Blogs

It’s easy for facility managers to think of themselves as having a bricks and mortar job. This year’s FMXcellence recognition program shows how accurate that view is — and how limited. Behind all the heavy equipment and sophisticated technology of the projects that received recognition...

The EMD Serono Research Institute, completed in January 2011, is a LEED Gold R&D lab built to enhance collaboration and synergies. Built on a fast-track schedule, the project incorporated occupant feedback throughout the design process while focusing on safety and energy efficiency. Click here to...

No one really wants to say this out loud, but the fact is that a LEED design alone won’t give you an energy-efficient building. Architects don’t want to say it because it sounds like they’re not doing their jobs when they design LEED buildings. The U.S. Green Building Council doesn’t...

This weekend I attended a school fair. For preschools. To my dismay, in Chicago selecting a preschool is much more traumatic than my own college admission process ever was. One new preschool touting itself as a "green" school caught my attention. They had a large photo of the building they're...

To fully protect a building from outside elements, it’s vital to consider the total building envelope consisting of the roof, walls, windows, doors and foundation. If not sealed properly, the envelope can be one of the largest drains of energy and biggest sources of sun and water damage for a building...

In the 13 years since the US Green Building Council developed the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program, the pursuit of LEED points has become an escalating priority for many facilities managers. Many in the field are already familiar with the program’s basic structure. LEED...

Long before there was LEED , long before Energy Star , there was CBECS . The Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey, as CBECS is formally known, provides a statistical baseline for the energy consumption of U.S. buildings. Never heard of CBECS? You’re not alone. But that doesn’t mean...

Architects and design professionals entrusted with historical properties face a unique challenge. Namely, to preserve the authentic appearance of both exteriors and interiors while still achieving modern-day standards of longevity, energy efficiency and protection. Nowhere is this challenge more acute...

The Office of Facilities Management (OFM) within the Oklahoma Department of Central Services ramped up its energy efficiency and sustainability efforts in 2008 with the creation of an Energy unit within FM. Since then, FM has gone after everything from low-hanging fruit to LEED Gold certification and...

The facility department at the Western Michigan University has a longstanding commitment to sustainability. That commitment moved to an even higher level beginning in 2008, when the College of Health and Human Services building earned LEED for Existing Buildings Gold certification. Today, Western Michigan...

Thomas Taylor is general manager of the sustainability consulting firm Vertegy, based in the LEED Platinum Alberici Constructors facility in St. Louis, Missouri . In this interview excerpt, he shares some thoughts about how creative sustainability measures can contribute to both excellence and economy...

The Ashkin Group has been selected to help the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) gather comments regarding revisions to the Version 3 LEED-EBOM (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design—Existing Buildings Operations and Maintenance). According to USGBC, LEED-EBOM helps building owners and...

Is it possible to get LEED credits for re-purposing, recycling, re-marketing or otherwise keeping used office furniture out of the landfill?

I have seen a lot of articles inregards to LEED and am interested in how to get started in achieving certification? Is there a start point I can move forward with? Looking for HELP.

On May 21, 2010, a telephone call informed Roger D Simpson that he had successfully completed the schooling, and testing requirements for the ISSA Green Cleaning Professional credentials. The ISSA (International Sanitary Supply Association) Green Cleaning University is a third-party certification program...

Bibb County Schools had plenty of money for school construction; what it lacked was public confidence that the money would be well spent. To gain that trust - which was crucial to ongoing funding - the capital improvements team established stringent and transparent accounting and procurement standards...

For many, the validity of “green” chemicals is still in question. Are they effective killers, are they really safer, what are the vested interests of their advocates – these are just a few critical questions remaining unanswered. Wherever you stand in relation to green chemicals, it’s...

Please take a second and reply to this poll. Thanks. What type of actions are you taking to assess the ongoing energy performance of your buildings? Energy audits (50%) Retro- or re-commissioning (16.7%) Metering (16.7%) Benchmarking (16.7%) You voted for 'Retro- or re-commissioning'. Total Votes: 6...