Despite Economy, Greening of Building Portfolios Remains a Priority
(BOSTON—Nov. 19, 2008) Despite a faltering economy, commercial building owners are continuing to allocate funds and resources to green their portfolios. According to the “2008 Green Survey: Existing Buildings,” the second annual national survey of the commercial real estate sector, more than 80 percent of respondents have allocated funds to green initiatives this year, while 45 percent said that their sustainability investment will increase in 2009. Findings of the study by Incisive Media’s Real Estate Forum, the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International and the US Green Building Council were released today at Greenbuild 2008, the annual conference and expo sponsored by the USGBC. Complete reporting on the survey appears in the November issue of Real Estate Forum magazine, online at GlobeSt.com (www.globest.com) and in the January/February 2009 issue of The BOMA Magazine.
Other findings included the following:
– Energy conservation is the most widely implemented green program in respondent properties, followed by recycling, water conservation and ENERGY STAR® product programs.
– 60 percent of those polled offer educational programs to assist tenants in implementing green programs, up from 49.4 percent last year.
– Almost 70 percent of survey respondents have implemented some type of benchmarking system to monitor energy usage and efficiency, while 80 percent say that their energy efficiency efforts have helped defray rising energy costs.
– Almost 65 percent of respondents feel that their green investments have generated a positive ROI, up from 60.8 percent in 2007
“The survey findings further support the critical role of energy efficiency and sustainability in the existing building market,” said BOMA International Chair and Chief Elected Officer Richard D. Purtell, portfolio manager, Grubb & Ellis Management Services, Inc. “The energy and cost savings, coupled with healthy return on investments, are showing that green investment in commercial buildings is a smart business decision in any economic climate. The survey focused on the application of green methodologies and technologies in existing commercial buildings and on the financial and marketing benefits of these efforts. It was distributed to Incisive Media’s national database of ownership, investment and operational entities, as well as to BOMA International’s members.
To obtain a copy of the complete survey and results, visit www.globest.com/green. For additional information, contact Josh Simon, (212) 929-7044, josh.simon@incisivemedia.com.
Incisive Media publishes Real Estate Forum; GlobeSt.com, the industry’s leading daily news Web site; and the regional magazines Real Estate Florida, Real Estate New Jersey, Real Estate New York and Real Estate Southern California. Its two targeted e-newsletters focus on the tenant-in-common and net lease sectors of the commercial real estate industry. REM also produces the RealShare conferences, a series of regional and national events targeted to commercial real estate professionals.
About BOMA International
Founded in 1907, the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International is the leading association representing the existing building stock through an international federation of more than 100 local associations and affiliated organizations. The 17,000-plus members of BOMA International own or manage more than 9 billion square feet of commercial properties in North America and abroad. BOMA is a leader in sustainability and energy efficiency and has developed a number of groundbreaking initiatives that include: the award-winning education programs, the BOMA Energy Efficiency Program (BEEP) and the Sustainable Operations Series (SOS); the 7-Point Challenge, which challenges building owners and managers to reduce their energy consumption by 30 percent by 2012, based on an average building rating 50 on the ENERGY STAR® benchmark, and has over 100 endorsing member companies and associations; and involvement in founding the Commercial Real Estate Energy Alliance (CREEA) in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy. On the Web at www.boma.org.
About USGBC The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is a non-profit composed of leaders from every sector of the building industry working to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work. Its more than 11,000 member organizations and the network of 75 regional chapters are united to advance our mission of transforming the building industry to sustainability.
About Incisive Media
Incisive Media is a leading global provider of specialized business news and information, in print, in person and online. The company’s principal markets include commercial real estate, financial services, legal services, marketing services and risk management. Incisive Media’s market-leading brands include Accountancy Age, Computing, Investment Week, Legal Week, Post, Real Estate Forum and The American Lawyer. For more information, visit www.incisivemedia.com.
