As 2014 gets left behind, there is much to look forward to in the corporate world for year 2015. With internet technology growing in universal usage, another corporate concept is popularized along with it: Corporate Sustainability (CS). Coming from a branch of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), corporate sustainability zooms in on environmental stewardship. CSR ,as the overarching umbrella, is defined as “the continuing commitment by business to contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the community and society at large” according to theWorld Business Council for Sustainable Development. 

Distributed energy are “small, modular, decentralized, grid-connected or off-grid energy systems located in or near the place where energy is used”(U.S. DOE). For example, cogeneration, also known as Combined Heat and Power (CHP), is a type of distributed energy resource system and generates on-site energy that is practical and compact. Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Combined Heat and Power Installation Database found that California and New York are the nation’s leaders in the total CHP capacity. 

According to a 2012 survey by TripAdvisor, 71% of travelers said they plan on making green choices and half were willing to pay extra to stay at a green hotel. Many hotels have reacted to the demand. Their goals are not simply saving money or water; hotels are trying to “send the right message,” said Steve Choe, general manager of the Intercontinental LA Century City Hotel. Intercontinental Hotels Group aims to provide 4,700 of its hotels a web based tool to help managers track the energy and water use. 

Similarly, Hilton Los Angeles / Universal City completed a $7 million retrofit. The plan was to install short payback projects but the hotel took note of the opportunity to expand its improvements by aiming for LEED certification. Hilton replaced 12,000 light bulbs with efficient LED lighting which is predicted to save the hotel $800,000 annually in its energy bill.

As the US economy expands, so does the need for a constant supply of energy to support it. Predictions made by theInternational Energy Agency (IEA) in its 2011 report sees an upward trend in energy demand due  to population and world GDP growth. 
Electricity rates from the grid are predicted to climb as well due to updated emission standards. Coal and natural gas updated regulations. 

Energy and water have become serious economic, as well as an environmental issues. As electricity and water prices increase due to the unstable supply of non-renewable resources and water shortages, businesses are paying much more for these commodities when compared to recent years. By investing in efficiencies, a business should be more profitable.

The LEED verification program may be another incentive for building owners to increase energy and water efficiency, building construction improvements, and innovative design. The program was established in 1998 and has progressed through several evolutions. It provides four certification categories labeled certified, silver, gold, and platinum.  Is LEED still relevant to the built environment today?

Did you know that the average human being will spend about 90% of their time indoors on an average day? Our interaction with buildings have become a significant part of our daily lives. Going from home to work, we find ourselves sitting indoors most of the time. Therefore, it is no surprise that buildings utilize a substantial amount of energy. With heating, cooling, lighting, and turning on appliances, it creates a lot of carbon dioxide emissions as byproduct. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2012, US heating and cooling for commercial and residential sectors contributed nearly 9% of the total carbon dioxide emissions. This 9% only accounts for emissions caused by heating and cooling, not including electricity usage. Electricity usage alone is such a large number that it has its own sector, making up 38% of carbon emissions, according to the EPA.  To better understand why carbon dioxide emissions cause climate change, please visit here. 

As the world quickly shifts into an environmentally conscious movement, the residential, industrial, and commercial sectors are being struck hard by increasing electricity prices. Electricity prices may be going up for good, according to the LA Times, and reflect 2-3% annually compounded rate increases, over inflation.

Large facilities, like hotels and senior care homes, depend on a lot of electrical energy from the grid, powering hundreds of rooms to accommodate a lot of people. The increases in electricity rates are due to U.S. government’s stringent energy policies being implemented to address rising greenhouse gases that are endangering our global climate.

On May 30, 2013 the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 595 and the NorCal Chapter NECA will celebrate the Grand Opening of the first Zero Net Energy Training Center in the nation.  The ZNE Center will be the educational and training facility for hundreds of apprentice and journey-level electricians, training for sustainable careers in the union electrical industry.

Located in San Leandro, California, the 46,000 sq. ft. tenant improvement project will be the largest zero net energy building in California and the third largest in the U.S

BETTER BUILDINGS MEANS BETTER BUSINESS

High performance buildings are an indicator of a high performance corporation, so better buildings means better business. Retrofitting buildings for high performance lowers operating costs to improve the bottom line and in many cases it can do much more, even if buildings are not the focus of the corporation. Many stories of deep retrofits have demonstrated such value, including the now famously “green” Empire State Building.

The San Diego region’s green office buildings are outperforming their less environmentally friendly counterparts, posting lower vacancy and commanding higher rents so far in 2012, according to a new report by the brokerage firm CBRE.

The overall vacancy rate for green buildings was 4 percent lower than for non-green properties — 11.7 percent, compared to 15.7 percent at the midpoint of 2012. Green buildings commanded an average $2.42 per square foot in gross asking rent, compared with $2.04 for non-green buildings.

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) on March 22 announced that 30 of its federal buildings, totaling nearly 117 million square feet, are participating in a challenge to achieve deep energy savings. The Deep Retrofit Challenge is asking energy service companies to make these buildings more energy efficient using energy service performance contracts (ESPCs). Retrofit projects at these buildings will contribute to the goals of a presidential memorandum on implementing energy savings projects and performance-based contracting. In December 2011, President Obama directed federal agencies to enter into at least $2 billion in performance-based contracts over the next two years to achieve substantial energy savings and create jobs.

Michael Haviland, construction and maintenance superintendent for the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), calls retrofitting the agency’s 50-year-old headquarters building in downtown Sacramento the “ultimate recycling project.”

The $130-million renovation is adding “smart” features like a buildingwide energy management system, interior modifications that allow more natural light to flow throughout each floor, new double-glazed windows with an air space between internal and external glass that improves the building’s thermal performance, updated heating and cooling equipment, LED lighting, and a half-megawatt solar array on the rooftop.