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The purpose of this paper is to examine significant steps taken by the Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) to account for both energy cost savings and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction goals through strategic investments in energy conservation measures (ECMs) in campus buildings. Through an analysis of multiple years of investment in facility upgrades across the university, the impacts of ECMs of various types are characterized by building type. The standards and criteria for ECMs investments are also evaluated with the goal to develop a predictive tool to support decision making pertaining to an annual investment in a portfolio of ECMs that will maintain a trajectory to achieve both financial return on investment as well as GHG reduction goals.

This study is comprised of three main parts: analyzing the energy costs saving and GHG emissions reduction contribution of various building types in which ECMs were conducted, analyzing costs saving and GHG emissions reduction contribution of each ECM while considering the average annual investments made in them and estimating the impact of upgrading Penn State’s steam plants from firing a mixture of coal and natural gas to natural gas only on the GHG emissions.

These analyses help identify which types of buildings and ECMs would have larger savings and emissions reduction contributions. A calculator is also created to enable forecasting of costs saving and GHG emissions reduction of investment distribution strategy among ECMs. This study demonstrates that the calculator based on data from previous years will benefit decision makers in more wisely configuring the investment portfolio.

This paper fulfills an identical need to couple energy efficiency strategies coupled with the environmental impacts associated with different fossil fuel energy sources.

Reviews symmetrical communication as corporate strategy. Qualitative data gathered from owners and managers of a wide variety of small businesses, using both questionnaires and interviews, points to the fact that, in common with many other areas of small business management, the practice of corporate communication is largely unplanned. Concludes that it is an area which is characterized by a lack of understanding both of what corporate communication is and how it can be of benefit to the small business.

Examines the position of confidence of commercial property lenders as surveyed by the Chesterton Financial/CSW Confidence Barometer. Describes the confidence barometer as being gauged on the response to a number of questions on lenders′ perceptions of the market. Concludes that there has been a dramatic increase in confidence from January 1993 to July 1993.

Provides results of a survey of 53 banks and financial institutions relating to property loans. Notes that the main lending banks have not responded to this survey but have reduced their loans to property companies by £117m in January 1991. Concludes that respondents to the survey have a greater interest in property lending and, therefore, the results are likely to be more positive than current market reality.

Describes a survey carried out by Chesterton Financial and the University of Greenwich when 76 banks and financial institutions responded to a written questionnaire. Summarises the results of questions concerning their property investment and lending practices. Offers several conclusions about investment and lending preferences.

The purpose of this paper is to report on an empirical research study which investigated the factors influencing productivity in hotels in Northern Cyprus.

The empirical data was collected via a structured questionnaire from middle and senior managers of four and five‐star hotels in Northern Cyprus.

According to the research findings staff recruitment, staff training, meeting guest expectations, and service quality are the main productivity factors in hotels; while crises, technology, marketing, and forecasting are ranked relatively low. It emerged from the findings that hotel managers in Northern Cyprus have a narrow view of productivity and follow a more input‐oriented approach to managing productivity.

Based on the research findings and their discussions, this study provides several recommendations for future research in this area.

The research results highlight the importance of training middle and senior managers about the importance of productivity and how they can follow output‐oriented productivity management strategies.

The literature on productivity management in small island hotels is limited. As being one of the first studies on this area, the research findings of this study are particularly valuable for practice and future studies.

The purpose of this paper is to present the findings and lessons learned from three case studies conducted for facilities located in California, North America. The findings aim to focus on energy and maintenance management practices and the interdependent link between energy and maintenance.

The research is based on a positivist epistemological philosophical approach informed by action research. The research cycle was completed for each case study. A case study report was provided to each facility management team to foster collaboration with the researcher and to document case study process and results.

Composite findings of the case studies include: there is an interdependent link between energy and maintenance management; reactive maintenance and energy management methods are commonly used; and more proactively operated and managed buildings require the interdependent link between energy maintenance management to be better understood.

The three case studies were located in California. Although the case study results can be generalized, determination of how to generalize and apply the results to commercial buildings outside of the USA is beyond the scope of this paper.

Detailed discussion of the needs of the three facility management teams are discussed by identifying a current challenge, developing a solution and documenting lessons learned using the research cycle.

The paper seeks to demonstrate the interdependencies of energy and maintenance management, two topics which are often researched interdependently. Additionally, the paper provides insight about maintenance management, a topic often cited as being under researched.

This paper aims to disseminate an innovative approach to sustainability education in construction‐related fields in which teaching, research, and service are integrated to provide a unique learning experience for undergraduate students, faculty members, and community partners.

The paper identifies the need for sustainability education in fields related to construction and describes an interdisciplinary course at Penn State that addresses this need. The goals, research, and applications of the course are detailed, as is the sustainable construction technology employed in course projects. Finally, the results from two course assessments are summarized to support the authors' hypothesis that knowledge best occurs and develops in an arena of negotiation, collaboration, and creation.

Students who participate in the course experience well‐rounded growth that includes, but is not limited to, increased research, design, communication, and collaboration skills, a finding that underscores the effectiveness of the course's holistic approach to engineering and architecture education.

The paper demonstrates that engaged approaches to architecture and engineering education contribute to a heightened awareness among students of the importance of sustainability. It encourages other educators to adopt similar approaches to sustainability education in their courses.

The paper addresses the need for sustainability education in construction‐related disciplines by detailing an innovative course developed at Penn State to raise environmental and social awareness among architecture and engineering students. The engaged approach utilized in the course is replicable in any discipline and promises to have a significant impact on the commitment of today's students to creating a tomorrow in which sustainability is the norm rather than an anomaly.

This research work is an introduction to sustainable construction. A few significant indicators and many related subsets, which are crucial to green sustainable construction and also to green buildings, are mentioned in this study. An ecocity is one that utilizes all the critical elements of the environment. Urban sustainable construction is a vital criterion in this context. Sustainable construction paves the way for the building industry to progress towards achieving realistic standards of performance, particularly in view of economic, environmental, and social concerns. Sustainability is a popular expression that has given rise to various activities throughout the world once people began to grasp the implications of sustainable construction. Sustainability, which is an important factor in reducing the negative environmental effects of construction, includes improving the control and efficiency in the use of raw materials, land and power consumption. The lifetime of a building is based on some factors that are prognostic regarding the manufacture, remodelling, support, utilization, and administration of the building, and finally, the sources of utilization and waste formation, annihilation and devastation. All of these give rise to a range of ecological issues in the life of a building. Generally, a sustainable building and construction involves a reduction in the utilization of energy and also wastage from the beginning of the construction process and throughout the lifecycle of the building. Moreover, the environment is faced with mounting devastation due to the exploitation of natural resources for building construction and the replacement of agronomic regions by residential areas.