| IN THE December 12, 2011 ISSUE |
DOE Finds that 2010 ASHRAE Standard Cuts Energy Use by 18.5%
| By Susan Piperato, Managing Editor |
Recent analysis by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) shows that buildings meeting a 2010 energy efficiency standard will use 18.5 percent less energy than those using the 2007 version of the standard, helping commercial building owners cut operating costs.
According to the DOE report, “Energy Standard for Buildings, Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings,” the new version of Standard 90.1 will also help building owners achieve sustainability goals and reduce carbon pollution. States must update their building codes to meet or exceed the energy efficiency of the new standard within two years, with certification statements due on October 18, 2013.
EDR Seeks to Ease Sharing of Environmental Data
| By Susan Piperato, Managing Editor |
With sustainable redevelopment becoming commonplace, property owners rely on having accurate historical and current environmental data—which is provided by the burgeoning environmental risk information industry.
The data that is used to determine specific needs for redevelopment projects—including brownfield reclamation and building retrofitting—includes historical aerial photographs, fire insurance and topographic maps; 50-year chain-of-title searches; and searches for environmental liens, city directory listings and past tenants.
NREI spoke with EDR executive vice president of products and marketing James Stanton about EDR’s latest products and services and their impact on the environmental risk information industry.
Square Footage of LEED-Certified Existing Buildings Surpasses New Construction
LEED-certified existing buildings are outpacing their newly built counterparts, according to the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). As of December 2011, total sq. ft. of LEED-certified existing buildings surpassed LEED-certified new construction by 15 million sq. ft. on a cumulative basis.
Other green news include announcements from Liberty Property Trust, ThinkEco, Solidia Technologies, Ackerman & Co., U.S. Energy Group (USE), WNC & Associates Inc. and RREEF Real Estate.
|