The words “energy” and “economy”
seem to have been used with terms like crisis, shortage or problem
all to often over the past several months. Given the state of the
economy, the green movement and unpredictable energy costs, many
companies in the manufacturing sector have been emphasizing the
importance of saving not only money, but the environment. Larger
corporations have begun “green-collar” worker training to conduct
internal energy
audits in order to identify cost saving
opportunities.
There...
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I have been following this
for some time. As sustainable business
strategies continue to gain momentum, investors are
evaluating the energy efficiency of buildings during their due
diligence period. I wanted to make everyone aware of a
BNA Webinar set to take place on Wednesday, Sept 16, 2009 that
will focus on the new standard being developed by ASTM for the collection and disclosure of energy use information
associated with buildings involved in real estate
transactions. For more information...
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With the rising cost of energy and
concerns about the effects of greenhouse gas emissions
on the climate, energy audits are becoming an increasingly
important tool for sustainability-minded businesses. Energy audits can range
from a simple facility walkthrough and review of electricity bills
to a comprehensive review of energy consumption by individual
pieces of equipment, processes and load variations by day and by
season. The nature and complexity of the energy audit will also
differ for an...
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When it comes to investing in
sustainability
solutions or energy audits some hospitals and
health care facilities are realizing savings that are paying for
themselves in two to three years. Health care providers and
members of their supply chain can benefit from taking a
comprehensive look at their operations and establishing sustainable
business strategies.
In many areas in a hospital, from diagnostics to waiting lobbies,
hospitals can swap out CRT monitors for flat panels for the...
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It is time for Hospitals and
Health Care facilities to review their plans for energy efficiency.
All hospitals and health care facilities should have a plan in
place to improve their energy efficiency as one of their
sustainable business strategies. Many facilities address
lighting, cooling towers, employee work flow as well
as on-site solar and wind.
As a group, hospitals and health care facilities account for a
disproportionate amount of energy use and emissions. Hospitals use
about 2.5 times...
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Here is a list of terms that you may
hear when people are discussing environmental issues:
- Corporate Environmental Compliance
- Environmental Assessment and Remediation
- Environmental Due Diligence
- Environmental Management System
- Sustainability Solutions
These are all terms for macro issues
related to environmental issues. The following terms are the micro
issues or tasks that fulfill some of the regulatory
requirements:
- SPCC Plan
- Tier Two Reporting
- Phase One Site Assessment
- ISO 14001
- Energy Audits
And the...
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Sustainability is here to
stay!
Sustainable business strategies are being developed as a business
advantage. However, many corporations don't have the right
resources or even the right organizational structure to take
advantage of the strategy...if they had one. There are several
recognizable traits that companies exhibit that demonstrate they
are not fully embracing a sustainable business strategy.
Responsibility for
sustainability issues is fragmented. Many
organizations scatter responsibility...
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Is my company sustainable? Simple
answer is maybe, but the complex answer is maybe not.
Judging from some client's ideas regarding sustainable
business strategies - they revolve around Phase 1 Site Assessments,
an environmental compliance plan or even a health & safety
compliance program. While these practices are important,
sustainable business strategies are much more. Businesses need
only to look at the Triple Bottom Line to review the aspects of
sustainability. People, Planet and Profit are...
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During the 2008 year alone, more than 3,200 buildings earned the
Energy Star rating and part of the process is performing an energy
audit. For the first time, EPA released a list of U.S. metropolitan
areas with the largest number of energy efficient buildings, that
earned EPA's Energy Star rating in 2008.
1. Los Angeles, CA
2. San Francisco, CA
3. Houston, TX
4. Washington, DC
5. Dallas-Fort Worth, TX
6. Chicago, IL
7. Denver, CO
8. Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN
9. Atlanta, GA
10....
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There are eleven specific building
space types now available through the EPA's energy performance
rating system. Continually expanding the building space types allow
more specific comparison. The 11 building types are:
- Offices
- K-12 Schools
- Retail Stores
- Hospitals
- Hotels / Motels
- Supermarkets / Grocery Stores
- Banks / Financial Institutions
- Warehouses
- Medical Offices
- Courthouses
- Residence Halls / Dormitories
These eleven building types
account for 60 percent of the carbon emissions that result from
commercial...
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The results are out for 2008 and
there has been an impressive increase in the amount of square feet
that is being rated. Benchmarking energy use, performing in part
an energy audits, is one of the begining steps to
assessing energy performance and any progress that is being made
toward sustainable solutions or the poplular triple bottom line.
With the the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) online tool,
Portfolio Manager, building owners can rate their
building against similar buildings on a...
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Have you seen this trend?
Companies are investing marketing dollars in sustainability initiatives
to improve their social image with stakeholders and
expand their client base to include green-conscious
buyers.
Examples are plentiful, but even in the health care industry,
baseline energy
audits and environmental compliance
audits are replacing 5K runs and blood
mobiles.
Last week our local pet store offered to shred / recycle paper
for pet litter and bedding as a community service. The
turnout...
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Do you have an overall
environmental compliance plan? This should include components of
becoming sustainable. Some things you do to "go green" cost you more money.
Buying a more environmentally-friendly product sometimes may be
more costly than sticking with the less
environmentally-friendly product. Given the tough economic times,
this can become a hard decision to make. Since
organizations need to be good stewards of their money as well as
the environment, the cost of "going green" sometimes...
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Although you might not realize it
initially, a facility's efforts at becoming more
sustainable can actually be a
part of their ISO 14001
environmental management system. As part
of becoming more sustainable a facility may
conduct energy
audits or undertake improvement projects such
as changing their lighting or heating systems as part of an
overall sustainable business
strategy. These types of projects in addition to increasing
the sustainability of the organization
and improving the triple...
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Last month marked the two year
anniversary of the launch of the American College & University
Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC). Thus far,
more than 630 American Colleges and Universities have signed this
voluntary commitment, which outlines necessary steps these higher
education communities should implement to combat global
warming. The ACUPCCs signatories commit to the implementation of
sustainable practices through the development of a plan of action
that will eventually lead to campus...
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Tenants, are you frustrated by rising energy costs?
Meet with your building owner and ask them to perform an energy
audit and make upgrades. Many potential building improvements
may qualify for tax credits that could benefit the owner.
If your owner complains that they don't have the capital to make
building improvements, consider offering them
a percentage of your energy savings in the form of a rent
increase. This arrangement allows the building owner to
recoup some of their costs and...
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It's difficult to pick up a journal or newspaper these days and not
find an article relating to sustainability or "green"
initiatives. Building owners and their lenders are
finding an improved market for energy efficient buildings.
How can you take advantage of this trend?
Building owners should consider performing an energy audit to
establish an energy use baseline and then develop an improvement
plan. Building improvements can be implemented sequentially
as capital budgets permit with...
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