Connecting More Buildings to Student Energy Managers

For Steve Naccarato, the next phase of Student Energy Managers is straightforward: the students are ready, the system is being built, and now the program needs more buildings.

“We need to get the word out,” Naccarato said when asked about the biggest challenge currently facing the program.

SEM has spent years developing a model that connects students with real-world energy management work while helping building owners navigate increasingly important energy requirements. According to Naccarato, the opportunity now is to connect that growing student workforce with enough buildings to sustain and expand the program.

“We’ve got the students. We’ve got the system,” he said. “It’s all about bringing in the buildings.”

Closing the Awareness Gap

One of the challenges Naccarato continues to see is that many building owners and property managers still do not fully understand what Tier 2 compliance will require of them. Even organizations that have received information about the Clean Buildings Performance Standard may put it aside because the deadline initially feels far away.

That changes quickly as the deadline gets closer.

Naccarato described conversations with experienced commercial property professionals who were still asking basic questions about the requirements, deadlines, and process. In one example, a property manager overseeing 17 buildings had very little familiarity with what would be required.

The issue is not necessarily a lack of concern. Building owners and property managers already have full workloads. Adding a new compliance process can quickly become another complicated responsibility competing for their attention. That creates an important role for SEM: helping make the process easier to understand and giving organizations additional capacity to move the work forward.

More Than a Few Forms

Another misconception Naccarato encounters is the belief that compliance will simply involve completing a few documents. He shared the example of a local building owner who had gathered information, reviewed materials, and attempted to navigate the process independently. The conclusion was simple: there was more to it than expected, and there was not enough time to figure everything out while also operating a business.

Naccarato sees several areas where SEM can provide value:

• Helping building owners organize and understand the compliance process.

• Providing trained student capacity to support energy management work.

• Building an ongoing relationship rather than treating compliance as a one-time transaction.

• Helping organizations think beyond compliance toward long-term energy awareness and efficiency.

That final point is especially important to Naccarato. He describes compliance as the first phase. The larger opportunity comes afterward.

“You get in compliance, you’re good for five years, avoid the fine,” he said. “But let’s start working on a program where the culture is going to be changed.”

Students as Part of the Solution

For Naccarato, SEM is not only a compliance program.

It is also a workforce development model that turns local buildings into learning environments. Students gain experience communicating with clients, working with energy information, preparing reports, understanding building operations, and helping organizations identify opportunities to reduce waste.

“The commercial sector becomes the expanded classroom,” Naccarato said.

He has already seen that concept begin to take shape in Wenatchee, where students are becoming part of a broader conversation around how the community manages its resources. His vision is for that idea to expand. Schools develop students with practical energy-management skills. Those students then bring those skills into businesses, public facilities, and other organizations throughout their communities. In the process, building owners receive additional workforce capacity while students gain experience connected directly to real work.

Making Tier 2 Easier to Understand

Naccarato also believes communication will be critical during the months ahead.

Energy regulations can become complicated quickly. Long presentations, technical terminology, deadlines, incentives, documentation requirements, and multiple compliance steps can overwhelm the people the information is intended to help. His recommendation is to simplify the message. Building owners should be able to quickly understand the basic questions:

Does this apply to my building? What am I required to do? When do I need to do it? And who can help me?

SEM can help answer that final question. With trained students, growing systems, and communities beginning to recognize the opportunity, Naccarato believes the pieces are coming together.