From the Editor
Happy 2009! While there is certainly a lot to look forward to in this new year, the bright-eyed optimism that usually accompanies the calendar flip may be slightly tempered by continued reports on the worsening economy. By any standard, it’s almost certainly going to be a challenging year.

But the question is, with the tanking economy forcing upper managers to slash budgets, will green strategies be among those on the chopping block? Despite facility executives’ best efforts to show otherwise, do C-suiters still see sustainability as an unnecessary luxury, or a “personal virtue”?

Even facility executives’ best defense for green, return on investment, may not hold as much water in a down economy. Upper managers may veto even small investments, even though they’ll pay for themselves quickly because facility executives are supposed to be cutting, not spending.

Facility executives may have to get creative. See if you can use the money saved from operational changes to make small technology investments with solid ROIs. Commission systems to optimize efficiency. Solicit occupant suggestions on ways to cut operating costs. Show how green can be a way to raise employee morale in an increasingly frightening workplace. Overall, come up with a plan for illustrating unequivocally how important green is for your organization.

I wish you way more than luck!

Cheers,

Greg Zimmerman, editor

Green Strategies
Five Steps to a Successful Energy Audit
Here are tips that can help ensure that energy investments hit their bottom-line targets.

In the News
CSI Introduces Green Product Database
The Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) has introduced GreenFormat, a Web-based database of green-product information designed for facility managers to better evaluate green-product information.

Green Toolkit
Commissioning Guide
This in-depth guide from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) provides a wealth of information for bringing existing equipment back into optimal efficiency – one of the first strategies that should be considered to cut operating costs without capital-level upgrades. The guide provides tips on everything from training operators to measuring and verifying results.

Green Pulse
Will the poor economy affect your plans to go green?
- No, we’re continuing with our sustainable strategies.
- We’ll have to scale back a little.
- We’re completely gutting anything green-related.

Click here to answer and view results.

GreenTech Conference & Exposition

Sustainability in Existing Buildings: How to Use LEED and The Triple Bottom Line to Green Your Facility
This presentation from NFMT 2008 illustrates how using sustainable strategies can add value to an organization.