BOMA Intl. Awarded 2009 ENERGY STAR^® Sustained Excellence Award

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded the Washington, D.C.-based Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) Intl. a 2009 ENERGY STAR^® Sustained Excellence Award in recognition of its continued leadership in protecting the environment through energy efficiency. BOMA is the only real estate association to receive this honor for 3 consecutive years. The winners will be recognized at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., on March 31, 2009.

BOMA Intl., an ENERGY STAR partner since 2005, will be honored for its long-term commitment to helping building owners and managers reduce energy use by promoting energy management practices through the BOMA Energy Efficiency Program (BEEP). BEEP is an innovative operational excellence program that teaches commercial real estate professionals how to reduce energy consumption and costs with proven no- and low-cost strategies for optimizing equipment, people, and practices. To date, more than 14,000 commercial real estate professionals have participated in the BEEP seminars.

BEEP is part of BOMA’s overall Market Transformation Plan and 7-Point Challenge, which aims to reduce energy consumption by 30 percent by 2012 across real estate portfolios, as measured against an average building measuring a 50 on the ENERGY STAR benchmarking tool. BOMA’s 7-Point Challenge has gained universal acceptance in the commercial building marketplace, with more than 100 commercial real estate companies and organizations endorsing the initiative.

“We are very honored to receive this award. BOMA is committed to providing property professionals with innovative solutions that promote energy efficiency and benefit the bottom line. It is clear that these initiatives are having a positive impact,” says BOMA Intl. Chair and Chief Elected Officer Richard D. Purtell, portfolio manager, Grubb & Ellis Management Services, Inc., Santa Ana, CA. “Our years of partnership with ENERGY STAR demonstrate our dedication to promoting energy efficiency in the commercial real estate industry, and we will continue to develop pioneering programs and strategies for the industry that reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and make good business sense.”

The 2009 Sustained Excellence Awards are given to a select group of organizations that have exhibited outstanding leadership year after year. These winners have reduced greenhouse-gas emissions by setting and achieving aggressive goals, employing innovative approaches, and showing others what can be achieved through energy efficiency. These awards recognize ongoing leadership across the ENERGY STAR program including energy-efficient products, services, new homes, and buildings in the commercial, industrial, and public sectors. Award winners are selected from more than 12,000 organizations that participate in the ENERGY STAR program.

Last year alone, Americans, with the help of ENERGY STAR, saved $19 billion on their energy bills and reduced greenhouse-gas emissions equivalent to those of 29 million vehicles.

"EPA is delighted to recognize BOMA Intl. with the 2009 ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence award,” says Kathleen Hogan, director of the climate protection partnerships division at the U.S. EPA.  “BOMA’s leadership on energy efficiency has yielded impressive results for their bottom line and our global environment, showing us all what can be accomplished through sustained commitment and action.”