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NEW YORK CITY-When it comes to spreading the word about greenbuildings, Con Edison is turning it up to 11. Withmore than 1,000 projects completed and another 1,100 in thepipeline, the energy company kicked off its 2012 Energy EfficiencySummit at the Hilton New York with a little rock-and-roll—andpointers about transforming commercial and industrial propertiesinto high-performance buildings.

Sustainability expert and guitarist Robin Crow,president and CEO of Nashville-based Dark Horse Recording, toldattendees during the conference’s keynote address that energyefficient buildings can actually increase corporate profitabilityin the long term. “We are facing so many overwhelming issues withthings like overpopulation, depleting resources, climate change anddependency on foreign oil that we are forming a perfect storm thatis affecting everyone in this room,” he said, noting that whileinvesting in cleaner energy takes a fair amount of capital, thepayoff involves more than just money. “Not only do you lower youroverhead, but you lower your carbon emissions and you increase yourbottom line. It is a win-win situation.”