building energy efficiency, including: installing high-efficiency condensing boilers with an outdoor-air-temperature reset schedule for all climate zones; maximizing the use of daylighting and daylighting-responsive controls; and carefully laying out lighting design to meet recommended lighting power density by space type.

Going beyond health care facilities, Facility Engineering Associates has partnered with the International Facility Management Association (IFMA) to release the Sustainability "How-To" Guide Series. They developed the first guide in the series, Getting Started, to assist managers with a step-by-step process for: assessing an organization's sustainability; finding a starting point; identifying initiatives; evaluating their value; and implementing, measuring, and monitoring their effectiveness.

I'm curious how many managers use any of these types of guides as a reference before taking on retrofit or renovation projects or implementing sustainability initiatives. While a great deal of information exists to help managers make their facilities more environmentally responsible, guides compiled by credible organizations such as those I've mentioned above seem to be a logical resource managers would use in their green building efforts.