From Simple to Sophisticated:Strategies to 'Green' Buildings

• Energy represents the single largest controllable operating expense for office buildings, typically a third of variable expenses.
• Office buildings account for nearly 20% of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States.
• If only 2,000 buildings adopt BEEP's no- and low-cost best practices over the next three years, energy consumption and carbon emissions will be reduced by 10%--creating $400 million in energy savings and a 6.6-billion pound drop in carbon dioxide.

Participants included Jessup, MD-based Tate's Building Technology's under-floor air-delivery system that reportedly can reduce energy costs by up to 50%, a high recycle-and-post-consumer-content carpet-tile system from La Grange, GA 's InterfaceFLOR and a demountable architectural wall system called Altos from Teknion in Toronto, Ontario.

However, industry experts say even simple steps can help green a building. To encourage green building and renovation, BOMA has put together 24 strategies for increasing sustainability and optimizing performance, ranging from conservation to environmentally-friendly landscaping.

• Install low-flow aerators, which cost about $2 each, on bathroom faucets.
• Insert water displacement devices to limit water used in the toilet tank.
• Consider motion-sensor faucets and cooling tower sensors.
• Switch to "dry" cleaning. Using a broom, squeegee or vacuum cleaner instead of a mop saves gallons of water.
• Reduce water pressure.
• Reset hot water thermostats to the lowest setting possible.
• Turn off hot water heaters when buildings are unoccupied.
• Develop landscape that use indigenous plants and limited amounts of water.
• Add composting to your landscape maintenance plan.
• Use drip irrigation or soaker hoses because they use less water than sprinklers.
• Schedule an annual review of your property's irrigation system.
• Harvest rainwater to water your building's grounds.
• Work with vendors that have recycling programs.
• Set up disposal methods to discard electronics and hazardous waste.
• Use coreless paper products.
• Make sure your janitorial service uses green cleaning products.
• Clean windows and skylights to let in the light.
• Encourage tenants to turn off equipment after hours.
• Encourage tenants to use ENERGY STAR® equipment.
• Expand recycling programs to include lighting, plastics, metal, glass and cardboard.
• Institute an energy awareness program.
• Encourage tenants to reduce workplace energy consumption with work from home policies.
• Create an electronic green newsletter to send to tenants.
• Encourage tenants and staff to use environmentally-friendly transportation.