With energy efficiency emerging as a leading business consideration, existing buildings have become a centerpiece of the movement. These activities span the commercial and government sectors, which are looking for energy and water audits in order to become more sustainable.

A leading expert on sustainability says companies should consider making investments in energy conservation measures by taking a smart, methodical approach, implementing low-cost or no-cost actions in order to achieve a direct impact on operating costs. “We tell organizations to look at sustainability as a whole,” says Maureen Roskoski, REPA, LEED AP, a senior professional with Facility Engineering Associates PC, which specializes in assisting property managers of existing facilities in achieving sustainability goals. “Sustainability is trying to find the integration of the triple bottom line, the correlation between environment, financial and social. Decide not to focus on one but all three and try to integrate all three.”

We asked Roskoski to break down the ins and outs of implementing sustainability efforts in existing facilities.

Global Corporate Xpansion: What are the benefits and advantages of implementing sustainable initiatives in existing office buildings, and what do businesses need to understand about sustainability?

Maureen Roskoski: The main thing is that there will be some sustainability initiatives that will directly save you money such as energy improvements and decreasing water consumption. Those are things that relate directly to your operating costs.

There are other sustainability initiatives that will have a neutral financial impact or a negative financial impact.

As an organization you need to determine what works best for your facility. Some efforts will save you money and others won't.

GCX: Provide examples of the neutral or negative impacts.

Roskoski: Sustainable purchasing looks at the materials you are using in your facility. For example, costs for copy paper with recycled content have come down to where it doesn't typically cost an exorbitant amount to purchase this paper. When you insert that throughout the organization there will be items that will cost more to meet sustainable criteria.

We find that large organizations with procurement departments will say they have a policy that strives to purchase these materials. But as soon as one product costs more than the other, they won't buy it. And right now outside of paper, a lot of the items do cost more.

GCX: Highlight a project where you worked with an organization to implement sustainable initiatives.

Roskoski: We have done a lot of work with commercial buildings and institutions ranging from sustainability audits to determine baselines and where the organization can improve, to taking people through the LEED building certification process for existing facilities.

I like the energy-efficiency project we did with the National Education Association's (NEA) headquarters building in Washington, D.C. They spent $45,445 including our audit and were able to make changes from the operational side, except in a couple of cases when they bought and installed equipment. In three years the organization realized an energy savings of $365,000 and raised their Energy Star rating from 63 to 77.

Starting in 2007, the NEA took a practical, methodical approach primarily from the energy-efficiency side. For the 470,000-square-foot headquarters the NEA looked at earning LEED certification to demonstrate what they were doing. We started by looking at a prerequisite assessment, determining any major hurdles to attempting LEED certification. Some prerequisites can be difficult for existing buildings, particularly the Energy Star rating. You have to have a minimum Energy Star rating of 69 to attempt certification.

The NEA had a low Energy Star rating but nothing else was really standing in their way so we moved forward with an energy audit to identify areas where they could improve energy efficiency.

We identified low cost to no cost measures, which included operational changes, and some improvements that would require investment. Operational changes included the minimization or elimination of the use of steam humidifiers within 19 air handling units and rebuilt/replaced steam traps. The NEA also set up schedules in the building control system to shut the air handling units off when zones were unoccupied. Low cost measures included installing motion sensors in restrooms and variable frequency drives for cooling tower fans. The NEA also purchased Energy Star equipment.

The organization also began to implement the sustainable initiatives they needed to do in order to earn LEED certification. This included water measures, which has achieved an annual water cost savings of $8,900. The NEA also has a 100 percent sustainable purchasing program.

In February of this year, the NEA submitted for LEED Gold Certification, and hopes to achieve it by the early summer.

GCX: What trends are emerging in regard to sustainability and facilities that businesses should be aware of?

Roskoski: Implementing sustainability initiatives in existing facilities is becoming more important, particularly because of the situation we are in, which has everyone looking at the bottom line.

A lot of people will package things together. If you know there is something you want to do that you think is very important to the environment but is not going to save money, package that in with energy-efficiency projects. Overall, you will be able to show a shorter payback time or show an overall decrease in costs.

Interview by Rachel Duran.

Maureen Roskoski, REPA, LEED AP, is a senior professional with Facility Engineering Associates PC, a national firm headquartered in Fairfax, Va. This nation-wide engineering and facility management consulting firm specializes in assisting property managers of existing buildings to meet sustainability and energy goals. To learn more, visit www.feapc.com.

The Five Most Common Sustainability Measures

Here are a few no-cost or low-cost ways to move forward with sustainability efforts for your existing facility.

1. Energy

The most common initiatives and the easiest method to show a positive financial impact. Examples include setting up schedules within the building control system to shut the air handling units off when zones are unoccupied. Also, use economizer mode on air handling units during cooler weather to avoid running the chiller plants. Install motion sensors in restrooms so lights are always out when the room is unoccupied. You can also purchase Energy Star equipment.

2. Water

This measure includes three areas: domestic water, irrigation and process water. Consider changing the aerators in the faucets in restrooms and kitchens, which will decrease the gallons used per minute because the water flow is less. In regard to irrigation, visit with landscape vendors about planting native plants to use less water. Or review schedules to ensure you are only using water when you actually need it.

3. Sustainable Purchasing

The key is being able to track purchases. Establishing a sustainable purchasing policy can seem straightforward; however, it can be difficult, particularly within organizations that lack purchasing departments. Building occupants have to understand why you are undertaking this process. Determine which purchases meet sustainable criteria and then determine what percentage you are at in sustainable purchasing.

4. Material Handling

This essentially includes the combination of purchasing and waste management. It can be difficult to learn the actual tonnage of waste information from your waste haulers, which is needed for LEED certification. It is important to know this figure to determine where improvements are needed. In regard to recycling and reuse, you can have the most sophisticated recycling program but if people are not putting the right paper in the correct box, it lowers your success rate. This is where tracking comes in because the impact of these efforts can be an abstract number until you determine where you are at and where you want to be.

5. Air Quality and Cleaning

This initiative is important to the health and productivity of occupants. The focus is to create a healthy and comfortable workforce. Green cleaning is becoming the norm. It is important to not just switch to green products, but to look at green cleaning from an entire operational sense. Many of the products require you to do things differently. You need to train staff. Review the equipment, for example, to ensure there is less strain on the staff, such as using backpack vacuums.

Tip: One caveat to sustainability initiatives is to ensure you educate the occupants of the building as to why you are undertaking these initiatives and the impact it will have on your organization. If you tell them how much you are saving per year people are more apt to accept these changes.

Source:  Maureen Roskoski, Facility Engineering Associates PC.