Sustainability is becoming a way of life at UNLV.

The Association of Physical Plant Administrators (APPA) honored the UNLV facilities department with its Award for Excellence -- the highest honor for an education-based facilities management program in the nation. UNLV is one of just three institutions to win the award for 2010.

"The facilities team has been focused on becoming more sustainable long before it became a community buzzword," said Rick Storlie, director of administrative services. "We're consistently finding new ways to make the most of our resources, both through energy efficiency and management practices, and the Award for Excellence is validation from our peers that we're doing the right things."

To be considered, facilities groups in education, government, and business must meet or surpass more than 50 evaluation criteria in areas including leadership, planning, process management, human resources capabilities, and overall maintenance operation.

APPA evaluators visited the campus to judge the facilities department's sustainability and energy management practices and its ability to meet the diverse needs of constituents. ?UNLV is the first Nevada institution to receive the award.

In 2009, UNLV's sustainability efforts also led to the Cashman Good Government Award from the Nevada Taxpayers Association for efficient and effective use of taxpayer funds.