Earth Day is now in the rearview mirror, but that doesn’t mean you should focus any less on fostering sustainability in your facilities. In that respect, BOMA offers five tips to expand active efforts in efficiency and resilience that are easy to enact throughout the year.
“BOMA International has long been committed to supporting sustainability in commercial real estate through educational offerings and innovative programs, such as the BOMA Energy Performance Contracting Model,” says BOMA International Chair Brian M. Harnetiaux, Senior Vice President of Asset Management at McCarthy Cook. “Not only do property professionals greatly impact how efficiently buildings are run, but they also are ideally positioned to keep their tenants and communities informed of current green best practices.”
BOMA posits the following five tips to better facilitate a sustainable future:
1) Add a green section to your newsletter. Integrating sustainability tips in your communications plan can help spark and reinforce green behavior. Suggestions for waste reduction, lower energy use and recycling programs can be a simple yet effective addition to facility-wide announcements.
2) Discuss sustainability goals. Have conversations with tenants and occupants to support sustainability on an individual level. Find ways to facilitate what they are already doing and hope to do in the future.
3) Share sustainability successes. If you are able to find ways to improve energy usage, reduce waste or win any sustainable recognition, share these successes. Doing so sends a positive message to building occupants about maintaining an efficient environment.
4) Improve your signage. Green features serve little purpose if nobody knows they exist. Make sure they are clearly visible for use. BOMA cites examples of easy-to-locate bike racks and a list of acceptable materials for recycling next to bins.
5) Host a recycling event. An event that engages building occupants and the rest of the community can provide a successful means to reduce waste, especially if people can drop off items that are more difficult to recycle, such as batteries, LED light bulbs and old computers and printers, according to BOMA.
