Luncheon Hosted by Mayor Newsom and USGBC-NCC Highlights Empire State Building Sustainability Retrofit

Your BOMA Advocacy Team attended the Coast2Coast Deep Green Retrofitting luncheon on January 8, 2010 hosted by Mayor Gavin Newsom and USGBC-Northern California Chapter with presentations by Mayor Newsom, Empire State Building owner Tony Malkin, USGBC founder David Gottfried, and others.  The luncheon was held to detail how the Empire State Building team is working to sustainably retrofit the iconic structure and inspire other existing commercial building owners in the Bay Area to consider moving in the same direction.

The Empire State Building is undergoing a major sustainability retrofit to become a leading example of economic and environmental revitalization.

  Consulting, design, and construction partners Clinton Climate Initiative, Johnson Controls Inc., Jones Lang LaSalle, and Rocky Mountain Institute recently completed an eight-month modeling and analysis project which will save 38 percent of the building's energy and $4.4 million annually.
  Please click here to view the case study.

BOMA San Francisco members have been leading the way to reduce the impact commercial office buildings have on the environment since 1987.  BOMA San Francisco's Energy & Environment Committee, one of the largest and most active committees within the BOMA membership, is intimately involved in promulgating environmentally sustainable business practices in the commercial real estate industry.  In fact, BOMA has long been a leader in promoting sustainable practices in commercial office buildings:

• Our High Rise Recycling Program began in 1987 and helped bring the city to a nearly 70% waste diversion rate.
  
• BOMA created a green lease, written to engage tenants in taking more responsibility for conserving energy use within their leased premises. 
• BOMA’s Energy Performance Contract was developed in concert with the Clinton Climate Initiative designed to stimulate investment in energy saving equipment.
• BOMA’s 7-Point Market Transformation Challenge was designed to reduce energy consumption in commercial buildings 30% by 2012.
• The BOMA Energy Efficiency Program – a series of six courses, was developed in concert with EPA, designed to improve operating efficiency and to benchmark energy use.  
• BOMA San Francisco’s Earth Awards program grades building performance across critical domains such as Recycling, Composting, Waste Reduction, Toxics and Air Quality Management, Environmentally Preferable Purchasing, Energy Conservation, Water Conservation, Energy Efficient Transportation, and Tenant Education. 
• Our local partnership with the U.S. Green Buildings Counsel to encourage our members to obtain individual LEED Accredited Professional certification, as well as to get their buildings LEED Certified.
• Energy Crisis Assistance – During the 2002 energy crisis, BOMA San Francisco provided energy conservation tips to building owners and their tenants.  For its efforts, BOMA was honored with the Governor’s “Flex your Power” award for outstanding leadership in energy conservation.  To that end, BOMA developed a web resource to provide energy conservation tips and information energy rebate and incentive programs. 
• BOMA helped craft and strongly supports the City’s Construction & Demolition Debris Recycling Ordinance. 
• BOMA recently introduced the BOMA 360 Performance Program, a groundbreaking new program designed to validate and recognize commercial properties that demonstrate best practices in all major areas of building operations and management. 
• BOMA San Francisco members took a leading role in crafting Mayor Newsom's Existing Building Efficiency Task Force recommendations.

The BOMA San Francisco Advocacy Team would like to thank the USGBC and Mayor Newsom for hosting this very informative and well-produced event.