How Facilities Managers Can Improve Building Performance Without Expensive Upgrades

Chapters

00:36 Meet Stephen Ward and Southface

03:19 What Is the BIT Building Program?

06:51 Why Buildings Don’t Save Energy, People Do

08:41 How Behavior Change Can Reduce Energy Use

14:55 Creating a Culture of Building Stewardship

17:35 How to Engage Leadership and Building Occupants

22:34 Common Misconceptions About Building Performance

25:10 Advice for Facilities Managers

27:05 BIT for Resilient HBCUs

35:19 What Gives Stephen Ward Hope?

38:28 Closing Remarks 

Building operations play a critical role in reducing energy use, lowering greenhouse gas emissions, and improving occupant comfort, but many organizations overlook one of the most effective tools they already have: the people who use their buildings every day.

In this edition of the Georgia Climate Digest interview series, host Eriqah Vincent sits down with Stephen Ward, program manager for the Building Improvement Toolkit (BIT Building) at Southface, to discuss how facilities managers can improve building performance without relying solely on expensive equipment upgrades. Ward explains why occupant engagement is essential to successful operations and maintenance, how simple behavior changes can produce measurable energy and water savings, and why creating a culture of stewardship is just as important as investing in new technology.

Why Is Occupant Engagement Essential to Energy Efficiency?

Throughout the conversation, Ward shares practical examples from his work with businesses, schools, and higher education institutions, including how organizations have achieved measurable savings by improving everyday operational practices. He also discusses why many energy audits fail to lead to meaningful action, how facilities managers can communicate the value of energy-efficiency initiatives to leadership, and why storytelling often motivates change more effectively than data alone.

What Can Facilities Managers Learn From BIT for Resilient HBCUs?

The interview also explores Southface’s BIT for Resilient HBCUs program, which helps students identify opportunities to improve energy, water, waste, and indoor environmental quality on their campuses. Ward explains how involving students creates lasting change by helping the next generation of leaders understand the connection between their everyday actions, building performance, and community resilience.

Whether you manage a school, university, commercial office, healthcare facility, or other large building, this conversation offers practical strategies for improving building operations, engaging occupants, reducing energy waste, and creating more efficient, resilient facilities.

What You’ll Learn

• Why Southface says, “Buildings don’t save energy. People do.”
• How occupant engagement can improve building performance and reduce energy use.
• Why better operations and maintenance can delay or reduce the need for costly capital improvements.
• How facilities managers can build a culture of stewardship throughout their organizations.
• Real-world examples of simple operational changes that produced measurable energy and water savings.
• What the BIT Building and BIT for Resilient HBCUs programs teach organizations about creating lasting behavior change.
• Why Stephen Ward believes people, not technology alone, offer the greatest opportunity to improve sustainability.

Continue reading in our companion blog for additional examples, practical strategies, and key takeaways from Stephen Ward’s conversation about improving building performance through occupant engagement, operations and maintenance, and the BIT Building program.

Download the Interview Transcript

Prefer to read the conversation instead? Download the complete PDF transcript of this interview with Stephen Ward to explore his insights on building performance, energy efficiency, occupant engagement, operations and maintenance, behavior change, the BIT Building program, and BIT for Resilient HBCUs.