Although I indicated that I would discuss the characteristics of my Icon buildings this entry, I am going to switch gears and talk about an existing project that I just had the great fortune to tour last week. West Village, in Davis California, is the largest NZE Multifamily project in the Nation. It has over…
Category: Disclosure/Ratings
Off The Grid: Understanding Ohio’s Recent Electric Regulations
I don’t know about you, but I’m a fan of the free market system. If a company has a good product and efficient operations, people purchase from them and they make money. That’s an overs simplification, of course, but you get the point. That being said, I’m not a fan of any industry that tries…
The Future of Nuclear Power is Still Up for Grabs
You might not want to believe this but nuclear power is the United State’s largest source of clean carbon-free electricity. That’s why the nuclear industry was upset that the Supreme Court stayed the Clean Power Plan. They felt that nuclear power was going to be a larger part of the solution based on the carbon…
Training Opportunities with ENERGY STAR® for Sept 2015
Upcoming Training Opportunities with ENERGY STAR® It’s back to school time and we’ve got some great courses ready for you! Click on the titles below to go directly to the webinar description. To register for upcoming trainings, click the links below or visit esbuildings.webex.com. If you won’t be able to attend, you can still view…
Participation growing in GRESB survey
Here is an interesting article highlighting the growth and potential usefulness of participating in the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark: “Since its inception in 2009, GRESB has annually surveyed and analysed the way real estate companies and funds approach and manage sustainability and the results that they achieve….” Read More Kent McDonaldKent works at RealPage…
What is GRESB and all this attention on benchmarking?
According to the GRESB website, “In 2009 three large pension funds joined forces to better understand their exposure to risks related to environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues in their global portfolios of investments in property companies and private equity real estate funds… Five years later, sustainability reporting has become standard practice for a large…
EPA Recognizes the First Existing Apartments with ENERGY STAR Certification
In case you missed it: “WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced [Nov 13, 2014] the first existing multifamily housing properties to earn the new ENERGY STAR multifamily certification for superior energy performance. EPA recognized 17 apartment and condo buildings across the country for leading the industry in reducing energy use, increasing affordability,…
New Portland policy would require commercial buildings to track and report energy use
Portland is considering a new benchmarking regulation, but it is not expected to impact multi-family housing at this time. Here is an article on the topic from the Portland Business Journal: “Owners of commercial buildings in Portland over 20,000 square feet would be required to track and report their building’s energy use under a proposed…
Energy Benchmarking results are in for early adopter – Seattle
Seattle, Washington, has joined the growing list of U.S. cities that are publishing detailed reports on building energy use in an effort to motivate property owners to make their buildings more efficient, and to ultimately save energy and money. The Seattle Office of Sustainability and Environment released a report in January 2014 that details energy…
Getting Started with a Portfolio Wide Energy Management Policy
Getting your head around Energy Management is a difficult process. A good place to start is with a corporate policy to build consesus and guidance around. Policy can be described as a statement of commitment that contains procedures and protocols that can be used by senior management officers when guiding a Portfolio Wide Energy Management Policy….