Greenbuild 2009

Greenbuild 2009: Notes from the Field

Source: Institute of Real Estate Management

In case you missed Greenbuild 2009, we had you covered! IREM was represented at Greenbuild in Phoenix, AZ, by several IREM Headquarters staffmembers and the IREM SVP in charge of sustainability initiatives for 2009, Madeleine Abel, as well as the sustainability SVP for 2010, Beth Machen.

Madeleine presented a well-attended Sector Partner update on Wednesday, November 11, titled "IREM: Supporting Green Management." She took the audience through the Institute's sustainability initiatives and products, including IREM Key Report: A Practical Guide to Green Real Estate Management and the course "Sustainable Real Estate Management" (SRM001), now available in classroom format through chapters and online.

Questions from the audience focused on:

• Ways in which real estate managers can immediately implement sustainable management practices.
• Benchmarking, including the Institute's plan to include green buildings in data collection for IREM Income/Expense Analysis Reports.
• A desire for case studies that show how properties have lowered costs and attracted tenants and residents by "going green."
• Green leasing, and ways to incorporate clauses related to sustainability in commercial leases. Beth provided an excellent resource for those interested in green leasing: http://www.bepinfo.com/product.aspx?pid=12

The California Sustainability Alliance also has some great materials: http://sustainca.org/green_leases_toolkit

A session titled "The Politics of Green Building" offered the perspectives of three people who have advocated for wise energy and green policy, including incentives and building codes, at the local level. These professionals had worked with coalitions of individuals and organizations in Austin, TX, Seattle, WA, and Washington D.C. on green incentives in the allocation of low income housing tax credits, building codes related to energy efficiency, and, in Washington D.C., a comprehensive Green Building Act. Each speaker emphasized getting involved, forming relationships, and educating legislators on policies that make sense.

For more information on building codes and incentives for energy efficiency upgrades, go to the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency: http://www.dsireusa.org/

By the opening plenary, a theme of the conference, especially in terms of IREM's participation, had emerged: the green building movement has shifted its focus from design to operations, and real estate professionals in the green building movement will look to property managers to ensure that green buildings perform to potential. As Rick Fedrizzi put it his speech as Chase Field before Al Gore hit the stage, you can drive a Prius, but if you don't drive it well, it's not going to get the gas mileage you desire. Access Al Gore's keynote address.

Want to see a cool Web site? Arizona State University, which hosted a session on campus, is doing some amazing research on solar technology. They also have several campus solar installations, and ASU Campus Metabolism tracks their performance: http://cm.asu.edu/ (Click on "New: Renewable Energy Data" on the left to see real-time statistics on solar-generated energy.)

John Klein, author of IREM Key Report: A Practical Guide to Green Real Estate, hosted a panel discussion on achieving results in green multifamily housing with his associate at JDM Associates Deborah Cloutier. Also participating in the panel discussion were Nicholas Stolatis, CPM of TIAA-CREF and Doug Walker of UDR. The panel received many questions from the audience on benchmarking energy performance, using ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, now available for residential properties, and working with residents and owners on green initiatives.

If you're interested in learning how one of the most famous properties achieved far more than expected in its challenge to retrofit a pre-war building to become sustainable, visit the story as shared in detail at http://www.esbsustainability.com/. The public is provided full access to the entire planning and implementation processes as managed by Jones Lang LaSalle.

BuildingGreen, LLC, publisher of the GreenSpec Directory and Environmental Building News (EBN), announced its eighth annual Top-10 Green Building Products at a session during the conference. The list recognizes the most exciting products drawn from recent additions to GreenSpec and coverage in EBN. To read more about these and other green products, visit www.BuildingGreen.com.

1. Kingston Block Pozzotive Plus CMUs & Brick-an alternative for regular concrete block.
2. Thermafiber Mineral Wool-an alternative for polystyrene insulation.
3. Invelope Integrated Wall & Rainscreen System-an alternative for commercial exterior wall systems, and a product that has earned Cradle to Cradle certification at the Silver level.
4. Baltix Recycled-Content and Biobased Furniture-an alternative to standard furniture.
5. Project FROG Modular Classrooms-an alternative to other modular classroom systems (I had just recently learned about them at Opportunity Green in Los Angeles, where Project FROG participated as a contestant in the OG25 contest, which Kevin briefly reviewed here).
6. Rheem HP-50 Heat Pump Water Heater-an alternative to standard electric water heaters.
7. Convia Energy Management Infrastructure-an alternative to standard lighting systems in commercial spaces.
8. Pentadyne GTX Flywheel-an alternative to lead-acid batteries for data centers.
9. Silva Cell from Deep Root Partners-this is a tree protection and storm water infiltration system which helps urban centers grow healthy trees.
10. Mobile Solar Power Generator-an alternative to diesel or gasoline portable generators for jobsite use.

The U.S. Green Building Council has made presentations and video from education sessions and forums available for purchase.