January 17th, 2012 by TRT Blog

Since 2006, the American Colleges and Universities Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) has collected over 674 signatories for the cause. ACUPCC has aimed to combat global climate change through a network of high education institutions that have committed to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions as well as increase research and education to promote the importance of sustainability.

The ACUPCC states that signatories will set a target date and interim goals to become climate neutral, integrate sustainability into the educational experience, and more. The most recent university to announce its sustainability target date is University of Wisconsin, Green Bay (UWGB).

The school has recently set a plan of action to become climate-neutral by 2050. The university has categorized its campus emissions into three categories: direct emissions from university owned and controlled sources, emissions from products that deliver on-campus energy, and emissions related to university operations.

UWGB’s climate plan was released campus-wide for an entire institutional collaboration. To learn more about UWGB’s sustainability plans read the entire article here. To learn more about the American Colleges and Universities Presidents’ Climate Commitment visit the website.

ACUPCC, climate change, education, greenhouse gas, Sustainability, University of Wisconsin

January 10th, 2012 by TRT Blog

As we face down 2012, it is nice to reflect on the year passed and think about important trends our target industries might experience. In our newest press release, we do just that. During 2011, The Refinishing Touch completed approximately 150 refinishing and refurbishing projects at organizations around the country. This included projects with leading hotel brand names, alongside a wide number of education facilities and government institutions.

The Refinishing Touch is also proud of the achievements 2011 held including, renewing our GSA Contract certification, introducing our new customer communications program, speaking at the ACUHO-I/APPA Housing Facilities Conference, launching our quarterly newsletter, and completing the PIP survey.

When looking at 2012, we expect a number of trends and challenges across hospitality, government and education industries, notably the economy. One of those trends includes: 

• Asset owners will become more creative and cautious before ruining or replacing furniture assets—will look to do more with less

In 2012 businesses, companies and institutions will face the challenge of how to work differently, creatively maximize budget reach and enhance their bottom line.

To read the entire release, please visit our website at http://www.therefinishingtouch.com/news.php.

achievements, education, Government, hospitality, refinishing, refurbishing

June 21st, 2011 by TRT Blog

Knowledge is power. It’s a cliché, sure, but that doesn’t make it any less true. More and more consumers in the US are willing and eager to reduce their environmental impact, and choose greener products or services. But that’s often easier said than done. Even if a business has implemented solid sustainable practices, it can be quite difficult to find out about the green credentials of its products, and that’s a shame. Giving customers this knowledge empowers them. It increases their trust in the company. And it can help them decide to purchase that product.

Take the motor industry for example. Over the last few years, car manufacturers have been investing millions of dollars into making cars more environmentally friendly. Of course, calling a car ‘environmentally friendly’ is like calling an elephant ‘elegant’, but even so, car manufacturers are on a mission to cut emissions. And they’ve made great strides.

More and more consumers are looking for cars with lower carbon footprints and it’s about to become much easier for them to make an informed decision. A new update to vehicle fuel economy labels is on the way. Starting with 2013 models, cars and light trucks will be rated according to how environmentally friendly they are.

Cars will get two ratings – one for greenhouse gas emissions (carbon dioxide per mile), another for smog (chemicals like nitrogen oxide and formaldehyde) – and the scale goes from one to ten. The higher on the scale, the more environmentally friendly the vehicle is. It’s a solid, easy to understand system of measurement, and as more companies make use of it, it won’t be long before a someone claims their vehicle goes up to 11.

How successful the labels are remains to be seen, but we understand part of the philosophy behind them. It’s arming people with knowledge and encouraging them to think about environmental issues. But more importantly, it’s another step towards making it easier to be green. And that’s largely what The Refinishing Touch is all about too.

cars, education, emissions

March 11th, 2011 by TRT Blog

More and more schools are taking advantage of grants and extra funding to undergo green renewal and repair projects. It’s the pursuit of the ideal green school that everyone is after.  A school building or facility that creates a healthy environment that is conducive to learning while saving energy, resources and money.

Schools that were not necessarily set up or built as green operations, or do not have the funding to build new are adapting their facilities through repair and revitalization programs which see areas such as roofing, boilers, windows and lights being given facelifts or even replaced for more energy efficient counterparts. A positive side effect of this work is that learning environments will be much improved for students and staff through the re-use, regeneration or replacement of existing fixtures and fittings – a theme very close to our hearts here at The Refinishing Touch.

In Washington and Massachusetts schools, work is already underway to upgrade to more sustainable and energy efficient methods. In California, planning is underway to spend over $100 million on upgrades and refurbishments for the Sacramento City Unified School District courtesy of the three-year green schools fellowship program of the U.S. Green Building Council.

Administrators are fast recognizing that the benefits of the work stretch much further than enhancing the green credentials of the school and the aesthetic surroundings.  Over time, greater energy-efficiency means running costs are lowered and money can be saved within the school budget and re-directed to other resources. In difficult economic times, these small to medium building and improvement projects are also providing a much needed boost to local construction industries.

Saving energy, resources and money is at the core of every one of our projects. It is reassuring to see schools adopt these initiatives not just for the long term financial benefit. Seeing our children learn in a more sustainable environment allows them to absorb these practices and apply them as more environmentally aware and enabled adults.

education, green, USGBC

March 1st, 2011 by TRT Blog

There was an interesting piece in Stateline’s ‘Education Beat’ which looked at how some states  are looking to, if not increase spending to schools, to at least maintain it.  It’s an interesting challenge – states are under enormous pressure to cut spending in light of the slow paced economy recovery, reduced federal spending, and the impact on state budgets.

Yet there are pockets of resistance to cut K-12 education spending – from the President’s statement that education is critical to America “”winning the future” to policymakers in states such as California and Connecticut which will not cut K-12 school spending (though cuts are planned for higher education); and states such as Illinois and Iowa, which are proposing to increase K-12 education funding from 3.2 percent and 2 percent respectively.

It’s not all rosy. Consider Illinois which is at the center of a debate following a proposed consolidation of its 868 school districts into 300, and the potential closure of 45 education offices.  Illinois Governor Pat Quinn says this would save an estimated $14 million in the next year.  Though with strong local opposition, time will tell if these cuts will happen – the state has previously abandoned both proposed education consolidations and regional office closures.

Yet cuts need to be made – even in the face of popularity.  Idaho is a dramatic example, with hundreds protesting in the state capital last week.  The state has already made school cuts to the tune of $200 million –  with the knock-on effect of teaching initiatives being canned, salaries being frozen and a number of local district schools going to a four-day week.  And $200 million is not enough – the state needs to another $35 million worth of cuts.  It’s not alone – Texas is planning to cut $4.8 billion from school over the next two years – in total 35 states have made cuts in K-12 funding and 43 states have cut higher education funding.

With high unemployment, oil prices being driven up, and stimulus money drying up, it’s a tough call for education policymakers, decision makers and budget holders – both at K-12 and higher education.  How do you invest in America’s future when you have less to invest?

But there are ways that the budgets can be balanced.  One area that we think is an obvious start is to save on asset spend and protect existing investments through reuse.  At The Refinishing Touch we complete projects where budget spend is cut by up to 80 percent through practical and sustainable refinishing projects – a figure we see not only in the education sector but in the government and hospitality markets as well.  Any institution that has a sizeable spend on furniture can not only limit unnecessary landfill, they can limit budget spend.

Refinishing and reuse may not be a complicated lesson, but it’s a simple action that shows strong results.

budgets, education, Universities

October 19th, 2010 by TRT Blog

It’s event season and here at The Refinishing Touch it’s full steam ahead as we hit the road, meet prospects, wow clients, and mingle with associates.  There’s a whole range of events (hint: to see out all the events we’re attending and have planned, check out our website) and we’re showing our whole range of services: from furniture re-engineering and refurbishment, to hardware replacement and reupholstery.  As our customers and our business is across hospitality, government and eduction, there’s a variety of events we attend.

Last week was one of our education events, as we showcased at the 8th Annual ACUHO-I/APPA Housing Facilities Conference in Charlotte, NC.  The conference, this year subtitled ‘Keeping on Track: Providing the Foundation for Quality Student Housing: Foster Leadership, Address Challenges, and Explore Trends in College and University Housing’, is a key gathering for Housing Facilities professionals to assess the challenges and the solutions open to them.

The Refinishing Touch shared the platform with other vendors and key members of housing departments from universities such as Wake Forest, East Carolina University and the University of Notre Dame to talk about housing facilities and to demonstrate and learn about how colleges and universities can improve sustainability and usability at their campuses.   It’s a topic close to our hearts – and an area we’ve worked extensively in, having completed refinishing and refurbishing projects with more than 100 colleges and universities across the USA in the last 30 years.

Consider the college campus: students come and go, just passing custodians in a place they want to feel safe and call home for the standard four years. While many  colleges and institutions market the history of their location, buildings and architecture, the pressure to maintain high standards in aging facilities is a tricky one.  Every college bursar and facility team we speak to has one key concern – how to maintain the quality and standards of their school and its facilities, to maintain the high standards that help them attract students, scholars- and also great staff – and to do so within their budgets.

Following the opportunity to show our services and examples of completed projects on  Wednesday, the remainder of the week was an opportunity for registered guests to attend seminars, learn and share ideas around dozens of topics – from general facilities management and master planning for housing, to the LED University program that is helping colleges and universities around the world begin deploying LED lighting to significantly reduce their energy use.  Fanning out from the central theme of housing facilities, discussions were based on sustainability, maintenance and operations, custodial, construction and technology.

Education is going through an interesting phase – the economic downturn, the strain of meeting new environmental opportunities – and demonstrating this to new green-aware students and prospects.  These challenges mean that now, more than ever, is the time for facilities professionals in the eduction sector to seize the opportunity to innovate, and for the industry to debate, discuss and share their ideas.

Under the program committee, chaired by University of Florida’s Tanya Hughes-Joiner and North Carolina State University’s chair-elect, Barry Olsen, this conference certainly did that, fostering a sense of innovation, networking and leadership – and showing that the eduction sector really can teach other sectors, while keeping open to learning about new ways to improve themselves.

ACUHO-I/APPA Housing Facilities Conference, college, education, facilities, housing, university

August 31st, 2010 by TRT Blog

With summer coming an end, much attention is turning to getting back to school.  Here at The Refinishing Touch we’ll be turning our attention in the same direction as we review trends in education – one of the key industries that we work with.

Just like any other industry, education can see great returns from increasing sustainability initiatives.  Green can have an impact at every level: from campus design, building or refurbishing dorms, choosing classroom furniture, right down to how students spend their money (or perhaps that of their parents’).

As students load up on the essentials to prepare for the upcoming year, it’s obvious that the focus should be to keep your kids prepared for their academic endeavors.   But doing so responsibly is a challenge many parents seem to be failing.

According to the National Retail Federation families spend an average of $606.40 on back to school purchases.  Yet many items that are bought are intended to be disposable.  On some level, this is to be expected and is often practical.  After all, you can’t expect a third grader to understand the care needed to look after a $75 pen.  Sometimes a three-dollar pack of pens is the most practical solution.  However, with the increasing consumption rate of students – every year in the US, an estimated six billion pens are thrown away along with 38 tons of paper, equivalent to 644 trees – a shift in thinking about back to school purchases may be needed.

Dollars aside, it’s important to make children aware of the cost of production, both financial and environmental.  By increasing this awareness, tomorrow’s generation can pay more attention to the impact of consumption and the benefits of green practices by buying recycled products and thinking about how they look after their own belongings.  We see many sites with sustainable and recycled products for back to school shoppers, but The Ultimate Green Store is definitely one of our favorites.

An increased awareness of the things we purchase every day and their sustainability is something that we can all learn more about.

education, green, National Retail Federation, The Ultimate Green Store