Introducing the WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities
Cities are the major drivers of economic growth—they account for 70% of the world’s GDP, and in recent years have lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty.
Updates
The Value of Deep Retrofits: How to Make the Case
Deep building retrofits are attractive investments, yet they are often not completed because the full value of the retrofit isn’t taken into account. Such retrofits are typically evaluated based on energy savings alone, leaving the non-energy benefits out of the investment decision making process. A new Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) report, “How to Calculate and Present Deep Retrofit...
Getting fair market value in a property appraisal for your green building
Green buildings provide many benefits to owners, developers and occupants that should translate into additional property value during a building’s appraisal. Green Building and Property Value: A Primer for Building Owners and Developers, explains why green buildings deserve higher value, then spells out how to document that value to lenders and appraisers. “The guide will help...
Net Zero Energy Market Update
Momentum in pursuing net zero energy in new buildings is growing in the United States. An increasing number of buildings meet this standard, raising confidence that net zero goals are realistic given current building technologies and design approaches. In this environment, the New Buildings Institute (NBI) in February 2014 released an update on the latest market trends and government policies:
Increasing Demand for Demand Response
Demand response will likely play a growing role in reducing peak power demand, balancing intermittent renewable energy, managing power price spikes, supporting grid reliability, and managing transmission congestion. To meet these challenges, demand response programs must find a way to grow and sustain customer participation. “Increasing Opportunities for Demand Response,” a report from...
Sustainability@Work
Employees want to work for organizations that enable them to behave sustainably, but they don’t want it to burden them or change their work patterns. Women behave slightly more sustainably than men; support for sustainability increases with age. Organizations that want more sustainable workplaces succeed best by showing strong leadership and a tangible commitment to which employees can...
Employee engagement in sustainability: Where’s the ‘easy button’?
Organizations increasingly look to their employees to help increase energy efficiency and pursue sustainability goals. Many are building sustainability programs, setting goals and reaching out to employees. Corporate policies and sustainability priorities are often set by a group of highly motivated and committed leaders – but how do employees view the role of the company, and how do they...
Energy Efficiency How-To's
How to Sell More Energy Efficient Products in HVAC...
Demand Response: The State of the Market
Utilities carefully manage the electricity supply to ensure that they can meet customer demand on the grid. Demand response programs can help balance supply and demand by encouraging customers to curtail usage during times of high demand. Demand response began as a way to help utilities and grid operators meet large peaks cost-effectively on a few of the hottest summer and coldest winter days.
Sustainability projects: Communicating impacts to the triple bottom line
When investing in sustainability projects, investors need to understand the dollar value behind the project. At the same time, organizations undertaking such projects are looking to create environmental and social benefits, in addition to financial impacts. Creating or communicating a business case, for the projects is often a challenge, as many architects, designers and other industry...
Exploring the financial value of an energy savings guarantee
Consider two investments of $100,000. Each is to yield $20,000 per year for 10 years – but one has high risk and the other low risk. Which is the better investment? The answer seems obvious – yet businesses often ignore relative risk when comparing investments in energy projects. Energy savings guarantees reduce risk by ensuring that the financial benefits of a sustainability...
Kitten or beer? What vendors need to know when pitching efficiency technologies
Often, vendors encounter roadblocks when pitching energy efficiency technologies to commercial building owners. Building owners, on the other hand, face similar barriers that make even the most attractive technologies impossible to accept. Daniele Horton, founder and principal at Verandi Partners, and Sara Neff, vice president, sustainability at Kilroy Realty Group, discussed these common pitfalls...
Corporate sustainability programs: Getting employees’ buy-in
Employee behaviors can have a big impact on a company’s energy costs. But what does it take to bring employees on board with energy and sustainability programs – to get and keep them engaged and participating? One tool for doing so is a Sustainability Engagement Navigator created by the Johnson Controls Institute for Building Efficiency. By way of a simple group exercise, it helps...
District energy: An old idea gains new steam
District energy is gaining attention for its ability to tackle large-scale, global energy problems on a local level, with local resources. District energy produces and distributes steam, hot water and chilled water directly to buildings through a network of underground pipes from a central plant, eliminating boiler and chiller rooms in individual buildings.[1] Heating and cooling in this way...
LEED v4 ratchets up the role of technology
The Future of Green Buildings: Building Technology, Performance and LEED v4 The expansion of voluntary green building certification is an increasing global trend. In the Institute for Building Efficiency’s 2013 Energy Efficiency Indicator (EEI) survey, 26 percent of respondents had achieved and 29 percent intended to achieve voluntary green building certification for their new facilities and...
2013 EEI Survey: Interest in energy management and net zero energy rise in Europe
The seventh annual Energy Efficiency Indicator survey from the Institute for Building Efficiency drew more than 3,000 respondents from 10 countries, including 911 from Europe. The survey measures trends in energy priorities and practices among decision-makers responsible for energy use in buildings. Here are the key findings from European survey respondents:
Roundtable: How building efficiency can help move Europe’s economy
Amid debate about European Union climate and energy targets to 2030, an Institute for Building Efficiency Roundtable explored how investments in building energy efficiency could support a sustainable economic recovery. Attendees agreed that energy renovations would be a core driver of energy security. They cited research showing that doubling the rate of building renovations could create some 2...
Workplace Sustainability: Getting employees engaged and on board
A workplace sustainability program will not get far without employees squarely on board. A look at research and the experiences of major companies reveals best practices for building an employee engagement program, putting it to work, and measuring success. An effective engagement program follows five basic steps:
The Future of GREEN buildings
By Clay Nesler As the U.S. green building movement enters its third decade, it is clear that the market has reached a tipping point. While the industry initially focused on new construction, more activity is now focused on existing buildings. The 2013 Energy Efficiency Indicator (EEI) research study of 500 facility management executives in the U.S.
By the Numbers: Data Centers and Energy
Reliability ranks first in data center management – but it shouldn’t obscure the need to be energy efficient. Smart organizations can reduce energy-related operating costs and environmental impact while still maintaining zero-downtime data facilities.