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Weekly UpdatesNearly every day a new report appears in the media underscoring the importance of "going green," which really relates to environmental protection, waste reduction and resource conservation. A number of real estate management companies are investing in ways to make their facilities more energy efficient and healthier to work in, and are turning to their property managers to help them achieve those goals. Making this change is a step-by-step process that requires true commitment.
A case in point is the San Jose, Calif.-based computer software giant, Adobe Corp. Adobe's headquarters consist of three high-rise office towers located in downtown San Jose, Calif. In 2006, one of the buildings in the Adobe complex, known as the West Tower, became the first building in the world to achieve platinum-level certification by the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program for existing buildings, or LEED. Later that year, the two remaining towers in Adobe's San Jose complex also achieved platinum certification. All of the Adobe buildings were certified as existing buildings retrofit to meet LEED certification criteria.
Within nine months of LEED certification, Adobe received $389,000 in rebates from local and state agencies and utilities, and had reduced annual operating costs by $1.2 million, a 121 percent return on investment.
WHAT IS A GREEN BUILDING?
The term "green building" technically refers to a building that has received LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). According to the council, LEED-certified buildings have lower operating costs, higher lease rates, and healthier occupants than other structures.
Getting a building LEED certified is no small undertaking, however; it is such a rigorous and methodical process that some management companies turn to professionals for help.
"We had a consultant from the U.S. Green Building Council who led us through the process," George Denise, CPM[R] CFM, FMA, RPA, and general manager of the Client Solutions Group for Cushman & Wakefield of California Inc., AMO[R] said. Cushman and Wakefield is the property management firm for the Adobe Towers.
TUNING UP THE TOWERS
When reviewing the process for LEED certification, it is important to first assess your existing building. Adobe Global Facilities Director Michael Bangs compared the building certification process, which the USGBC calls "retro-commissioning," to tuning up a car.
"A tune-up is an evaluation of the car's systems and components, and how those components perform in relation to one another," Bangs said. "The goal was to take the buildings and make the systems efficient and effective, as though each had just come from the factory, so to speak."
After the evaluation, a property manager or team needs to test all systems in the building to see if they meet the criteria established by the council.
"We literally evaluated thousands of parameters; some of those parameters involved systems that functioned optimally at the time of construction but may have degraded over time," Denise said.
Once your evaluation and your tests have been completed, the next step is to brainstorm what retrofit projects should be reasonably pursued within your budget. According to Bangs and Denise, many of the green projects that Adobe and Cushman & Wakefield pursued came out of the companies' own brainstorming sessions.
"A lot of what we did was based on hard work, and a lot of good and very simple [and low-cost] measures. The projects that we undertook were easy to implement and had a quick return on investment," Denise said.
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The motivation to go through such an arduous process is different for each property management company. Some firms are looking to reduce operating costs or decrease energy use. Others want to modernize their facilities or reduce environmental emissions. For Adobe, going green was about continuing its strong commitment to engaging in environmentally responsible business practices.
"We had already achieved the Environmental Protection Agency's 'Energy Star' status, and we thought that LEED certification was a logical next step. To a large extent, this was a continuation of what we already had accomplished," Bangs said.
WHAT IT TAKES
A great deal of the LEED certification process deals with energy efficiency. Denise explained that of the 85 criteria considered during Adobe's LEED certification, 22 were energy related. "Energy and electricity is typically the highest cost of any building," Denise said. "It comprises on average 20 to 30 percent of a building's total operating budget."
During the certification process, Adobe invested $1.4 million in implementing more than 70 green programs, and reaped an annual savings of $1.2 million, in addition to rebates the company received from utilities and government agencies.
The time frame for certification depends largely on the building that is being evaluated, Bangs said. For Adobe, certification of the first building took one year, and the process for the other two buildings lasted a year and a half. During the certification period, Adobe Towers' building engineers underwent additional training. Bangs said that while the building engineers were already doing an exceptional job, the LEED process was a tremendous learning experience for everyone involved.
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"The results of this labor are buildings that offer tremendous energy and cost savings, and greater comfort for employees and guests," Denise said.
CONTINUALLY "GREENING"
Denise emphasized that "greening" a building is a continuous drive for improvement for any management company.
"Greening a building is not something that you do once and then it's over," he said. "We continually look at how we manage our building and look for ways to do things more efficiently. We are always looking at new technologies, and we consider new projects on a regular basis."
For instance, Adobe property managers are currently working on a project that would help reduce the impact of the sun's rays on the buildings' temperature.
"While having an optimally functioning heating and air conditioning system has helped, our current project will make it even better," Denise said. "We are installing a thermal clear film that filters out 99 percent of the UV rays from the sun and 95 percent of the infrared rays."
Denise said that he would encourage property managers and owners who are ambivalent about green building initiatives to engage in the process.
"Reducing energy uses and costs, reducing the amount of waste produced, this is a key part of good property management, and it's just a good business decision ... it's important that we not waste resources."
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James G. Parker a contributing writer for JPM. Questions regarding this article can be sent to mnaso@irem.org.
RELATED ARTICLE: WHAT IS LEED CERTIFICATION?
To achieve LEED certification, the council evaluates new and existing buildings in six categories, each with a maximum number of points:
Buildings receive points based on their performance in these areas, and the number of points determines the level of certification.
LEED Certified
26-32 points or greater than 37% of maximum points
LEED Certified Silver Level
33-38 points or greater than 47% of maximum points
LEED Certified Gold Level
39-51 points or greater than 56% of maximum points
LEED Certified Platinum Level
52-69 points or greater than 75% of maximum points
For detailed information on points and categories in LEED for new construction and major renovations visit www.usgbc.org.
RELATED ARTICLE: TAKING STEPS TOWARD LEED CERTIFICATION
* Assess your existing building. How do the systems in your facility perform in relation to one another? Are they efficient and effective?
* Test all the systems in the buildings to see if they meet the criteria established by the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program for existing buildings.
* Brainstorm which green projects should be pursued, based on budget and time. What projects are low-cost? What projects are easy to implement or have a quick return on investment?
* Implement "green" retrofits.
* Follow LEED certification steps by the U.S. Green Building Council:
1. Register your eligible building via www.usgbc.org.
2. Prepare your application by documenting building performance data and operational procedures.
3. Submit your certification application to the USGBC for review and provide any supplemental information deemed necessary by the reviewers.
4. Receive a final LEED certification review from the U.S. Green Building Council.
Re-certification of LEED is required at least once every five years, though buildings can re-certify annually. Annual certification might be beneficial in cases where building operators want yearly feedback on building performance for performance reviews and budgets, or in cases where LEED certification scores are included in lease agreements as a metric for quality of delivered space. Applications for re-certification only require documentation of changes in policies and performance data that have occurred since initial certification.
RELATED ARTICLE: RE-POWERING ADOBE TOWERS
Adobe Towers and its property managers implemented approximately 70 green projects during the facility's LEED certification process.
Some of the projects that had the greatest impact included the following:
* Lighting: Managers converted the lighting in the buildings and parking structure to new generation high-efficiency fluorescent lamps. These lighting changes were easy to implement and helped reduce Adobe's electricity consumption by 60 percent.
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