03 January 2010
RHYTHM REPORT INDEX
Jan/09/2010 08:11
Previous Articles/Links from THE RHYTHM REPORT
Real Estate/Facility Management
Model Green Lease Update for LEED CI
The highly acclaimed Model Green Lease is being updated to accommodate the USGBC's LEED Commercial Interiors rating system. Released in July 2009, after a year of work by a group of savvy commercial real estate professionals, the Model Green Lease has become the template of choice for green lease agreements from Australia to Dubai.
For more information
Real Estate Mgrs Agree to Building Energy Use Label
Major real estate firms have signed up for a pilot program that would help building owners, prospective tenants and buyers ascertain the energy efficiency of a building. The Building Energy Quotient program - Building EQ for short - is administered by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)
To read the complete article
Doing Well By Doing Good? Green Office Buildings A new study by the University of California Energy Institute Center for the Study of Energy Markets (University of California, Multi-Campus Research Unit) For Full Report
Energy Issues - Facility Management In May 2009, Johnson Controls/IFMA published the 2009 Energy Efficiency Report.
Read the entire report
Connecting Productivity to Green Building Based on a study of 500 buildings by the University of San Diego, San Diego, CA and CBRE it was found that employees in a green building are more productive than their counterparts in a standard building. To read the study
Transportation for a New Era Growing More Sustainable Communities Earlier this year, The Urban Land Institute published its research findings focusing on "an historic opportunity to fundamentally rethink how we plan, fund and build our transportation networks". Vist ULI to review the full report
U.S. Green Building Council - Chicago Chapter Releases Post Occupancy Study of LEED ProjectsThe Regional Green Building Case Study Project: a Post-Occupancy Study of LEED Projects in Illinois report summarizes the first year of a multi-year study to analyze the post-occupancy benefits of 25 LEED® certified projects in Illinois related to: energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, water use, construction and operating costs, cost of building green, health and productivity impacts, and occupant comfort.
To read the Report
JLL enrolls entire portfolio to Energy Star Jones Lang LaSalle, Chicago, IL, has become the first leading real estate service firm to enroll 100 percent of its managed property in the EPA's Energy Star program. To read the press release
ULI Report on Climate Change and Alternative Energy Sources The ongoing downturn in the commercial real estate industry has temporarily diminished the importance of climate change and alternative energy sources as a factor in real estate investment decisions, but interest is likely to pick up when the market rallies, according to a survey of U.S. financial industry leaders conducted by the Urban Land Institute (ULI). To read the report
JLL and CoreNet Global announce Sustainable Survey Results Corporate real estate (CRE) executives, whose companies drive demand for office space, are increasingly willing to invest in refurbishing their owned assets to meet sustainability goals, according to the results of the 2009 CoreNet Global and Jones Lang LaSalle sustainability survey.
Click to read the entire report
Energy Efficiency in Real Estate Portfolios
A new report, "Energy Efficiency in Real Estate Portfolios: Opportunities for Investors," says that proven, existing efficiency technologies in everything from lighting to climate control and more can unlock the untapped reserves of efficiency gains buried in many real estate holdings. Those gains would be a boon to real estate investors' bottom lines - both direct property owners like large pension funds and smaller investors who primarily hold real estate securities - even as they make our buildings far less power-hungry and a big part of America's efforts to combat climate change.
The report was commissioned by Ceres and authored by the responsible investment group of the investment consulting business line of Mercer.
To download the report
Finance/Raising Capital Sustainable Investment Initiative Announced by Capital Market Partners On August 18, Capital Market Partners (CMP) launched its Sustainable Investment Initiative with a press conference at the New York Stock Exchange. CMP is a nonpartisan, nonprofit coalition of investors, investment banks, insurers, city, state and federal government, countries, and NGOs who have come together to create a market shift to sustainable investment.
More information on the Sustainable Investment Initiative
Costs/Benefits of Building Green In a study commissioned by The Urban Green Council and conducted by Davis Langdon, The Cost of Green in New York City, found no significant difference in the cost per square foot between green and non-green buildings, based on analysis of luxury high-rise residential and commercial interiors projects. In analyzing the data, the study also discovered that New York City LEED projects exhibit similar patterns of LEED credit achievement; certain credits are commonly achieved and others are rarely pursued. To read The Cost of Green in New York City
Cost of Solar Drops 30% since 1997 The cost to install solar has dropped 30 percent over the past 10 years, according to the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. The study, which looked at more than 52,000 grid-connected systems installed from 1998 to 2008, found that average installed costs fell from $10.80 per watt in 1998 to $7.50 per watt in 2008. To read the DOE Study
Green Building Underwriting Standards The Capital Markets Partnership (CMP) released today the 2.0 Version of its National Consensus Green Building Underwriting Standards©. Improvements to the Standards were incorporated from the results of major financial institutions and real estate portfolio managers scoring about 100 large commercial buildings using the Standards' Green Value Score©: JPMorgan, Comerica Bank, CB Richard Ellis, Jones Lang LaSalle, and Transwestern. Also, Standard equivalency interpretations were made for multifamily and homes. The Green Value Score© no longer scores below 25, but only from 25 to 100 because the market test scoring shows that there is a high degree of certainty that properties scoring 25 or higher increase cash flow for commercial and increase value and reduce expenses for homes.
Wells Fargo Announces New Commercial Group to Focus on Clean Tech Financing Building on its commitment to a better environment and supporting a greener economy, Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) announced a new commercial banking group dedicated to supporting clean tech companies. Based in Palo Alto, Wells Fargo's National Cleantech group will offer customized commercial banking products and services to businesses that manufacture, market or develop clean technology products and services, such as solar and wind power, energy and water efficiency, electric and low-emission vehicles, and smart grid applications. For more information
Renewable Energy Investment to Soar in 2010 Renewable-energy investment may climb to a record $200 billion worldwide next year as companies from Hong Kong's CLP Holdings Ltd. to American Electric Power Co. start projects that don't depend on a new climate-change treaty. Private and public spending on technology such as solar panels and wind turbines will rise about 50 percent from $130 billion this year and top the previous high of $155 billion in 2008, according to Michael Liebreich, chairman of London-based New Energy Finance, a consulting firm whose data is used by the United Nations and Deutsche Bank AG. To read the complete article
Five Step Guide to Financing Roof Top Solar The law firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips has developed a simple guide to financing options for Solar Installation. Five Steps to Solar Financing
Fast Tracking Green Product Patents
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO David Kappos has announced the agency intends to launch a pilot program that will give small entity inventors having two or more patent applications currently pending greater control over the priority in which their applications are examined while also reducing the backlog of unexamined patent applications pending before the USPTO. This pilot will allow a patent application from a small entity to receive special, accelerated status if the applicant is willing to abandon an application that has not been examined. The announcement was made at the 14th Annual Independent Inventors Conference, being held November 5-6 at the USPTO's headquarters in Alexandria, Va.
To read more on the Patent Pilot Program
Market Forecasts
GDP impact by Green Building projected to triple by 2013 While the green building industry added $173 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product from 2000-08, that's just the beginning. From 2009 to 2013, that amount will more than triple to $554 billion, according to a new report from the U.S. Green Building Council and Booz Allen Hamilton. Click to read the report
Green Building Market & Impact Report Green building activity has sustained impressive growth during 2009, amid a brutal construction market that has decimated other segments of the construction marketplace, according to the 2009 Green Building Market & Impact Report published by GreenerBuildings.com, a website produced by Greener World Media. Click to read the report
Retrofitting
With a market potential of $6 billion dollars by 2013 according to Pike Research, it would seem that opportunities will be increasing steadily. View the executive summary of the Pike Research Report on Retrofits
Retrofitting
Green building currently accounts for five to nine percent of the retrofit and renovation market activity by value, which equates to a $2 billion to $4 billion marketplace for major projects, according to a new report from McGraw-Hill Construction. By 2014, this share is projected to grow to 20-30 percent, making it a $10 billion to $15 billion market for major retrofit projects, according to the SmartMarket Report. To purchase the report from McGraw-Hill Construction
Green Energy On September 24, the Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) released the 2008 Green-e® Verification Report. The report shows a 45 percent increase in total Green-e Energy sales volume over the previous year, equivalent to over 13 million MWh of renewable energy generation. This represented over half of all retail renewable energy sales in the voluntary market in 2008. Read the full report
Green Building Materials Forecast NextGen Research reports that the global green building materials market continues to grow, despite the global economic downturn. The worldwide green building materials market was valued at $455.3 billion in 2008, and NextGen Research forecasts it will grow at a CAGR of nearly 5% to reach $571 billion by 2013. Information on Purchasing the Entire Report
Education
The Sustainable Endowments Institute has released its 2010 College Sustainability Report Card comparing 322 schools across the U.S. on how "green" they are, reports College News. Key findings show that 56 percent of colleges earned higher grades that they have in previous reports, while only 13 percent declined slightly in their green performance, according to the Web site. View the report card
Commercial The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) is developing an energy rating system that is making headway with federal and provincial governments. To learn more about the Building EQ program
Commercial New technical support documents from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the DOE national laboratories provide recommendations on how to achieve 50-percent energy savings in general merchandise, grocery store, lodging, and medium office buildings. The documents describe the assumptions, methodologies, and analyses used to reach energy savings over ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2004 in these four key sectors. To access the technical documents
Green Building Products Concrete is the most widely used building material on the planet; however, the production of some of its component materials accounts for up to 5 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions annually. To address the sustainability and environmental implications of the use of concrete as the backbone of our housing, schools, hospitals and other built infrastructure, including highways, tunnels, airports and rail systems, MIT has announced the creation of the Concrete Sustainability Hub, a research center established at MIT in collaboration with the Portland Cement Association (PCA) and Ready Mixed Concrete (RMC) Research & Education Foundation. View the entire press release
Top Ten Green Building Products
BuildingGreen, LLC, publisher of the GreenSpec Directory and Environmental Building News, announced the 2009 Top-10 Green Building Products. This eighth annual award, announced at the U.S. Green Building Council's Greenbuild Conference, recognizes the most exciting products drawn from recent additions to the GreenSpec directory and coverage in Environmental Building News. Building Green's 2009 - Top 10 Products
Searching for Greenwashing at Green Build
With this type of commercialization, the journalists covering the show had been wary of "green washing" but it seems their concerns have been mitigated by valid green products. Click here to read GreenBiz.com's review: SEARCHING FOR GREEN WASHING AT GREENBUILD.
Three Building Products Awarded Recovery Act Funding The Department of Energy last week announced $18 million in funding grants from the recovery act to support innovation coming from small clean energy businesses. Here's a look at three of the recipients focused on the green building industry: Chelix, KaZaK and Trinity Thermal Systems. The technologies developed could find ready customers in the growing U.S. green building retrofit market, which is expected to reach $2.1 billion-$3.7 billion on an annual basis by 2014. To read more details about each product
Green Seal to Expand Scope of Certifications Green Seal, the nonprofit certification group, is celebrating its 20th anniversary by undertaking a dramatic shift in its operations: In addition to continuing to certify individual products and services as environmentally friendly, the group has just launched a company certification pilot project that aims to measure, verify and push for continuous improvement of a company's entire operations. For more information on the pilot program
Residential The Recovery Through Retrofit Report builds on investments made in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) to expand the home energy efficiency and retrofit market. Home retrofits can potentially help people earn money, as home retrofit workers, while also helping them save money, by lowering their utility bills.
To read the Recovery Report
Deloitte Paper - Clean Over Green:
Striking a New Energy Balance as We Build a Bridge to a Low-Carbon Future
A low-carbon future can be possible if policy makers and industry leaders shift their focus from green energy to clean energy, according a new whitepaper from Dr. Joseph A. Stanislaw, a senior advisor to Deloitte and founder of the advisory firm The JAStanislaw Group, LLC. Stanislaw is also co-founder and former president and CEO of Cambridge Energy Research Associates.
In his whitepaper, "Clean Over Green: Striking a New Energy Balance as We Build a Bridge to a Low-Carbon Future," Stanislaw explains that the "all-consuming global obsession with anything green has subsided" and stresses that energy decision makers should "move from breathless anticipation of a green dawn, to the more sober work of systematically and thoughtfully building toward a low-carbon future."
According to Stanislaw, this means pursuing energy options that are clean, not simply renewable and green. Implicit in this is the idea that oil, natural gas and coal have the potential to be clean. "The principle goal of policymakers should be to establish a level playing field that makes it easier to identify the cleanest fuels producible at the lowest cost, while also reducing energy use through efficiency and other technologies," said Stanislaw.
Green Building Market Projections
The combined commercial and residential green building markets should grow nearly 146 percent from 2009 to 2013, according to research from Zpryme. In 2009, the combined markets represented $52.3 billion, but by 2013 the total should be $128.6 billion.
The commercial/institutional market for green building should grow 137 percent from 2009 to 2013, from $26.5 billion to $63 billion.
By sector, public facilities and education are leading 2009 green building activity at 30 percent and 24 percent, respectively. Commercial green building accounts for about 20 percent of the 2009 activity, followed by health care (11 percent) and industrial and R&D (both 5 percent).
From Environmental Leader...Several market research studies released over the past four months forecast high growth in the green building sector over the next three to five years. The latest study from venture capital firm Good Energies Inc. finds that about half of non-residential building stock will be "green" buildings by 2015, up from about 15 percent today, reports the Wall Street Journal. Driving the trend is the realization by many developers that costs are not as high as expected to implement green practices, according to a new study.
Growth in Energy Consultants Market
Pike Research's study, "The U.S. Energy Service Company Market", examines the commercial buildings market by end-use, identifying the solution opportunities for ESCOs and highlighting key industry drivers. The report analyzes the framework for rapid growth in this market, with forecasts that include base case and aggressive growth scenarios through 2020. An Executive Summary of the report is available for free download on the firm's website.
Companies providing energy efficiency consulting services to U.S. commercial building owners are expected to make about $5.6 billion a year. About 75 percent of the revenues come from implementing a suit of energy efficiency measures.
The market is expected to grow by leaps and bounds, however. Pike Research projects 250 percent growth to $19.9 billion by 2020.
To read the executive summary
Legal, Regulatory, and Risk Management
EPA Celebrates 10 Years of Energy Star Buildings Savings
Ten years ago, EPA unveiled a ground-breaking development in energy efficiency for the commercial marketplace - the first Energy Star building. To celebrate this important milestone, EPA is releasing the publication, Celebrating a Decade of Energy Star Buildings, which tells the history behind the Energy Star program and its development into a leading energy efficiency brand in the commercial marketplace. One of the buildings highlighted to demonstrate the diversity of types of Energy Star buildings is Plantation Baptist Church in Plantation, FL. In 1999, Plantation Baptist was the first house of worship to receive an ENERGY STAR plaque.
To read more on Energy Star
NRCA Warns New EPA Rules Could Endanger Construction
The National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) expressed serious concern about an "endangerment finding" issued Dec. 7 by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) because of the ruling's expected effects on construction projects throughout the U.S.
To read the full article from Building Design & Construction
Green Building: Assessing the Risks
In June, strategic broker and strategic risk advisor Marsh released a new report on risk management in green design and construction. The report based on input from construction firms throughout numerous geographic regions focused on that solicited feedback from construction industry executives on the risks that they perceive as arising out of green design and construction across ten risk categories. Read the Marsh Report - registration required.
National Multi Housing Council Analysis of the House and Senate Energy/Climate Change Bills On October 1, The National Multi Housing Council has updated its analysis of the Apartment-Related Provisions in the House and Senate Energy/Climate Change Bills.
To read the Apartment-Related Provision of Federal Energy Legislation
1000 Mayors have signed Kyoto Protocol Pact According to the LA Times... "On Friday (October 2), the outgoing president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors announced that 1,000 mayors across the country had signed on to a pact to meet the Kyoto protocol targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. They also will urge the federal government and the states to cut emissions by 7% from 1990 levels by 2012." Read the LA Times article US Conference of Mayors - Kyoto Protocol Pact Map of Participating Mayors
Risks and Policy Challenges National Institute of Building Sciences Report on Building Rating Systems
In September, the National Institute of Building Sciences Task Group on Building Rating and Certification released its findings from a year long study on current systems in use across the United States for rating and certifying building performance and accrediting individual expertise.
To read the NIBS Report
National Green Building Code In October 2010, the ICC's Sustainable Building Technology Committee met in Philadelphia to continue working on the International Green Construction Code draft.
The Green Building Code would address only commercial development. Last year, the International Code Council and the National Association of Home Builders developed green standards for municipalities and other governing bodies to use for residential construction. To read the report from the October meeting
Standard 189
At the beginning of November, Standard 189 completed the fourth round of public comment. "Standard 189: Standard for the Design of High-Performance, Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings" is slated for mid-February publication, although it has a few more hurdles to clear, including a vote by the development committee members followed by approval from the boards of each of the collaborating organizations. The standards-writing effort is a collaboration of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, USGBC and the Illuminating Engineering Society. "I feel we are close to publication," said Kent Peterson during a press event at Greenbuild. Peterson is chair of the standard's development committee and principal of P2S Engineering in California.
New York City's Greener, Greater Buildings Plan
On December 9 2009, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn announced the passage of landmark legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from existing government, commercial, and residential buildings in New York City. The six-point Greener, Greater Buildings Plan, introduced on Earth Day and enacted as part of PlaNYC, includes four bills that will dramatically reduce the City's energy usage, saving consumers $700 million annually in energy costs, while creating 17,880 jobs and reducing New York City's carbon footprint. In addition to the four pieces of legislation, the six-point plan includes two PlaNYC programs that will train workers for the new construction-related jobs that will be created, and help finance energy-saving improvements using $16 million in federal stimulus funding. The plan will also result in cleaner air, since pollution from boilers, furnaces, and local power plants will also be reduced.
To read the press release
Washington D.C. Clean and Affordable Energy Act Goes Into Effect
Posted by Environmental Leader on December 22, 2009
Building owners in Washington, D.C., will start measuring the energy use of commercial properties on Jan. 1, 2010, under a new law aimed at reducing energy use and costs for building owners and tenants, according to the Institute for Market Transformation (IMT).
Under the new law, the Clean and Affordable Energy Act, passed in 2008, building owners will have to publicly disclose energy ratings starting in 2012, which will give prospective tenants and buyers an easy-to-understand way to compare the energy consumption and operating costs of buildings, according to IMT.
The requirement started with benchmarking public buildings greater than 10,000 sq. ft. in October, which will be followed by commercial buildings greater than 200,000 sq. ft. in January 2010. The requirement rolls out on a graduated schedule so that by 2015, all private buildings greater than 50,000 sq. ft. will be benchmarked annually and ratings made public, according to the nonprofit organization.
The new law also directs all commercial buildings to measure their energy use with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Energy Star Portfolio Manager tool.
Certifications/Standards
Sustainable Sites Initiative
Sustainable Sites Initiative (sustainablesites.org) has released the nation's first rating system for the design, construction and maintenance of sustainable landscapes, with or without buildings. It was developed through a partnership of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and the U.S. Botanic Garden.
The rating system works on a 250-point scale, with levels of achievement for obtaining 40 percent, 50 percent, 60 percent or 80 percent of available points, recognized with one through four stars, respectively.
If prerequisites are met, points are awarded through the 51 credits covering areas such as the use of greenfields, brownfields or greyfields; materials; soils and vegetation; construction and maintenance.
The Sustainable Sites Initiative is dedicated to fostering a transformation in land development and management practices that will bring the essential importance of ecosystem services to the forefront. For purposes of the Initiative, land practices are defined as sustainable if they enable natural and built systems to work together to "meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), a stakeholder in the Initiative, anticipates incorporating these guidelines and performance benchmarks into future iterations of the LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System.
To download the Guidelines and Performance Benchmarks 2009
Living Building Challenge 2.0 Released
The Living Building Challenge is a program initially launched and continues to be operated by the Cascadia Region Green Building Council www.cascadiagbc.org (a chapter of both the US Green Building Council and Canada Green Building Council) and has quickly become the most advanced green building rating system in the world. The program was conceived and authored by Jason F. McLennan, CEO of Cascadia, prior to joining the organization.
The new version consolidates some of the old prerequisites (now called "imperatives") and adds six new ones: urban agriculture, car-free living, biophilia, human scale and humane places, democracy and social justice, and rights to nature.
The last three imperatives form a new section that deals with equity issues; the intent behind the section is to foster communities "that allow equitable access to all people regardless of physical abilities, age, or socioeconomic status," according to the LBC document. In general, the changes to LBC reflect a desire to extend the system beyond single buildings to address environmental and social issues at a larger scale.
More information is available at www.ilbi.org
Real Estate/Facility Management
Model Green Lease Update for LEED CI
The highly acclaimed Model Green Lease is being updated to accommodate the USGBC's LEED Commercial Interiors rating system. Released in July 2009, after a year of work by a group of savvy commercial real estate professionals, the Model Green Lease has become the template of choice for green lease agreements from Australia to Dubai.
For more information
Real Estate Mgrs Agree to Building Energy Use Label
Major real estate firms have signed up for a pilot program that would help building owners, prospective tenants and buyers ascertain the energy efficiency of a building. The Building Energy Quotient program - Building EQ for short - is administered by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)
To read the complete article
Doing Well By Doing Good? Green Office Buildings A new study by the University of California Energy Institute Center for the Study of Energy Markets (University of California, Multi-Campus Research Unit) For Full Report
Energy Issues - Facility Management In May 2009, Johnson Controls/IFMA published the 2009 Energy Efficiency Report.
Read the entire report
Connecting Productivity to Green Building Based on a study of 500 buildings by the University of San Diego, San Diego, CA and CBRE it was found that employees in a green building are more productive than their counterparts in a standard building. To read the study
Transportation for a New Era Growing More Sustainable Communities Earlier this year, The Urban Land Institute published its research findings focusing on "an historic opportunity to fundamentally rethink how we plan, fund and build our transportation networks". Vist ULI to review the full report
U.S. Green Building Council - Chicago Chapter Releases Post Occupancy Study of LEED ProjectsThe Regional Green Building Case Study Project: a Post-Occupancy Study of LEED Projects in Illinois report summarizes the first year of a multi-year study to analyze the post-occupancy benefits of 25 LEED® certified projects in Illinois related to: energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, water use, construction and operating costs, cost of building green, health and productivity impacts, and occupant comfort.
To read the Report
JLL enrolls entire portfolio to Energy Star Jones Lang LaSalle, Chicago, IL, has become the first leading real estate service firm to enroll 100 percent of its managed property in the EPA's Energy Star program. To read the press release
ULI Report on Climate Change and Alternative Energy Sources The ongoing downturn in the commercial real estate industry has temporarily diminished the importance of climate change and alternative energy sources as a factor in real estate investment decisions, but interest is likely to pick up when the market rallies, according to a survey of U.S. financial industry leaders conducted by the Urban Land Institute (ULI). To read the report
JLL and CoreNet Global announce Sustainable Survey Results Corporate real estate (CRE) executives, whose companies drive demand for office space, are increasingly willing to invest in refurbishing their owned assets to meet sustainability goals, according to the results of the 2009 CoreNet Global and Jones Lang LaSalle sustainability survey.
Click to read the entire report
Energy Efficiency in Real Estate Portfolios
A new report, "Energy Efficiency in Real Estate Portfolios: Opportunities for Investors," says that proven, existing efficiency technologies in everything from lighting to climate control and more can unlock the untapped reserves of efficiency gains buried in many real estate holdings. Those gains would be a boon to real estate investors' bottom lines - both direct property owners like large pension funds and smaller investors who primarily hold real estate securities - even as they make our buildings far less power-hungry and a big part of America's efforts to combat climate change.
The report was commissioned by Ceres and authored by the responsible investment group of the investment consulting business line of Mercer.
To download the report
Finance/Raising Capital Sustainable Investment Initiative Announced by Capital Market Partners On August 18, Capital Market Partners (CMP) launched its Sustainable Investment Initiative with a press conference at the New York Stock Exchange. CMP is a nonpartisan, nonprofit coalition of investors, investment banks, insurers, city, state and federal government, countries, and NGOs who have come together to create a market shift to sustainable investment.
More information on the Sustainable Investment Initiative
Costs/Benefits of Building Green In a study commissioned by The Urban Green Council and conducted by Davis Langdon, The Cost of Green in New York City, found no significant difference in the cost per square foot between green and non-green buildings, based on analysis of luxury high-rise residential and commercial interiors projects. In analyzing the data, the study also discovered that New York City LEED projects exhibit similar patterns of LEED credit achievement; certain credits are commonly achieved and others are rarely pursued. To read The Cost of Green in New York City
Cost of Solar Drops 30% since 1997 The cost to install solar has dropped 30 percent over the past 10 years, according to the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. The study, which looked at more than 52,000 grid-connected systems installed from 1998 to 2008, found that average installed costs fell from $10.80 per watt in 1998 to $7.50 per watt in 2008. To read the DOE Study
Green Building Underwriting Standards The Capital Markets Partnership (CMP) released today the 2.0 Version of its National Consensus Green Building Underwriting Standards©. Improvements to the Standards were incorporated from the results of major financial institutions and real estate portfolio managers scoring about 100 large commercial buildings using the Standards' Green Value Score©: JPMorgan, Comerica Bank, CB Richard Ellis, Jones Lang LaSalle, and Transwestern. Also, Standard equivalency interpretations were made for multifamily and homes. The Green Value Score© no longer scores below 25, but only from 25 to 100 because the market test scoring shows that there is a high degree of certainty that properties scoring 25 or higher increase cash flow for commercial and increase value and reduce expenses for homes.
Wells Fargo Announces New Commercial Group to Focus on Clean Tech Financing Building on its commitment to a better environment and supporting a greener economy, Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) announced a new commercial banking group dedicated to supporting clean tech companies. Based in Palo Alto, Wells Fargo's National Cleantech group will offer customized commercial banking products and services to businesses that manufacture, market or develop clean technology products and services, such as solar and wind power, energy and water efficiency, electric and low-emission vehicles, and smart grid applications. For more information
Renewable Energy Investment to Soar in 2010 Renewable-energy investment may climb to a record $200 billion worldwide next year as companies from Hong Kong's CLP Holdings Ltd. to American Electric Power Co. start projects that don't depend on a new climate-change treaty. Private and public spending on technology such as solar panels and wind turbines will rise about 50 percent from $130 billion this year and top the previous high of $155 billion in 2008, according to Michael Liebreich, chairman of London-based New Energy Finance, a consulting firm whose data is used by the United Nations and Deutsche Bank AG. To read the complete article
Five Step Guide to Financing Roof Top Solar The law firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips has developed a simple guide to financing options for Solar Installation. Five Steps to Solar Financing
Fast Tracking Green Product Patents
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO David Kappos has announced the agency intends to launch a pilot program that will give small entity inventors having two or more patent applications currently pending greater control over the priority in which their applications are examined while also reducing the backlog of unexamined patent applications pending before the USPTO. This pilot will allow a patent application from a small entity to receive special, accelerated status if the applicant is willing to abandon an application that has not been examined. The announcement was made at the 14th Annual Independent Inventors Conference, being held November 5-6 at the USPTO's headquarters in Alexandria, Va.
To read more on the Patent Pilot Program
Market Forecasts
GDP impact by Green Building projected to triple by 2013 While the green building industry added $173 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product from 2000-08, that's just the beginning. From 2009 to 2013, that amount will more than triple to $554 billion, according to a new report from the U.S. Green Building Council and Booz Allen Hamilton. Click to read the report
Green Building Market & Impact Report Green building activity has sustained impressive growth during 2009, amid a brutal construction market that has decimated other segments of the construction marketplace, according to the 2009 Green Building Market & Impact Report published by GreenerBuildings.com, a website produced by Greener World Media. Click to read the report
Retrofitting
With a market potential of $6 billion dollars by 2013 according to Pike Research, it would seem that opportunities will be increasing steadily. View the executive summary of the Pike Research Report on Retrofits
Retrofitting
Green building currently accounts for five to nine percent of the retrofit and renovation market activity by value, which equates to a $2 billion to $4 billion marketplace for major projects, according to a new report from McGraw-Hill Construction. By 2014, this share is projected to grow to 20-30 percent, making it a $10 billion to $15 billion market for major retrofit projects, according to the SmartMarket Report. To purchase the report from McGraw-Hill Construction
Green Energy On September 24, the Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) released the 2008 Green-e® Verification Report. The report shows a 45 percent increase in total Green-e Energy sales volume over the previous year, equivalent to over 13 million MWh of renewable energy generation. This represented over half of all retail renewable energy sales in the voluntary market in 2008. Read the full report
Green Building Materials Forecast NextGen Research reports that the global green building materials market continues to grow, despite the global economic downturn. The worldwide green building materials market was valued at $455.3 billion in 2008, and NextGen Research forecasts it will grow at a CAGR of nearly 5% to reach $571 billion by 2013. Information on Purchasing the Entire Report
Education
The Sustainable Endowments Institute has released its 2010 College Sustainability Report Card comparing 322 schools across the U.S. on how "green" they are, reports College News. Key findings show that 56 percent of colleges earned higher grades that they have in previous reports, while only 13 percent declined slightly in their green performance, according to the Web site. View the report card
Commercial The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) is developing an energy rating system that is making headway with federal and provincial governments. To learn more about the Building EQ program
Commercial New technical support documents from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the DOE national laboratories provide recommendations on how to achieve 50-percent energy savings in general merchandise, grocery store, lodging, and medium office buildings. The documents describe the assumptions, methodologies, and analyses used to reach energy savings over ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2004 in these four key sectors. To access the technical documents
Green Building Products Concrete is the most widely used building material on the planet; however, the production of some of its component materials accounts for up to 5 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions annually. To address the sustainability and environmental implications of the use of concrete as the backbone of our housing, schools, hospitals and other built infrastructure, including highways, tunnels, airports and rail systems, MIT has announced the creation of the Concrete Sustainability Hub, a research center established at MIT in collaboration with the Portland Cement Association (PCA) and Ready Mixed Concrete (RMC) Research & Education Foundation. View the entire press release
Top Ten Green Building Products
BuildingGreen, LLC, publisher of the GreenSpec Directory and Environmental Building News, announced the 2009 Top-10 Green Building Products. This eighth annual award, announced at the U.S. Green Building Council's Greenbuild Conference, recognizes the most exciting products drawn from recent additions to the GreenSpec directory and coverage in Environmental Building News. Building Green's 2009 - Top 10 Products
Searching for Greenwashing at Green Build
With this type of commercialization, the journalists covering the show had been wary of "green washing" but it seems their concerns have been mitigated by valid green products. Click here to read GreenBiz.com's review: SEARCHING FOR GREEN WASHING AT GREENBUILD.
Three Building Products Awarded Recovery Act Funding The Department of Energy last week announced $18 million in funding grants from the recovery act to support innovation coming from small clean energy businesses. Here's a look at three of the recipients focused on the green building industry: Chelix, KaZaK and Trinity Thermal Systems. The technologies developed could find ready customers in the growing U.S. green building retrofit market, which is expected to reach $2.1 billion-$3.7 billion on an annual basis by 2014. To read more details about each product
Green Seal to Expand Scope of Certifications Green Seal, the nonprofit certification group, is celebrating its 20th anniversary by undertaking a dramatic shift in its operations: In addition to continuing to certify individual products and services as environmentally friendly, the group has just launched a company certification pilot project that aims to measure, verify and push for continuous improvement of a company's entire operations. For more information on the pilot program
Residential The Recovery Through Retrofit Report builds on investments made in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) to expand the home energy efficiency and retrofit market. Home retrofits can potentially help people earn money, as home retrofit workers, while also helping them save money, by lowering their utility bills.
To read the Recovery Report
Deloitte Paper - Clean Over Green:
Striking a New Energy Balance as We Build a Bridge to a Low-Carbon Future
A low-carbon future can be possible if policy makers and industry leaders shift their focus from green energy to clean energy, according a new whitepaper from Dr. Joseph A. Stanislaw, a senior advisor to Deloitte and founder of the advisory firm The JAStanislaw Group, LLC. Stanislaw is also co-founder and former president and CEO of Cambridge Energy Research Associates.
In his whitepaper, "Clean Over Green: Striking a New Energy Balance as We Build a Bridge to a Low-Carbon Future," Stanislaw explains that the "all-consuming global obsession with anything green has subsided" and stresses that energy decision makers should "move from breathless anticipation of a green dawn, to the more sober work of systematically and thoughtfully building toward a low-carbon future."
According to Stanislaw, this means pursuing energy options that are clean, not simply renewable and green. Implicit in this is the idea that oil, natural gas and coal have the potential to be clean. "The principle goal of policymakers should be to establish a level playing field that makes it easier to identify the cleanest fuels producible at the lowest cost, while also reducing energy use through efficiency and other technologies," said Stanislaw.
Green Building Market Projections
The combined commercial and residential green building markets should grow nearly 146 percent from 2009 to 2013, according to research from Zpryme. In 2009, the combined markets represented $52.3 billion, but by 2013 the total should be $128.6 billion.
The commercial/institutional market for green building should grow 137 percent from 2009 to 2013, from $26.5 billion to $63 billion.
By sector, public facilities and education are leading 2009 green building activity at 30 percent and 24 percent, respectively. Commercial green building accounts for about 20 percent of the 2009 activity, followed by health care (11 percent) and industrial and R&D (both 5 percent).
From Environmental Leader...Several market research studies released over the past four months forecast high growth in the green building sector over the next three to five years. The latest study from venture capital firm Good Energies Inc. finds that about half of non-residential building stock will be "green" buildings by 2015, up from about 15 percent today, reports the Wall Street Journal. Driving the trend is the realization by many developers that costs are not as high as expected to implement green practices, according to a new study.
Growth in Energy Consultants Market
Pike Research's study, "The U.S. Energy Service Company Market", examines the commercial buildings market by end-use, identifying the solution opportunities for ESCOs and highlighting key industry drivers. The report analyzes the framework for rapid growth in this market, with forecasts that include base case and aggressive growth scenarios through 2020. An Executive Summary of the report is available for free download on the firm's website.
Companies providing energy efficiency consulting services to U.S. commercial building owners are expected to make about $5.6 billion a year. About 75 percent of the revenues come from implementing a suit of energy efficiency measures.
The market is expected to grow by leaps and bounds, however. Pike Research projects 250 percent growth to $19.9 billion by 2020.
To read the executive summary
Legal, Regulatory, and Risk Management
EPA Celebrates 10 Years of Energy Star Buildings Savings
Ten years ago, EPA unveiled a ground-breaking development in energy efficiency for the commercial marketplace - the first Energy Star building. To celebrate this important milestone, EPA is releasing the publication, Celebrating a Decade of Energy Star Buildings, which tells the history behind the Energy Star program and its development into a leading energy efficiency brand in the commercial marketplace. One of the buildings highlighted to demonstrate the diversity of types of Energy Star buildings is Plantation Baptist Church in Plantation, FL. In 1999, Plantation Baptist was the first house of worship to receive an ENERGY STAR plaque.
To read more on Energy Star
NRCA Warns New EPA Rules Could Endanger Construction
The National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) expressed serious concern about an "endangerment finding" issued Dec. 7 by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) because of the ruling's expected effects on construction projects throughout the U.S.
To read the full article from Building Design & Construction
Green Building: Assessing the Risks
In June, strategic broker and strategic risk advisor Marsh released a new report on risk management in green design and construction. The report based on input from construction firms throughout numerous geographic regions focused on that solicited feedback from construction industry executives on the risks that they perceive as arising out of green design and construction across ten risk categories. Read the Marsh Report - registration required.
National Multi Housing Council Analysis of the House and Senate Energy/Climate Change Bills On October 1, The National Multi Housing Council has updated its analysis of the Apartment-Related Provisions in the House and Senate Energy/Climate Change Bills.
To read the Apartment-Related Provision of Federal Energy Legislation
1000 Mayors have signed Kyoto Protocol Pact According to the LA Times... "On Friday (October 2), the outgoing president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors announced that 1,000 mayors across the country had signed on to a pact to meet the Kyoto protocol targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. They also will urge the federal government and the states to cut emissions by 7% from 1990 levels by 2012." Read the LA Times article US Conference of Mayors - Kyoto Protocol Pact Map of Participating Mayors
Risks and Policy Challenges National Institute of Building Sciences Report on Building Rating Systems
In September, the National Institute of Building Sciences Task Group on Building Rating and Certification released its findings from a year long study on current systems in use across the United States for rating and certifying building performance and accrediting individual expertise.
To read the NIBS Report
National Green Building Code In October 2010, the ICC's Sustainable Building Technology Committee met in Philadelphia to continue working on the International Green Construction Code draft.
The Green Building Code would address only commercial development. Last year, the International Code Council and the National Association of Home Builders developed green standards for municipalities and other governing bodies to use for residential construction. To read the report from the October meeting
Standard 189
At the beginning of November, Standard 189 completed the fourth round of public comment. "Standard 189: Standard for the Design of High-Performance, Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings" is slated for mid-February publication, although it has a few more hurdles to clear, including a vote by the development committee members followed by approval from the boards of each of the collaborating organizations. The standards-writing effort is a collaboration of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, USGBC and the Illuminating Engineering Society. "I feel we are close to publication," said Kent Peterson during a press event at Greenbuild. Peterson is chair of the standard's development committee and principal of P2S Engineering in California.
New York City's Greener, Greater Buildings Plan
On December 9 2009, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn announced the passage of landmark legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from existing government, commercial, and residential buildings in New York City. The six-point Greener, Greater Buildings Plan, introduced on Earth Day and enacted as part of PlaNYC, includes four bills that will dramatically reduce the City's energy usage, saving consumers $700 million annually in energy costs, while creating 17,880 jobs and reducing New York City's carbon footprint. In addition to the four pieces of legislation, the six-point plan includes two PlaNYC programs that will train workers for the new construction-related jobs that will be created, and help finance energy-saving improvements using $16 million in federal stimulus funding. The plan will also result in cleaner air, since pollution from boilers, furnaces, and local power plants will also be reduced.
To read the press release
Washington D.C. Clean and Affordable Energy Act Goes Into Effect
Posted by Environmental Leader on December 22, 2009
Building owners in Washington, D.C., will start measuring the energy use of commercial properties on Jan. 1, 2010, under a new law aimed at reducing energy use and costs for building owners and tenants, according to the Institute for Market Transformation (IMT).
Under the new law, the Clean and Affordable Energy Act, passed in 2008, building owners will have to publicly disclose energy ratings starting in 2012, which will give prospective tenants and buyers an easy-to-understand way to compare the energy consumption and operating costs of buildings, according to IMT.
The requirement started with benchmarking public buildings greater than 10,000 sq. ft. in October, which will be followed by commercial buildings greater than 200,000 sq. ft. in January 2010. The requirement rolls out on a graduated schedule so that by 2015, all private buildings greater than 50,000 sq. ft. will be benchmarked annually and ratings made public, according to the nonprofit organization.
The new law also directs all commercial buildings to measure their energy use with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Energy Star Portfolio Manager tool.
Certifications/Standards
Sustainable Sites Initiative
Sustainable Sites Initiative (sustainablesites.org) has released the nation's first rating system for the design, construction and maintenance of sustainable landscapes, with or without buildings. It was developed through a partnership of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and the U.S. Botanic Garden.
The rating system works on a 250-point scale, with levels of achievement for obtaining 40 percent, 50 percent, 60 percent or 80 percent of available points, recognized with one through four stars, respectively.
If prerequisites are met, points are awarded through the 51 credits covering areas such as the use of greenfields, brownfields or greyfields; materials; soils and vegetation; construction and maintenance.
The Sustainable Sites Initiative is dedicated to fostering a transformation in land development and management practices that will bring the essential importance of ecosystem services to the forefront. For purposes of the Initiative, land practices are defined as sustainable if they enable natural and built systems to work together to "meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), a stakeholder in the Initiative, anticipates incorporating these guidelines and performance benchmarks into future iterations of the LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System.
To download the Guidelines and Performance Benchmarks 2009
Living Building Challenge 2.0 Released
The Living Building Challenge is a program initially launched and continues to be operated by the Cascadia Region Green Building Council www.cascadiagbc.org (a chapter of both the US Green Building Council and Canada Green Building Council) and has quickly become the most advanced green building rating system in the world. The program was conceived and authored by Jason F. McLennan, CEO of Cascadia, prior to joining the organization.
The new version consolidates some of the old prerequisites (now called "imperatives") and adds six new ones: urban agriculture, car-free living, biophilia, human scale and humane places, democracy and social justice, and rights to nature.
The last three imperatives form a new section that deals with equity issues; the intent behind the section is to foster communities "that allow equitable access to all people regardless of physical abilities, age, or socioeconomic status," according to the LBC document. In general, the changes to LBC reflect a desire to extend the system beyond single buildings to address environmental and social issues at a larger scale.
More information is available at www.ilbi.org
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