At Home

Green Home offers product suggestions

National Geographic has invested money and time covering the topic of “green”

Product Info

The Green Office collects sustainable products to help your office

EcoLogo offers information on buying green products

GEMI offers tools for companies to strategically plan carbon reduction and best practices

Green Seal Certified office & cleaning products and paints

Waste Management for Industry and Process

Commercial Buildings

Listed below first are websites that may be of use.  Further down the page are more detailed suggestions you may consider in improving your building’s “green scene.” 

Although increasing efficiency is important, and should be pursued, it does not change impacts made to the environment.  Consider choosing products and machinery that are designed for the entire life-cycle, from cradle to grave, or better, cradle to cradle.  Efficiency is not as fun as executing and purchasing things that are good for the environment.

USGBC offers to LEED Certify (a sustainable rating) any existing building, looking specifically at your building’s Operations and Maintenance. 

The Federal Government has increased the mandates for sustainable practice in building construction and maintenance.  The Whole Building Design Guide, a federal website, provides an overview and detailed practices for efficient, high-performance buildings and Facilities Management.

Some suggested considerations:

• Implement a comprehensive Maintenance Program, including staff training.
• Purchase non-toxic, biodegradable cleaning products and supplies.
• Consider teleconferences instead of business travel.
• Reduce, reuse, recycle.  Have a program that encourages occupants to participate.

Operations and Maintenance

It is always important to have long-term Operations and Maintenance plans and schedules.

• Commission your Systems – In most cases, paying for the commissioning of HVAC and lighting systems will be worth the expense.  Payback for such an inspection is usually less than two years, which adds up.  Include your management team in the process.
• Life-Cycle Analysis (LCA) – Several different organizations offer Building Energy Software, one of which is the US-DOE, looking at Life-Cycle Costing, Savings-to-Investment ratio, and Payback period. 
• Athena offers a free EcoCalculator.
• Automated Building Management Systems or Energy Control Systems – Can reduce your energy use by controlling HVAC, electrical, water, and fire protection systems with timed cycling.
• Advanced Metering – Measures energy use over time, and can be used as a benchmark to help diagnose system operations.
• Choose Green Products - Although it’s always important to follow the manufactures’ instructions for maintenance, consider using more healthy products.
• Indoor Air Quality – Poor air quality can affect the productivity of occupants, and may lead to legal problems. 
• Consider the sensitivities of people, and also seek out less toxic, low VOC products for example (i.e. paints, sealants, etc.)
• Do not use nasty chemicals for fertilizers or pest management, indoor or outdoor.  Read how we drink the medications others take through our tap water?  Imagine all the other things we drink.
• Light Fixtures – Lighting uses over 20% of a building’s energy, on average.
• Install occupant sensors (although another fixture that must be maintained)
• Clean luminaries and room surfaces, to increase ambient light
• Reduce ambient light source with low-wattage lamps, and provide task lighting for occupants
• Heating Equipment – Regularly schedule inspections for equipment.  One thing to may do, depending on the heating equipment, is use and electronic combustion gas analyzer to measure equipment exhaust air and determine its efficiency.
• Cooling Equipment –
• Installing and maintaining economizers can cut costs by 20%.
• Be aware of intake locations.  Avoid bringing into building noxious gasses or excessive CO2.
• Clean and repair air filter at least once every six months
• Select refrigerants and equipment with low Global Warming Potential, such as the Hydrofluorocarbon HFC-407C.  Old equipment that use CFCs should be scheduled for replacement.  Natural refrigerants are also available, such as Ammonia.  Check to make sure your refrigerants are not leaking; these chemicals have a huge impact.

This list was compiled with the help of the Federal Energy Management Program.

Other resources:

The Department of Energy provides an outline.

The Department of Energy also provides Life-Cycle Software to measure, for example, rate of return on efficiency initiatives.

Japanese businesses are going to extremes, for example, allowing employees to dress more casually because offices are cooled to 85 degrees Fahrenheit. 

The Clinton Climate Initiative is funneling $5 billion into increasing the efficiency of existing buildings, in specific, identified cities.