Since writing "Surfing Tsunamis of Change: A Handbook for Change Agents" (Island Moonlight, $19.95), author Shanah Trevenna has seen the impact of her writing ripple out like waves.

Trevenna, 38, shares how she and a group of eight dedicated students transformed an old building at the University of Hawaii at Manoa into a model of energy efficiency.

Part academic paper and part memoir, the former IBM engineer writes about the 30 axioms the team employed to help implement change at the building. The project took place over four years.

She describes her team, which at the time was called HUB (Help Us Bridge), as pragmatic rather than idealistic. The multidisciplinary group of students became "change agents" who started a movement on campus that continues today under its current name, Sustainable UH.

"We had a strong vision," she said. "We were very methodical and diligent, and relied on process to keep up our stamina, focusing on one step at a time."

The students involved with the Sustainable Saunders project have since gone on to become green-minded professionals working at places such as the Blue Planet Foundation and KYA Design Group.

She had no idea Sustainable UH would become a movement.

Sustainable Saunders inspired Sustainable Richardson, which aims to be the greenest law school in the U.S. The University of Hawaii is also doing energy audits of its four community colleges on Oahu.

Having grown up in Canada, Trevenna began recycling as a child but never thought of herself as an environmentalist.

While working as an engineer on a project in Mexico, she became disenchanted with the inequities of globalization. She sought a new career path and ended up as a graduate student pursuing a doctorate in political science at the UH.

The main hurdle to implementing change toward sustainability, according to Trevenna, is a self-righteous attitude, which leads to more resistance.

Rather than just preaching her ideals, Trevenna says she tries to find common ground with the people she is trying to reach. With business owners that means emphasizing the triple bottom line of "people, planet, profits."

Nina Wu writes about environmental issues. Reach her at 529-4892 or nwu@staradvertiser.com.