Real Estate Forum - March 2008

Corporate Strategies
By Eric Bowles
Government Leads Green Movement
By Adopting 2030 Challenge Goals

THE DRIVE TO REDUCE THE COUNTRY’S RELIANCE on fossil fuels took a huge leap forward with the passage of the Federal Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) in late December. Tucked away in the new law is Section 433, a provision that has the potential to reverse global warming more than merely reducing gasoline consumption.

This section requires the design of all federal buildings to meet the energy performance standards outlined in the “2030 Challenge,” a design industry initiative that envisions all buildings becoming carbon neutral by the year 2030. This is important when you consider that 40% of total energy usage occurs in buildings. In big cities that lack huge industrial operations, like New York City and San Francisco, almost 80% of energy is expended in commercial and residential structures. There is no deny-

Federal buildings have reduced their energy
intensity by 23% and cut carbon emissions
by 2. 8 million metric tons since 1985.

ing cars are a problem, but buildings are a much bigger one when it comes to carbon emissions.

In 2002, architect Ed Mazria put forth the 2030 Challenge as a path to energy independence in buildings. Additionally, he proposed metrics and incremental goals that can lead to energy savings in the construction and operation of commercial properties. Under the new legislation, the goal for federal buildings is to reduce fossil fuel-generated energy consumption from 2003 levels to the tune of 55% in 2010, 65% in 2015, 80% in 2020, 90% in 2025 and 100% in 2030.

With current technology and smart design changes, those cutbacks can be readily achieved and, when integrated into the building design, will more than pay for themselves over the lifecycle of a building. Future benchmarks may well require new technologies and methods that have yet to be tested. But for now, the huge reduction in energy consumption in the early years of the challenge is well within design and construction capabilities.

It is important to recognize, however, that embracing the energy reductions of EISA is a substantial undertaking for the nation’s biggest landlord. According to a report by

the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive, the federal government owns and leases more than 505,000 buildings covering nearly 3. 9 billion sf.

The groundswell for green architecture has been growing in the public and private sectors for some time. Close to 100 million sf of LEED-certified space had been constructed by mid-2007, and at the beginning of 2008 more than 8,000 commercial projects were seeking certification. The federal government is also making headway, with 542 buildings registered for LEED, according to the OFEE. Total primary energy consumption in 2006 was 18.2% less than it was in 1985 and 5.8% lower than in 2005. The total site-delivered energy consumption in 2006 was 26.9% less than that in 1985 and 7.8% below the 2005 level. Government-owned buildings account for 0.4% of the nation’s energy usage and emit about 2% of all building-related greenhouse gases.

Further, the US General Services Administration is one of nine federal agencies that requires all new construction and substantial renovations to be certified through the LEED green building rating system. The GSA currently manages public buildings with more than 352 million sf of workspace for 1. 1 million federal employees in 2,200 communities.

Overall, federal buildings have reduced their energy intensity by 23% and cut carbon emissions by 2. 8 million metric tons since 1985, according to the OFEE. This is equivalent to removing 2. 1 million vehicles from the road in one year. GSA buildings have reduced their energy intensity by 30% since 1985.

Property managers now have the opportunity to demonstrate that reducing energy usage and our carbon footprint can pay off, not only for the environment, but also for building owners through reduced lifecycle costs. The federal government has taken a strong stance with the adoption of the goals of the 2030 Challenge. It’s a move that the commercial real estate industry should emulate. ◆

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not Real Estate Media or its publications.

Eric Bowles is vice president of CoreNet Global. He may be contacted at ebowles@corenetglobal.org. Stan Kaczmarczyk, principal deputy associate administrator for the US GSA’s office of government-wide policy, contributed to this article. He may be contacted at stan.kaczmarczyk@gsa.gov.