Sustainable facilities. LEED EB. LEED Certified buildings. Greening operations practices. Why? Are you chasing a plaque? Competing with your peers? Another feather in your cap? Ego of the real estate owner? It’s not all about ego – but that does play a part. The good news – we are working with a win-win-win! The building owner, property manager, leasing agents and tenants crave the status of being associated with a LEED certified building. The result is that they are making changes to their day-to-day operations.
Even if getting a plaque is somewhat about ego, competition and prestige, that’s fine – chances are you also have a genuine interest in making a difference in the world. As a matter of fact, most people do want to have a positive impact on our environment and satisfy that ego. What I find so incredibly gratifying is supporting building teams as a green building consultant in this win-win-win concept. We all win when an office building chooses to invest in running a LEED EB certified facility: the building ownership and management team wins by showing that they rank among the best of the best and they get to put a “real” feather in their cap. The building owner wins because they will attract and retain more tenants at a higher rate. This clearly supports the owner’s goal in running the building as an investment by improving its value. The tenants also win – they reap the benefits of a comfortable and healthy workplace, and can promote the fact that they lease office space in a LEED certified “green” office building. And last, but most certainly not least, the environment wins.
We must focus on making the operations of our existing buildings more efficient and less toxic, and the good news is that Class A office buildings are getting on board. One by one they are reducing the amount of gas, electricity, and water consumed on site. They are reducing the amount of waste that hits the landfill, and they are reducing the amount of toxic chemicals on-site.
Simple low cost changes made to aerators, operating schedules, set points, and calibration plans are making a difference. As building systems reach the end of their useful life, more efficient systems are selected by building operating teams. Rather than routinely using the most toxic pest control chemicals once a month (because that is the way it was always done) buildings are taking more time to inspect and prevent pests in the first place.
Green cleaning is now common practice; two years ago a vendor thought I was crazy when I told them they had to use microfiber cleaning cloths rather than paper towels. Now it is common practice to not only see microfiber – but four colors: blue for glass, green for general cleaning, red for toilets & urinals in restrooms, and yellow for general restrooms cleaning. This is just one example of sweeping changes being made to the operations and maintenance practices in office buildings.
Little by little, the bar is being raised – and all are rising to the occasion. Here is to a win, win, win – let’s get those plaques on the walls!
-Lisa
Lisa Stanley is a Director with CTG Energetics. She leads LEED-EB certification efforts for portfolio and single-building projects for CTG. She is a former property manager for Cushman & Wakefield. Lisa is based in CTG’s Denver office.
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