6 minutes
Powered by Sun, Cooled by Earth
Solar power may seem like a no-brainer for a credit union named Suncoast, but the Tampa, Fla., CU is also going underground to achieve its energy-efficiency goals.
Suncoast Credit Union has joined the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Challenge with the goal of reducing energy use by at least 20 percent over the next decade.
The $6.3 billion credit union serving 641,000 members opened its first green branch in East Fort Myers in 2013 and currently operates six environmentally friendly facilities. They feature solar panels that provide power during business hours and geothermal heat pumps that circulate through underground systems with relatively constant temperatures to provide more efficient heating and cooling.
“Geothermal has been around for decades, but has not been used a lot until recently,” says Earl Brendle, Suncoast CU’s VP/facilities. “It offers large savings over traditional HVAC systems and is the most efficient type of HVAC that we have been able to find for use in Florida.”
The green branches also employ automated management systems to regulate energy usage, high-efficiency LED lighting inside and out, high-efficiency windows, optimal insulation, recycled carpeting (which has offset more than 172,000 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions, combined), and drought-resistant landscaping to enhance water conservation.
The payback on the investment in the solar panels, which save Suncoast CU about $12,000 per year on its electric bills, will be about 10 years, and the overall return on the CU’s investment in energy-efficient systems will occur in 15 years, Brendle says.
While the six green branches are new buildings, “we are doing some retrofit solar on some of our buildings due to receiving rebates from the power company to offset the costs,” he notes. Adding geothermal to an existing building is more difficult: “Piping needs to be run and wells need to be drilled to supply the geothermal HVAC system,” Brendle explains.
Other green initiatives at Suncoast CU include shred bins at its headquarters and branches, so paper can be sold for reuse by companies that make paper products; higher thermostat settings at all facilities to reduce electrical use; and recycling programs for glass, aluminum, and outdated electronics.
Suncoast CU’s commitment to energy efficiency is “good for the environment and good for business” and resonates with members who want to connect with an eco-friendly financial services provider, Brendle adds. The CU also supports members who want to go green with auto loan rates as low as 1.5 percent for vehicles with a combined EPA rating of at least 28 MPG.
Pillars of High Performing IT
Making delivery systems both serve members well and be truly efficient requires credit unions to have a high performing technology function in place, according to CUES Supplier member and strategic provider Cornerstone Advisors, Scottsdale, Ariz.
Cornerstone Director of IT Leadership Butch Leonardson, lead presenter for CUES School of IT Leadership™, Sept. 15-17 in San Antonio, identifies four pillars of a high performing IT organization:
- The priority. The high performing IT group will have members’ experience as its main focus. The chief information officer will look in from the outside to make sure members are delighted by their interactions with the CU. As a result, IT becomes a positive player in unifying the CU around key initiatives.
- The ‘therefore.’ The strategy of a high performing IT organization will be driven by its member focus. For example, “members need similar experiences with us regardless of delivery system; therefore, we will choose vendors and configurations to support this vision.”
- The project leadership. In a high performing organization, project management is a core competency. Projects, when possible, have an aspirational customer experience objective—and are never seen as “IT projects.”
Read Leonardson’s fourth pillar in the full blog post. Learn more about Cornerstone’s services.
Letters to the Editor
Digital Magazine
Love Credit Union Management’s digital flip book.
CUES Director member Brenda White
Director, $322 million Fairmont Federal Credit Union
Fairmont, W.Va.
Thank you, Brenda! Members and subscribers, access our digital edition monthly at cues.org/cumanagement.
CFO to CEO?
Bill Goedken, CPA, CMA, CGMA, has made a number of interesting observations in “Is Your CFO Your Next CEO?” for a CFO to consider, beginning with whether we would want to assume the CEO position at some point in the future. I agree that our position is unique due to the monthly, or more often, interaction with the board of directors and the relationships that are established over time. His advice to work closely with the COO and CLO is also on point as our duty is to our members first.
Greg Adams
SVP/Chief Financial Officer
$486 million First Commerce Credit Union
Tallahassee, Fla.
Big Data
Bill Goedken, CPA, CMA, CGMA, made a compelling case for using data in a meaningful way to analyze strategies and find new opportunities in “CFO Focus: Big Data for CUs”. It is important because we form biases in the way we think about business and can miss opportunities as a result.
Karen Schwall
VP/Sales, Credit Union Partner Development
McGuire Performance Solutions
Scottsdale, Ariz.
Life-Changing Work
CUES’ 2014 CEO/Executive Team Network changed Michael Hudson’s life. While attending a session with Do More Great Work author Michael Bungay Stanier, Hudson realized he wasn’t doing much great work at all. In fact, Hudson, who holds a Ph.D. and heads his own company, writes that he was only spending 10 percent of his time on “truly great work, defined by Stanier as ‘life altering strategic work’—the work you were born to do that creates a real impact on the world.”
Less than a year later, Hudson has “redefined my approach to allow me to do the work I do best and enjoy most—the Great Work that had been pushed out by the Bad Work taken on in trying to grow the business,” he writes in “How the Great Work Pie Chart Changed my Life”.
One piece of that Great Work is coaching leaders to be better presenters and communicators. To that end, he shares Michael Hudson’s 52 Speaking Tips, downloadable as an e-book.
Here are a few tips to get you started:
Determine the real objective of your presentation. Is it to persuade? Teach? Share information? Your objective will dictate the way you deliver your presentation, and the way you structure your content.
The human mind can handle seven (plus or minus two) pieces of information at any point in time. Stick to two or three main points, and develop subpoints around them.
There are visual listeners, auditory listeners, and kinesthetic (feeling) listeners. Make sure your presentation engages and provides for all three types by telling vivid stories, varying your voice, and showing emotion.
CEO/Executive Team Network could change your life too. Consider attending, Nov. 8-11 in Scottsdale, Ariz.
