The Business Council on Climate Change Event - Green Opportunities in the Built Environment

Your BOMA Advocacy Team attended The Business Council on Climate Change (BC3) panel presentation on Green Opportunities in the Built Environment, hosted by Swinerton Builders. The event was an overview of ways commercial property owners could reduce their operating costs while reducing their energy and water consumption, garbage output, and their building's carbon footprint. The event speakers included Dan Geiger, Executive Director of the US Green Buildings Council (USGBC); Rich Chien, Private Sector Green Building Coordinator at SF Environment; Megan White, Sustainability Coordinator, WEBCOR Builders ; Eric Corey Freed, Principal of organicARCHITECT; and, Adam Taylor, Green Building Coordinator of Swinerton Builders. Here are a few useful highlights for BOMA members:

Dan Geiger, Executive Director of the USGBC-NCC

Dan Geiger with the USGBC spoke about LEED v3 and the changes to the LEED accreditation program. You can view his presentation here.

Rich Chien, Private Sector Green Building Coordinator at SF Environment

Rich Chien with the SF Environment spoke about a number of energy efficiency programs the department has that can help BOMA members:

• SF Energy Watch Program (a joint program with the department and PG&E) - offers existing buildings new energy-efficient equipment and professional services at a greatly reduced cost. The benefits of the program include: FREE on-site assessment to identify energy savings; expert installation of energy saving equipment; and, lower utility bills over the life of the new equipment.
• SF Green Business Program - helps San Francisco businesses adopt environmental practices that are sustainable as well as profitable. Please click here for more information.
• GoSolarSF - this program was recently presented to BOMA's Government and Public Affairs Committee (GAPAC) by Ed Harrington, General Manager of the SFPUC. Please click here for more information.
• SF Solar Map - An interactive map of solar activity around the city. You can plug in your address to view estimated: solar PV potential, electricity produced, electricity savings, and carbon savings.
• Water Conservation - this was also presented to the GAPAC by the SFPUC. Please click here for more information.
• Deconstruction - Demolition vs. Deconstruction. Deconstruction has cash positive effects through donation value of the material and tax savings. Please click here for more information.

Megan White, Sustainability Coordinator, WEBCOR Builders

Megan White with WEBCOR Builders spoke about energy savings through retrofitting lighting fixtures:

• PG&E offers a number of energy audits for businesses. Please click here for more information.
• PG&E also has a carbon footprint calculator. You can find that here.
• Businesses can save money by switching from the T12 (40 watts) florescent lighting fixtures to the T8 (32 watts) or even the T5 fixtures (24 watts). The T8 and T5 light bulbs consume less energy and give off less heat resulting in net energy savings on air conditioning costs
  
• Other measures include: LED lighting; dimmers; occupancy sensors; wireless lighting controls; LED integrated bulb fixtures; and, pendant (hanging) lighting.

Eric Corey Freed, Principal of organicARCHITECT

Eric Corey Freed with organicARCHITECT discussed water use reduction in plumbing fixtures. It was a fascinating presentation that we are organizing for a future BOMA San Francisco's Environment Committee. Stay tuned!

Adam Taylor, Green Building Coordinator of Swinerton Builders

Lastly, Adam Taylor with Swinerton Builders talked about waste reduction. The take home message was that composting and recycling make economic and environmental sense. Indeed, BOMA San Francisco is supporting San Francisco's Mandatory Recycling and Composting Ordinance.