Here’s the latest on what’s happening in advocacy at BOMA local associations around the country:
Headlines
Los Angeles Leads the Country in Achieving ENERGY STAR® Labeled Buildings 3/31/11
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently released its list of cities with the greatest number of energy–efficient buildings that earned EPA’s ENERGY STAR® certification in 2010. Los Angeles leads the pack with 510 ENERGY STAR labeled buildings, followed by Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Chicago and New York. More than 6,200 commercial buildings earned the label last year, an increase of nearly 60 percent compared to the previous year. Commercial buildings that earn the ENERGY STAR rating must perform in the top 25 percent of buildings nationwide compared to similar buildings and must be independently verified by a licensed professional engineer or registered architect each year. ENERGY STAR certified buildings use 35 percent less energy and emit 35 percent less carbon dioxide than average buildings.
Is your city one of the top performers? Want to increase your city’s standing? Visit BOMA International’s sustainability resource center to assist you in benchmarking your building’s energy performance. Once you benchmark your building, share your data with BOMA International’s Master Account using EPA’s Portfolio Manager and join your colleagues as BOMA STARS.
Commercial Real Estate Advocates Storm Austin 3/3/11
Commercial real estate advocates from across Texas converged on Austin last week for Texas BOMA’s annual Advocacy Day. The event included grassroots training and provided members with an opportunity to present their positions to their state legislators. This year, advocates focused on three issues: mandatory sales price disclosure and appraisals cap requirements, transfer taxes and green incentives.
Members had the opportunity to hear from Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst and Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, Representative Harvey Hilderbran. Texas BOMA was also formally recognized by both the House and the Senate for commercial real estate’s $7.8 billion contribution to the state’s economy. "Texas BOMA is the authoritative voice of commercial real estate for office and industrial properties in the State of Texas," said Karrie McCampbell, president of Texas BOMA. "That voice was heard loud and clear with over 100 property professionals delivering the industry’s message in Austin."
BOMA Launches New Grassroots Advocacy Tool 2/17/11
This week, BOMA International launched a new online advocacy toolthat willenable BOMA to be more effective in its grassroots efforts at the federal, state and local levels. The new and improved Legislative Action Center will enable BOMA to better target elected officials and certain issues that require grassroots action. In addition, the new site now gives BOMA International members the ability to donate to BOMAPAC online through the BOMAPAC Action Center. This new resource gives members access to a secure portal allowing for quick and seamless processing of their credit card donation electronically. BOMA Local Association Executives will still be able to have their own action alerts on important issues at the state and local level posted to the site.
BOMA STARS Resource Center Helps PMs Benchmark their Buildings 2/17/11
BOMA International’s new BOMA STARS initiative helps members promote the importance of benchmarking their portfolio’s energy management data by using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager and sharing that data with BOMA. Sharing your energy management data with BOMA allows us to highlight the significant strides that the industry has taken over the years in reducing its energy consumption. The BOMA STARS resource center provides members with all of the necessary tools they need to begin benchmarking their portfolios. It will be updated regularly with new information and will highlight those companies that are propelling our industry towards market transformation.
Visit the BOMA STARS resource center.
State and Local Update 1/10/11
Here’s the latest on what’s happening in advocacy at BOMA local associations around the country.
Members of BOMA Philadelphia’s Code & Legislative Committee recently scored a win following a meeting with the City’s Fire Department to express industry concern over the city’s adoption of the 2009 International Fire Code. Chapter 46 of the Code requires all new and existing high rise buildings to mark the emergency exit stair towers with photo luminescent paint or tape. Existing buildings were grandfathered into previous code changes of this magnitude. After reviewing the proposal, the Fire Department felt comfortable with BOMA’s position and amended the requirement to exempt those buildings where a sprinkler system is installed. The department also exempted those buildings where exit stairway lighting is connected to an emergency generator or other secondary power source.
BOMA Capital Region achieved a legislative victory when New York Governor David Paterson vetoed legislation in December that would have broadened prevailing wage requirements. The original bill would have placed a considerable financial hardship on building owners and managers through increased operational expenses. Through its lobbying efforts, BOMA Capital Region had been successful in getting third-party leases exempted from the original bill, but its goal was ultimate defeat. With the governor’s veto, the association scored a win.
State and Local Update 9/22/10
BOMA Greater Minneapolis and BOMA St. Paul Launch Energy Challenges
BOMA Greater Minneapolis and BOMA St. Paul, in partnership with Xcel Energy, recently launched Kilowatt Crackdowns, energy conservation initiatives which challenge the commercial real estate industry to improve energy efficiency, in their cities. Since energy represents the single largest operating expense for commercial buildings, efforts to reduce energy usage make good business sense as well as good environmental sense. Louisville, Portland and Seattle have similar competitions.
Participation in the competition is based on building size and buildings must be a minimum of 30,000 square feet. BOMA and Xcel Energy will provide participants with free assistance by helping benchmark buildings through the EPA’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager Tool. They are also working together to locate stimulus funding and utility rebates to offset the cost of improvements. Improvements can be made throughout 2011 providing participants with time to adequately budget, schedule and implement efficiency plans. Top performers will be awarded in the spring of 2012. Awards are based on three categories: highest performing buildings, most improved performance and most valuable tenant.
Federal Sustainability Checklist in Portfolio Manager: Compliance with E.O. 13423:
Are you looking for a way to differentiate your property to federal tenants? Whether you have federal tenants now, or plan to attract them in the future, enhance your leasing strategy to include compliance with the requirements of Executive Order (EO) 13423. This order raises the bar for energy performance in several areas, requiring federal agencies to reduce greenhouse gases through a reduction in energy intensity of 3 percent a year or 30percent by the end of fiscal year 2015.
EPA's ENERGY STAR program, DOE's Federal Energy Management Program, and the General Services Administration have partnered together to incorporate the Federal High Performance Sustainable Buildings Checklist (known as the “Guiding Principles Checklist under EO 13423”) into Portfolio Manager. View more information from ENERGY STAR, including an overview of using the checklist feature in Portfolio Manager. EPA is also hosting a series of training sessions on generating a Federal High Performance Sustainable Buildings Checklist in Portfolio Manager. Go to https://energystar.webex.com to register for the next session or view a recorded training.
State and Local Update 8/26/10
Last week, BOMA/Dallas hosted the city’s Mayor Tom Leppert at its August Membership Meeting. During the meeting, Mayor Leppert discussed the impact of Dallas’s budget shortfall on city services and his overall plan to improve the city’s economy. Commenting on the Mayor’s speech, Ray Mackey, BOMA International’s Chair and Chief Elected Officer said “The recession has placed tremendous pressure on city coffers as sales tax revenues and property tax values have declined at a time when demand for city services has never been higher. Mayor Leppert’s relentless focus on transparent government, maintaining competitive property tax rates and fostering a business friendly culture will fuel additional job growth and set the stage for continued improvement in both city finances and real estate fundamentals.”
BOMA/Anchorage recently launched an advocacy campaign to educate elected officials on the impact of changes to the city’s building and land use codes on the commercial real estate industry. If enacted today, changes to Title 21, the specific municipal code, would change the way Anchorage’s property owners do business. BOMA Anchorage has followed the Title 21 rewrite process for several years and has worked extensively with the city’s Planning Department on changes to the rewrite. The association also established a committee to perform a chapter-by-chapter review of the rewrite, identify problems and create recommendations for change.
Free 2010 BOMA International Issues Reports!
In order to make room for the 2011 Issues Report, BOMA International is offering copies of the 2010 Issues Report (shipping costs apply). If you wish to receive free copies of the report, please send your requests, along with quantity desired and shipping address, to Joel Corley (jcorley@boma.org). All requests will be filled on a first come, first serve basis, until all copies have been distributed. Get ‘em while they last!
Budgets and Green Codes Dominate State Policymakers´ Agenda
State legislators gathered in Louisville this week at the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) Annual Meeting to discuss innovative solutions to the biggest problems facing the states. The recession and its impact on state budgets was the meeting´s dominant theme. States faced a collective budget gap of at least $83.9 billion during enactment of their FY 2011 budgets. As a result, state legislatures were prompted to increase taxes and fees for the ninth consecutive year as they worked to shore up state budgets. More gaps are expected in the next two years.
NCSL´s Environment Committee postponed debate on a "Greening the Built Environment" policy until their Winter Meeting. The resolution called on the federal government to enact legislation to promote states´ and localities´ adoption of the International Green Construction Code (IGCC) as a base code and the consideration of ASHRAE 189.1 as a compliance path within the IGCC. It also calls on Congress to encourage energy efficiency in commercial buildings. BOMA staff has already reached out to NCSL to educate their members through a formal presentation on this resolution´s impact on commercial real estate. The U.S. Conference of Mayors endorsed a similar resolution calling on local governments to adopt the IGCC at its annual meeting in June.
U.S. Conference of Mayors Endorses Green Code
The U.S. Conference of Mayors passed a resolution endorsing a draft of the green code, known as Version 1.0., during its annual meeting in Oklahoma City this week. The resolution calls on local governments “to take a more holistic approach to incorporating energy efficiency in residential and commercial building, sustainable community planning and healthy and safe building practices into the codes to adopt the International Green Construction Code (IGCC) and consider its Standard 189.1 compliance path as base code in their jurisdiction.”
The International Code Council, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, American Institute of Architects, American Society for Testing and Materials, the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America, and U.S. Green Building Council launched the IGCC with Standard 189.1 as an optional path to compliance for states and local governments striving to write minimum requirements for building design, construction and operation practices that incorporate an expanded view of safety into building codes. BOMA International does not support the resolution as a baseline code for all buildings. During the meeting, the group also called upon state legislatures to adopt legislation to allow for Energy Financing Districts to be established in their states and encouraged its members to use those districts as a means to finance the retrofitting of existing buildings.
Houston BOMA Renews Partnership with USGBC Houston (5/20/10)
Houston BOMA recently announced the second year of its partnership with the Houston Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council. The purpose of the collaboration is to educate and promote sustainable and green programs to their members in the commercial building industry. The organizations plan to create educational offerings specifically aimed at migrating properties towards LEED® EB along with the necessary administration tools to retain certification. Additionally, they will continue to improve sustainability with smart, cost effective, sustainable practices that can be administered by property managers.