Yesterday, our very own President, Sandra Heffernan, LEED AP - BD&C, was the guest speaker at the Fort Worth Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) February luncheon. Heffernan presented The Economics of Sustainability to attendees. The luncheon was held at the historic Fort Worth Petroleum Club located on the 40th Floor of the Carter Burgess Plaza building in downtown Fort Worth, Texas. Amazing panoramic views of the metroplex by the way. The luncheon was very well attended and attendees seemed to really enjoy the presentation content. A...
How Companies Can Make Buildings Greener and Better
We wanted to share a good article with you from earlier today, How Companies Can Make Buildings Greener and Better originally published in GreenBiz. In addition to LEED, the article also details two newer building performance/sustainability standards - the ZigBee Building Automation Standard and the ISO 50001 certification program.
“…collaboration between businesses, academia and governments is crucial to addressing the energy dilemma the world faces today. Over time, these collaborations will help to make buildings better. By better, we mean not just more efficient and...
Top 10 LEED States for 2011
USGBC released, last week, the list of top U.S. states for LEED-certified projects in 2011. As you can imagine, the press release and story has been picked up and reported on by all of your standard sustainability news outlets. The statistics are based on sqaure footage/per capita. Included in the Top 10 list is Texas. Sustainable Partners is honored to have contributed mutliple LEED-certified projects last year to the states’ total - 50,001,476 square feet.
From the press release ,“Looking past the bricks and mortar, people are at the heart of what buildings are...
Parkland Hospital Recycles Water for Huge 'Green' Savings
In case you missed it, WFAA aired a story this week about how Parkland Hospital is recycling laundry water, saving the hospital thousands of dollars and gallons of water annually. According to the article, the hosital washes 10 Million pounds of laundry a year (and you thought your pile of laundry was daunting!) Based on sustainability intiatives, the hospital is saving 15 million gallons of water a year - a reduction of around 70%! The system should pay for itself in around 3 years according to hospital spokespersons. The water is cleaned and disinfected and even exposed to ultraviolet light to purify it.
To read the full story, visit ...
How McDonald's is Mainstreaming Sustainability
Earlier today, we came across an interesting article in Green Biz titled How McDonald’s is Mainstreaming Sustainability. Think about this statistic - approximately 64 Million people eat at McDonald’s each day - yes day. That is an incredible volume of food. So, where is all that food coming from? According to the article, McDonald’s and their sustainability team are focusing on more sustainable operations. Everything from how and where food sources are raised to the buildings the food is served in. There are certianly those that have there doubts as to just how serious McDonald’s is about being more sustainable. Charges of...
2011 - A Look Back
As another holiday season fast approaches, we at Sustainable Partners would like to thank all of our wonderful clients for making 2011 a great year for us. What a blessed year it was. As President, I would also like to personally thank my employees who have worked so hard for our company and our clients.
This year has been very interesting in the environment/sustainability market. Business customers, investors, and stakeholders in corporations have shown a growing desire to connect a company’s financial performance to its social and environmental impact. The “triple bottom line” is no longer an emotional decision, but incorporated into the role of the CFO...
2011 Green Building Market Report
The findings of the fourth annual Green Building Market & Impact Report show that LEED buildings continue to grow – although at a slower pace than hoped. Among the other top-level findings of this in-depth report include a look at the rapid expansion of Green Building Councils around the globe, how LEED for Homes defies expectations, as well as a look at how LEED buildings save energy, cut carbon dioxide, reduce commutes, save water, and much more.
According to the Executive Summary, Green building is here to stay: International continues its gains After last year...
Bridging the LEED design/operations gap
This week we came across a very good article in Building Operating Management magazine. The article, Great Expectations, written by Greg Zimmerman, details how its up to Facility Managers to bridge the gap between the goals of LEED designs and the realities of sustainable operation.
This is something we share with our clients on a daily basis. A LEED NC certification is not an automatic pass when it comes to LEED EBOM compliance. The article gives several examples of just how true this is.
From the article…”As...
Renewable Energy
Every week it seems, we learn about another successful renewable energy project. Case in point, the city of Cedar Hill, Texas. The city installed 480 solar panels on the roof of the city’s municipal office. With the assistance of federal, state and utility programs, the $1.2 million system cost the city only $21,000. According to the city, the solar energy system is on track to pay back the taxpayer investment by its 1st anniversary in July 2012 - a 1 year ROI.
Just last week, Galleria North Tower Two, a Sustainable Partners LEED project, purchased 62.5% renewable energy...
Recycling Facility Tour
Earlier this week, everyone in our office had the opportunity to tour the Balcones Recycling Facility located in Farmers Branch. Before taking the tour, we met with several companies representatives who educated us on Balcones and their operations. Balcones Resources only services corporation/industrial clients in the Dallas/Fort Worth market, leaving residential, single stream recycling to other vendors in the area. As a result, the facility was much cleaner then other facilities we’ve toured. The tour was incredibly interesting and educational, and we’ve attached several pictures from our time there. Aside from the traditional commodities (paper, cardboard, plastic, etc.), there were some...
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