From the Editor
One of my favorite emails every year is consultant Jerry Yudelson’s Top 10 green building “megatrends” for the upcoming year. It’s always insightful, interesting, and usually right on the money.

Two items in the list of predictions for 2012 caught my eye as particularly germane to facility managers. First, Yudelson points to an announcement from the U.S. Green Building Council last December that the total square footage of LEED-EBOM certified space now exceeds that of LEED-NC. That’s total; since the dawn of time, or at least the early aughts when LEED first arrived. Surprised? You shouldn’t be. The total number of EBOM projects has eclipsed NC projects every year since 2009, and by an increasingly wide margin.

Even though Yudelson predicts that the green new construction market will recover in 2012, he also says he expects “this trend (of EBOM space outpacing NC space) to pick up in 2012.”

The other interesting item on Yudelson’s list is “performance disclosure will be the fastest emerging trend.” As you probably know, and to which Yudelson alludes, several states have already formed a solid base of precedent for performance reporting regulation. That trend should continue, says Yudelson, and it’s not unreasonable to imagine a near-future scenario where energy-use and other performance data for any building are always available to the public.

What do you think? What do you see as the emerging green building trends for 2012?

Cheers,

Green Strategies
Great Expectations

LEED designs don’t always lead to sustainable operations. But all is not lost. Here are the stories of facility managers who turned energy hogs into energy stars.

In the News
Square Footage of LEED Certified Existing Buildings Surpasses New Construction
The U.S. Green Building Council announced that, for the first time, LEED-EBOM certified square footage totals more than LEED-NC certified square footage.

Green Multimedia
LEED-EBOM: Long-term Sustainability
In this video podcast, Gavin Gardi, sustainable program manager of The Christman Company, explains how his company used LEED-EBOM to promote long-term sustainability on a LEED-NC building that didn’t immediately perform as well as it was expected to.

GreenTech Conference & Exposition

Recertification: The Key to Making Sustainability Sustainable
This presentation from the 2011 GreenTech Conference & Exposition by Michael Arny, president, Leonardo Academy, provides information on LEED-EBOM recertification, including a seven-step process facility managers should follow.