Close-Up on Green Pavilion Exhibitors

July 16, 2021 | By BOMA International

Exhibitors at the Green Pavilion at the 2021 BOMA International Conference & Expo this July in Boston will offer cost-effective products and solutions to help property professionals stay at the forefront of trends in sustainability and energy efficiency. Click here to see the companies that will be exhibiting in the Green Pavilion.

Private, Public Sectors Join Forces for Workable Climate Initiatives

September 20, 2020 | By John Salustri

The need for collaboration between commercial real estate and municipal leaders in the creation of green best practices was a major focal point of one in-depth educational session at the virtual BOMA International Conference & Expo this July. The session, aptly titled “Collaborative Climate Action Planning: Public Sector and Real Estate Working Together to Develop Successful Climate Policies,” delved into how these types of partnerships can create better outcomes for all stakeholders.

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BOMA's W2 Challenge Shows the Value of Water and Waste Benchmarking

June 30, 2020 | By Ken Rosenfeld

BOMA International’s two-year W2 (Water and Waste) Challenge has come to a close, and it’s clear the program resonated deeply with the commercial real estate industry. Originally designed to support real estate practitioners in benchmarking water usage and waste output, sharing best practices and identifying areas for improvement, the program has exceeded all expectations. Nearly 2,000 buildings from more than 400 cities across the United States participated, representing nearly half a billion square feet of space shared with the challenge in the ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager®.

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Playing The Long Game With Your HVAC Systems

June 15, 2020 | By John Salustri

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the work being done by commercial real estate professionals has changed, but it’s more important than ever.

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Terrell Place: A Dazzling Approach To Energy Management

June 15, 2020 | By Caroline Pomilla

When visitors step through the door of Washington, D.C.’s landmark building Terrell Place, they are instantly immersed in an experience unlike any other. The lobby walls of the 425,000-square-foot office property are covered in reactive LED displays that broadcast a variety of familiar scenes—like the district’s beloved cherry blossoms or the local cityscape—and deliver a sense of connection between visitors and their surroundings.

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Shedding Light on Lobby Lighting Design

January 11, 2020 | By Susan Martig

The lobby of a building is the first place we see when we step through the doors and the last place we see when we leave. Whether the building is for the exclusive use of a single company or it houses many tenants, the lights are expected to be on when someone is there—literally. In some places, that could mean constant lighting 24 hours a day. But how you control your lights has an impact not only on how welcome your building’s occupants feel, but also how efficiently your building runs.

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Elevators Rise in the World of Sustainability

September 15, 2019 | By Monica Miller Brown, LEED AP BD+C, O+M, WELL AP

In one sense, traditional elevators have only two directions. But, the path to elevator sustainability has been long and winding. That’s changing, however: After years of wrong turns, the vertical transportation industry and building owners are at last mutually aligned in their commitment to creating a healthier, more sustainable future.

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Engineering Sustainability

May 11, 2019 | By Marc Fischer, BOMA Fellow, CCIM, CPM, LEED Green Associate, RPA

Building owners and operators embrace sustainability on two levels. First, there’s the "big picture" perspective, which is often financially motivated. At this level, sustainability programs are employed to reduce operating expenses, which, in turn, increases net operating income (NOI) and asset value. From this perspective, asset managers make major capital allocation decisions, such as installing vehicle charging stations, based on financial metrics like return on investment (ROI) and net present value (NPV).

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Optimizing Energy Performance: Going Beyond No- and Low-Cost Solutions

May 5, 2018 | By Deb Cloutier, CRE

Optimizing energy performance in your office building starts with no- and low-cost strategies to reduce energy consumption. Deploying occupancy sensors, adjusting temperature setpoints, upgrading lighting to more efficient options and utilizing smart power strips are tried-and-true options for achieving significant energy and cost savings without large capital outlays.

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Sustainability: Cooperation Makes Things Happen

May 17, 2018 | By John Salustri

Renaissance writer John Heywood said that many hands make light work. And, while he most likely wasn’t talking about sustainability goals in commercial buildings, he could have been.

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Going Green Without A Certification

June 18, 2017 | By Katherine M. Noonan, Esq.

A number of complex and thorough certifications are available to brand a commercial property as a green building, but for a variety of reasons, countless office buildings are not and will not be formally green-certified. The process of obtaining green building certification can be complex and expensive, and debate exists as to who benefits from such certifications. Is it the landlord, due to increased asset value? Is it the tenant, due to reduced operating expenses? Is it your great-grandchild, who will breathe cleaner air? In most cases, all of these parties benefit from green office buildings, but while people argue about who stands to gain the most, they argue even more about who pays. For this reason, a landlord may choose to forego a formal green building certification, but nonetheless implement sustainable practices.

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Supercharge Your Sustainability Efforts

June 19, 2017 | By Jessica Bates

Imagine a future filled with sleek, highly efficient buildings, utilizing the latest innovative equipment and software designed to improve our lives and coexist with the natural world. This possible reality lies at the intersection of technology and sustainability. Just as advancements in technology are making our lives simpler and more connected, they are also allowing us to identify operational inefficiencies and use fewer resources. The natural efficiencies of technology pair nicely with the goals of any “green” building.

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Healthy Environments in the Age of COVID-19

February 17, 2021 | By John Salustri

If you think a healthy environment is defined in this age of COVID-19 as plexiglass dividers and hand sanitizers, your assumptions fall short of the mark. An overarching health and safety protocol transcends the accumulation of product to encompass a holistic approach to both mind and body—and not just before a vaccine is widely available, but well beyond.

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How to Unlock The Hidden Value in Class B and C Buildings

August 1, 2020 | By Monika Henn and Marta Schantz

COVID-19 has disrupted business as usual and shifted the focus of virtually all building owners and managers away from reinvigorating assets towards crisis management. Nevertheless, Class B and C buildings have a lot to gain by pursuing low-cost, high-impact energy-efficiency strategies and initiatives, even now.

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Rebuilding Better: A Greener Approach to Tenant Build-Outs

June 15, 2020 | By Caroline Pomilla

Whether it’s the demise of the open office floor plan or a resurgence in remote work, the jury remains out on what a post-COVID-19 office will entail. For certain, we can expect that a heightened emphasis on health and wellbeing will bring new tenant perspectives to workplace use and design. Commercial real estate professionals must be prepared to accommodate these changing demands, partnering with clients on build-out and renovation projects geared to promote occupant wellness at the highest degree.

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Investing in Your Building Through ESG

June 15, 2020 | By John Salustri

Times of crisis shine a spotlight on how businesses are impacting their employees, customers and communities. During the COVID-19 pandemic (still a very present concern as of the publication of this article), companies across the United States are being held publicly accountable for their handling of the crisis. At the same time, investors are taking a hard look at where their money is safest. Already on the rise in recent years, ESG principles may be entering a golden age, especially in commercial real estate.

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City National Plaza: A Sustainability Superstar

April 7, 2020 | By Tanner Johnston

It’s one thing to have a robust recycling program, celebrate Earth Day, encourage green cleaning or host wellness programs, but have you ever offered your tenants a “sound bath?” A commitment to sustainability and occupant wellness may be part of standard best practices in today’s commercial office market, but it’s safe to say that the team at City National Plaza in Los Angeles is going above and beyond.

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Building the Business Case for Green

June 7, 2019 | By John Salustri

We all want to save the planet, and the commercial real estate industry has made great strides in reducing energy use and creating a "greener" built environment. But, frankly, building managers also have a fiduciary need to pencil out their part in that grand goal. That means making a strong business case for sustainability initiatives. In other words, property managers need to save two birds with one LED light.

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Preparing for the Effects of Climate Change

May 22, 2019 | By Brenna Walraven, BOMA Fellow, CPM, RPA

For the commercial real estate industry, the effects of climate change are no longer the stuff of future fiction: Properties today are being heavily impacted by recordbreaking temperatures, more frequent flooding, unexpectedly strong winds and other weather extremes. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in 2017, the United States declared more billion-plus-dollar weather and climate disasters than in any previous year. The total damage for these disasters was $306 billion—almost $100 billion more than the next most expensive year.

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Designing A Successful Net-Zero Energy Lease

September 10, 2018 | By Alisa Petersen

When you balance a budget, you don’t want expenditures to exceed revenue. A net-zero energy (NZE) building uses the same principle with energy—an NZE building produces or procures enough low-carbon, renewable energy to meet (or exceed) its annual consumption. This balance requires keeping energy usage as low as possible through highly efficient operations, estimating exactly how much energy will be required to operate the building over the course of the year and ensuring a steady supply of renewable energy.

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Grey Water Rising

April 6, 2018 | By Josh Richards

Water efficiency at commercial properties often takes a back seat to larger-budget sustainability goals like energy conservation and indoor air quality. That is changing, however, as the cost of water and wastewater services increases across the United States in response to water scarcity and the need for capital investment in aging water infrastructure.

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Protecting Properties from Problems with Hazardous Materials and Waste

September 23, 2017 | By Sarah L. Denton, PG, CHG, CEM

In one sense, traditional elevators have only two directions. But, the path to elevator sustainability has been long and winding. That’s changing, however: After years of wrong turns, the vertical transportation industry and building owners are at last mutually aligned in their commitment to creating a healthier, more sustainable future.

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Green Walls: A Growing Trend

May 10, 2017 | By Courtney McKay

You may have noticed that some office walls are looking a little greener than usual these days. Though they go by different names – living walls, green walls, vertical gardens—new hanging indoor plantscapes seem to be sprouting up in commercial lobbies everywhere. So, why has interior landscaping gone vertical?

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A Good Roof Is a Terrible Thing to Waste

February 13, 2017 | By  Jessica Bates

Property managers and building owners who are looking to add value to their asset—and increase its sustainability—may simply need to look up. A commercial roof may be hiding opportunities to improve tenant experience, reduce maintenance and operational costs or even generate revenue. In fact, between gardens, terraces, solar panels and green landscapes, rooftops are much more interesting than they were even just ten years ago.

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