Commercial real estate (RE) executives are embracing advanced means to lower building energy costs and reduce environmental impacts. A new category of solutions, known as Intelligent Building Systems (IBS), allows executives and building managers to curtail inefficiencies that they have not addressed before. Owing to advanced capabilities, such as sophisticated analytics and connections with thousands of data points in the building automation system (BAS) and building management system (BMS), IBS promise to drastically change the way buildings are managed. IBS can optimize equipment, lighting, and plug loads while providing advanced performance tracking to generate an average 15-30% in energy cost savings.

An IBS goes beyond simply tracking KPIs and metrics, presenting energy or other dashboards, or sending advance alarms to facility or building managers. IBS use advanced data analytics, pattern recognition and pre-set algorithms and rules to present a full picture of the overall building’s performance and recommendations to improve it. RE executives and building managers who have exhausted the “low-hanging fruit” for building optimization should consider advanced IBS solutions to improve energy and sustainability performance.

SR Inc interviewed Sustainable Real Estate Roundtable Member-Client executives and building managers to deliver a briefing, titled Implementing Intelligent Building Systems Software. Our research found that IBS perform three functions, with different systems having different strengths and weaknesses in each area:

1. Monitoring, Dashboarding, and Reporting: the integration of disparate data sources, (spreadsheets, BMS and BAS data, SQL data, etc.) to present a clear visualization of building performance by various metrics and report results internally and externally.
2. Fault Detection and Analytics: deployment of advanced, built-in analytics to identify system inefficiencies, underperforming equipment, and other areas for operational improvement.
3. Advanced Automated Controls: simple improvement of operational inefficacies through automated changes (such as turning off unused fans, reducing HVAC to unoccupied rooms, etc.), through the BMS and BAS or through high-tech wireless controllers.

To guide decision-makers in selecting a system, our research briefing positions each of 13 solutions within one of four market categories—Achievers, Thinkers, Systems Integrators, and Innovators. Of the four, vendors within the Innovators category demonstrated the best integration of complex data sources, analytics, and clear presentation of results.  The briefing also provides a 12-part decision framework with RFP guidance to aid in the implementation of a leading IBS.

The SRER Member-Client briefing Implementing Intelligent Building Systems (IBS) Software is available to Member-Clients through SR Inc’s Digital Library (log-in required).

Andrew Reovan, Sustainability Analyst (andrewreovan@sustainround.com).

The U.S. General Services Administration announced the creation of four new tools for promoting greater sustainability in federal agency workplaces. “Sustainable behavior requires transformative change, and transformative change occurs when people are empowered to make informed decisions at all levels,” shares Michael Bloom, GSA Sustainability and Green Building Program Advisor. GSA developed these tools as part of their ongoing effort to improve sustainable workplace, facility, and procurement practices. These tools include the Workplace Solutions Library, Sound Matters, Sustainable Facilities Tool, and Green Products Compilation module.

• The Workplace Solutions Library provides comprehensive workplace information in an organized, linked way. The tool is based on six “work patterns” that run the gamut of federal knowledge work, providing a simple structure to think about complex issues. It is designed to help the user reduce real estate and consequently, GHG emissions footprint while improving workplace quality. Users can identify and translate work styles to appropriate space designs that afford practical mobility options, inform proper furniture choices, and provide strategic guidance to manage change. 
• The Sound Matters tool was created to help agencies develop cost-effective acoustic mitigation strategies and create high-performance, vital workplaces even as real estate footprints shrink. The tool specifies designs, products, and human behavior modifications necessary to create workplaces that furnish acoustic comfort. The document’s intent is to increase awareness of an issue that has been peripheral but is quickly becoming primary in the new workplace.
• The Sustainable Facilities Tool serves as a “one-stop portal” to empower any government or private sector user to identify and prioritize cost-effective sustainable building strategies that lead to improved environmental performance in small building projects. “Before creation of this site, there was no one-stop tool for learning about such a wide breadth of sustainable products and options available for retrofitting and renovating buildings,” explains Stephen Leeds, GSA Senior Sustainability Officer. SFTool promotes the use of energy efficient, sustainable design and environmentally preferable materials in renovations, alterations and leases, while enhancing the skills teams require to assess more sustainable leases and support integrative design. The web and mobile app provide easy access to valuable resources for sustainable building principles including a 3-D interactive office walkthrough, extensive glossary, essential regulations and guidelines, and case studies.
• The new, web-based version of the Green Products Compilation utilizes the interactive SFTool platform, providing users with information regarding sustainable building principles, materials, and systems. This platform allows purchasers to search, sort, and identify sustainable products and associated guidance. GSA anticipates further updates this spring to further expand its scope and functionality.

For more information, please contact Michael Bloom (michael.bloom@gsa.gov).

Additional documentation about GSA’s tools is available in SR Inc’s Digital Library:

Workplace Solutions Library

Sounds Matters

Sustainable Facilities Tool

Green Products Compilation

Irina Mladenova, VP Research and Consulting (irinamladenova@sustainround.com).                 

Sustainability Roundtable, Inc. is preparing a study on Intelligent Building Systems: software and hardware solutions that are designed to monitor and analyze a building’s performance on a variety of data and provide analytics, suggest operational improvements, and present dashboard results.

To support this research, we are conducting a survey of users’ awareness of, and experience with, these products. This brief survey is targeted to facility managers or staff who are responsible for evaluating and implementing such a system.

Please complete the survey by clicking here.

Thank you in advance for contributing to our research. We are planning to release findings in January 2012, so we ask for a response by Friday, December 23, 2011. A summary of the findings will be made available to those who provide contact information while completing the survey. We are excited to present this analysis to help drive the move toward more sustainable building operations.

We look forward to your participation and wish you a wonderful holiday season!
If you have any questions, please contact andrewreovan (at) sustainround.com

This past year has been marked by corporate and commercial real estate leaders who have increasingly embraced the principles of sustainability to reduce operating expenses, enhance enterprise value and align real estate/facility portfolios with their organization’s goals of financial performance and environmental excellence.

In 2011, the challenge for executives did not come from their inability to succeed and lead but, from limited capital expenditure resources in the face of the risk and uncertainty of an expanding yet fragile world economy.

2012 will bring its own set of risk and uncertainty but, real estate professionals seem more motivated to develop and implement portfolio-wide sustainability strategies with the confidence that an organized commitment to corporate sustainability better aligns them with top management, investors, customers, talent and regulators. And, that sustainability is a better way to organize and motivate geographically dispersed, functionally divided staff.

In the coming year, leading real estate executives must recognize that individual sustainability initiatives, no matter how successful, are unlikely to be acknowledged at a Board or investor level. Conversely, real estate leaders that aggregate multiple successful sustainability initiatives with immediate payback paired with initiatives that have a longer-term internal rates of return can organize and animate the drive to higher performance throughout a large real estate portfolio that will justify Board, investor and top customer recognition and support.

The key to sustainable real estate strategy success in 2012 will rely on:

• Leading companies who recognize sustainability as a megatrend that presents strategic imperatives for senior executives, where real estate plays a prominent and sometimes guiding role in enterprise wide sustainability.
• A more comprehensive, internally branded “sustainability strategy” can be better resourced by the C-suite and the Board, rewarded by investors, supported by employees and lead to higher scores on the rapidly emerging number of indexes that measure sustainability.
• Energy efficiency and cost savings will remain the core of real estate sustainability strategy, but a growing number of corporate users will see the value of enhanced employee health, well-being, and productivity within workplace environments.
• Leading real estate executives will establish a compelling long-term vision of sustainable real estate with a strong business case and create effective policies and management structures to institutionalize sustainability.
• Real estate executives will be identified as “Committed”, “Advanced” or “Leaders” depending on the maturity of their strategy. It will be critical to evaluate and identify improvements through the use of assessment tools such as the two-tiered qualitative “Sustainability Performance Assessment” (SPA), developed by the Sustainability Roundtable, Inc. (SR, Inc.)
• The SPA reveals that leading companies will invest broadly in portfolio sustainability strategies but most companies still do not adequately invest in the areas of governance or results.

Will you be among the committed, advanced real estate leaders to achieve sustainability success in the coming year and ‘move the needle on the dial’?

Dare to be a pioneer and become the catalyst for change that will drive your company to greater sustainability in 2012.

If you would like to learn more about SR Inc.’s “Strategic Performance Assessment” or how its subscription-based research and management best practice advisory services can help you drive your organization closer to sustainability, visit us at www.sustainround.com or contact SR Inc.’s Larry Simpson, Executive Vice President – Advisory Services at larrysimpson@sustainround.com.

The Sustainability Roundtable, Inc. (SR Inc.), the for-profit, shared cost research and consulting firm convened well over 100 industry leaders of corporate/commercial real estate executives and sustainability professionals who represented over 60 member-client organizations at SR Inc.’s Third Annual Summit entitled, “The Change Driving Sustainability” on November 30^th and December 1^st at the St. Regis Hotel in Washington D.C.

The invitation only two-day event will featured: sustainability excellence award winners; presentations and case studies of SR Inc.’s 2011 Research Program; panel discussions with Federal agency representatives; and, facilitated sessions to develop SR Inc.’s 2012 Research Program.

Management Best Practice Sessions included:

Portfolio-wide Sustainability Strategies: What strategies do Real Estate Executives use to resource and create sustainable value. (Includes Innovative Finance for Energy Efficiency)

Benchmarking Sustainability: What sustainability KPIs should Leaders adopt and what are the relevant performance benchmarks.

Sustainable Leased Space: How Leaders move to more sustainable leased space? How Tenants and Landlords systematically implement green leases and what provisions in RFPs, LOIs and Leases are used.

Alternative Workplace Strategies: What AWS strategies are successfully adopted to increase productivity and how can landlord’s best respond.

Working with the Federal Government: What are the best sustainability resources available within the Federal Government and how can Real Estate Executives partner with them.

In addition to sessions and panel discussions, SR Inc. honored Award Winners announced at the Summit Dinner:

• SAP: SRER Outstanding Corporate Leader 2011
• USAA Real Estate Company: SRER Outstanding Landlord 2011
• Suzanne Cooper, Director, Real Estate USA and Canada, Cisco: SRER Outstanding Corporate Executive 2011
• Brandywine Realty Trust:  SRER Emerging Leader Landlord 2011
• Kevin Kampschroer, Director, Office of High-Performance Green Buildings, U.S. General Services Administration: SRER Outstanding Public Sector Leader 2011

The collaboration of SR Inc.’s member-clients supported by SR Inc.’s analysts, researchers, consultants and advisors is rapidly driving the real estate industry toward greater sustainability with breakthrough management best practices about ‘what works’ to apply the principles of sustainable real estate strategies across a portfolio that reduce operating expenses/occupancy costs; enhance enterprise/asset value; and align with organizations’ commitment to the environment.

If you would like to learn more about SR Inc.’s Annual Summit III or how SR Inc.’s resources and implementation guidance could help you drive your organization closer to sustainability, contact SR Inc.’s Larry Simpson, Executive Vice President – Advisory Services at larrysimpson@sustainround.com.

Traditionally, real estate professionals pick the low hanging fruit of energy efficiency and the growing challenges of water conservation. But, more recently, corporate/commercial real estate executives who want to develop and execute a comprehensive sustainability strategy address the third leg of the sustainability stool – waste reduction.

Progressive professionals are asking:

What are the practical ways to reduce waste hauling, disposal and necessary onsite equipment?

How can my organization maximize available recycling rebates?

What are the benefits and challenges of single stream recycling?

The Sustainability Roundtable, Inc. (SR Inc.) has researched answers to these and many of the aspects of this important issue in its recently released a briefing entitled, “Reducing Waste and Increasing Diversion.”

SR Inc.’s briefing provides an overview of waste reduction and recycling strategies, and highlights best practices that reduce the volume of waste entering the waste stream, improve diversion rates, increase operational efficiency, engage employees, lower operating costs, and enhance brand and reputation.

Leading companies implement comprehensive waste reduction and recycling programs across their portfolios of leased and owned facilities to:

• Reduce the cost of transportation and disposal, fees and fines.
• Reduced waste sent to landfills reduces GHG emissions.
• Accrue points toward LEED and BREEAM certification.
• Stimulate building occupant interest in recycling that drive behavior toward greater sustainability.
• Galvanize occupants into entrepreneurial roles that improve operations and distinguish leaders.
• Drive value-adding sustainability initiatives such as composting and sustainable materials purchasing programs.
• Elevate “green” status and enhance enterprise brand/reputation.

SR Inc.’s briefing features case studies from clients EMC, IBM, NetApp, as well as British Land, PepsiCo, Walmart, Intel, Accor, Triple Five Group, and Lend Lease.

The key strategic recommendations in the briefing encourage leaders to:

• Institute purchasing programs that prioritize vendors who minimize the material that enter the company’s waste stream and buy only items that can be reused, recycled, or composted.
• Engage engineers, “Green Teams”, EH&S personnel, consultants and vendors to explore ways to reduce waste.
• Educate stakeholders and seek employee input to design and evaluate recycling programs that will increase employee compliance.
• Implement a portfolio-wide recycling and reuse plan for paper, cardboard, plastics, wood, and metals – tailor the program to accommodate the unique waste, if any, of the business.
• Avoid commingled plastics or contaminated paper products that are not easily recyclable.
• Sell waste in bulk to generate revenue repurpose waste within company operations.
• Avoid incineration except for waste-to-energy.
• Publicize program successes to maximize the value of the initiative.
• Reintegrate savings into programs and amenities for building occupants, who appreciate seeing their recycling efforts pay off.

To receive a copy SR Inc.’s “Reducing Waste and Increasing Diversion” or to learn more about how SR Inc. can help you and your organization develop and execute a comprehensive sustainability strategy, contact SR Inc.’s Larry Simpson, Executive Vice President of Advisory Services, at larrysimpson@sustainround.com.

The movement to greater sustainability in leased space took an important step forward following a recent Sustainability Roundtable, Inc. (SR Inc.) Member-Client webinar. The event presented research, case studies and introduced a newly developed “green leasing” toolkit that will enable corporate occupiers and owners/investors to achieve sustainable excellence.

The increased adoption of “green leases” is playing a transformational role to streamline the greening process. One of the centerpieces of the SR Inc. webinar detailed a more sustainable leasing strategy with seven fundamental preferences in decision making:

1. Develop a portfolio-wide optimization strategy
2. Integrate alternative workplace strategies
3. Seek space in transportation adjacent existing buildings
4. Weigh renewal options
5. Weigh long-term lease options
6. Seek buildings with a third-party certified commitment to sustainability
7. Collaborate with landlords and tenants to advance greater sustainability

The most important aspect of the webinar was the introduction of a “Green Leasing” toolkit. These tools were introduced in DRAFT form pending SR Inc. Member-Client input/comment and are designed to be used by corporate directors of real estate and portfolio managers in the final phase of sustainable corporate real estate selection – the green lease itself. The tools within the toolkit included:

Site Selection Tool – outlines the steps to select a landlord with a commitment to sustainability and a site that has already achieved LEED, ENERGY STAR certification or a willingness to achieve sustainability certification.

Request for Proposal Tool – identifies tenant requirements for sustainability practices and distinguishes which green terms may be structured into the lease documents.

Letter of Intent Tool – highlights a tenant’s key green or sustainable lease issues and includes which green terms may be structured into the final lease document.

In addition to the green leasing guidance toolkit, SR Inc.’s breakthrough tools offer sample lease language for: 

• LEED or Other Green Building Certification
• Base Rent, Operating, and Capital Expenses
• Utility Consumption and Metering
• Data Collection and Information Sharing
• Waste Stream Management, Recycling and Janitorial Services
• Indoor Environmental Quality
• Parking and Alternative Transportation
• Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Policy
• Construction Obligations and Tenant Improvements
• Special Remedies for Violation of Green Lease Provisions

Overall, the toolkit emphasizes that a successful green lease is the result of a comprehensive negotiation process, in which sustainability practices are deliberately embedded in each phase of the lease lifecycle. The lease should reflect and memorialize the sustainability goals and obligations of both landlord and tenant as negotiated through prior documents.

The tools were developed in conjunction with SR Inc.’s Full Report – “More Sustainable Leased Space,” the “Global Sustainable Facilities Guidebook” for corporate occupiers and the “Global Guidebook on Sustainable Properties” for owners/investors.

In addition to the presentation of the SR Inc.’s newly developed toolkit there was a highly interactive discussion with comments from corporate executives at Apollo Group, AutoDesk, CapitalOne, Cisco, Intuit, McKesson, Mitre and Symantec as well as owner/occupier, Brandywine Realty Trust.

The movement to greater sustainability is evolving from its infancy with the leadership of innovative corporate and commercial real estate executives. And, now with tools developed by SR Inc. sustainability in leased space is becoming more cost effective and much easier to achieve.

If you would like to download the program presentation and an Executive Summary of “More Sustainable Leased Space” visit www.sustainround.com. To learn how SR Inc. can help organizations achieve greater sustainability portfolio-wide, please contact Larry Simpson, SR Inc.’s Executive Vice President of Advisory Services at larrysimpson@sustainround.com.

They just might be…

Various factors over the past decade have led to greater adoption of strategies to improve indoor air quality (IAQ) in office buildings as part of an overall sustainability portfolio program.

A growing body of scientific knowledge has raised awareness about the increased health risks for employees which lead to potentially significant liabilities, increased absenteeism, and reduced productivity.

New regulations and standards to improve IAQ have prompted greater adoption of IAQ strategies by leading companies, as have green building certification criteria that require addressing IEQ in order to obtain certification. The emergence of advanced green technologies, no- and low-emission green cleaning products, PVC-free carpet and water-based paints, have enabled leading companies to implement IAQ source-control strategies at a reduced cost with significant returns on investment.

At a recent client-meeting of the Sustainability Roundtable, Inc. (SR Inc.), Georgia Tech’s Dr. Charlene Bayer, who leads the ‘Health in Buildings Roundtable’, and SR Inc.’s Michael Gresty presented findings of their latest research on, “Managing Indoor Quality” which identified the link between IAQ and worker productivity. The highlights of the published research found:

•       Leading corporate users pursue IAQ management as part of their portfolio-wide sustainability strategy to reduce employee absenteeism and health care costs, improve productivity, reduce liability and regulatory risk, and improve brand and reputation.

•       Commercial real estate owners address IAQ management to improve competitiveness and ability to attract and retain tenants, increase property values, and reduce liability and regulatory risk.

•       Cost-benefit analysis has demonstrated the significant paybacks from improvements in building design, operation, and maintenance that address IAQ. Such improvements “may often exceed the costs by a factor of ten or more because worker salaries and benefits greatly exceed the costs to provide and operate buildings.”

•       Leading executives implement source reduction as the primary strategy for improved IAQ, establish policies for the use of ‘green’ construction materials in renovations and upgrades (e.g., carpets, paints, and furniture), utilize green cleaning chemicals and ban smoking inside and near buildings.

•       Leaders recognize the benefits of increased ventilation to dilute indoor contaminants and implement ventilation rates above the code requirements. Demand controlled ventilation, natural ventilation, mixed-mode ventilation, inclusion of enhanced filtration (both particulate and gas-phase), operational improvements and preventive maintenance are all proven approaches to reduce both energy costs and health complaints.

•       Leading companies monitor key indoor air contaminants like CO, CO2, ozone, particulate matter, and VOCs, and go beyond the mandatory and guideline limits to improve IAQ.

The research features case studies from Steelcase’s Corporate Development Center in Michigan; the Ridgehaven Office Building in San Diego, CA; the Philip Merrill Environmental Center in Annapolis MD; Royal Bank Building in Winnipeg, Canada; and, Georgia Tech’s campus buildings in Atlanta GA.

The research also provided recommended approaches to manage IAQ and improve indoor air quality in new or existing buildings that included:

1. Source reduction
2. Implement humidity control
3. Increase fresh air ventilation rate and overall air distribution in the space
4. Use enhanced filtration systems
5. Improved building maintenance
6. Behavior modification, occupant education

SR Inc.’s research demonstrates the importance to address indoor air quality as part of an overall sustainability strategy that is designed to create a healthier workplace for your company’s most valuable resource, your workforce.

If you would like to receive an Executive Summary of the research, “Managing Indoor Air Quality” please contact SR Inc.’s Larry Simpson, Executive Vice President, Advisory Services at larrysimpson@sustainround.com.

Various factors over the past decade have led to greater adoption of strategies to improve indoor air quality (IAQ) in office buildings as part of an overall sustainability portfolio program.

A growing body of scientific knowledge has raised awareness about the increased health risks for employees which lead to potentially significant  liabilities, increased absenteeism, and reduced productivity.

New regulations and standards to improve IAQ have prompted greater adoption of IAQ strategies by leading companies, as have green building
certification criteria that require addressing IEQ in order to obtain certification. The emergence of advanced green technologies, no- and low-emission green cleaning products, PVC-free carpet and water-based paints, have enabled leading companies to implement IAQ source-control strategies at a reduced cost with significant returns on investment.

At a recent client-meeting of the Sustainability Roundtable, Inc. (SR Inc.), Georgia Tech’s Dr. Charlene Bayer, who leads the ‘Health in Buildings Roundtable’, and SR Inc.’s Michael Gresty presented findings of their latest research on, “Managing Indoor Quality” which identified the link between IAQ and worker productivity. The highlights of the published research found:

•       Leading corporate users pursue IAQ management as part of their portfolio-wide sustainability strategy to reduce employee absenteeism and health care costs, improve productivity, reduce liability and regulatory risk, and improve brand and reputation.

•       Commercial real estate owners address IAQ management to improve competitiveness and ability to attract and retain tenants, increase property values, and reduce liability and regulatory risk.

•       Cost-benefit analysis has demonstrated the significant paybacks from improvements in building design, operation, and maintenance that address IAQ. Such improvements “may often exceed the costs by a factor of ten or more because worker salaries and benefits greatly exceed the costs to provide and operate buildings.”

The Sustainability Roundtable, Inc. (SR Inc.) launched its new website on August 29th along with new corporate branding that includes resources for corporate real estate executives and owners to help their organizations move to greater sustainability.

The site, www.sustainround.com, features: an overview of SR Inc.’s service offerings; select client references and profiles; career opportunities; and a compendium of selected research, advisories and briefings available in SR Inc.’s “Digital Library” that clients value as vendor neutral decision support needed to help accelerate their move to more sustainable high performance

Visitors are encouraged to download the SR Inc.’s Quarterly Newsletters and complimentary Executive Summaries of representative examples of research including executive guidance on: “More Sustainable Leased Space,” “Integrated Alternative Workplace Strategies,” and “Advanced Energy Management Systems.”

SR Inc. is a shared-cost research and consulting company dedicated to accelerate the development and adoption and best practices in more sustainable business.  SR Inc.’s flagship Sustainable Real Estate Roundtable (“SRER”) service assists more than 200 Member Executives who are responsible for making well more than one billion square feet of real estate more sustainable.  Through SRER, SR Inc helps leading real estate executives identify, define, validate and implement management best practices in the move to greater sustainability throughout their owned and leased real estate portfolios.

Member-clients learn through SR Inc.’s vendor neutral management best practices research, conferencing and consulting support what has proven to work best in moving towards more sustainable high-performance in real estate.  Specifically, Member-clients learn ‘what works’ to apply the principles of a sustainability real estate strategy to reduce operating expenses portfolio-wide, enhance enterprise/asset value and align with their organization’s commitment to greater corporate sustainability.

To learn more about how SR Inc. enables and assists “Leaders Creating Value” and how SR Inc.’s their business service might assist you and help your enterprise move to greater sustainability, please feel free visit the new site, www.sustainround.com, and contact Larry Simpson, Executive Vice President of Advisory Services at larrysimpson@sustainround.com or 508-946-4750.