Category: Energy Management and Lighting

SMB Sustainability Starts with Empowered Facilities Managers

Virtually every business has a carbon footprint, and with that the responsibility to understand its effect on the environment and all the entities with which it interacts. While climate action is often associated with the largest corporations, the fact is that small to midsize businesses (SMBs) make up almost 90% of global enterprises. Their individual […]

Feds Ink Another MOU to Power Facilities with 100% Clean Energy

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) and the White House Council on Environmental Quality announced a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) with major utility Xcel Energy. Under the MOU, the parties will work toward powering federal facilities in Minnesota, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin with 100% carbon-pollution-free electricity (CFE) by 2030. The deal is in […]

$45M Available to Help Nonprofit Buildings Boost Energy Efficiency

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $45 million in available funding under the Renew America’s Nonprofits grant program, which will support projects to reduce energy use in buildings owned and operated by 501(c)(3) nonprofits. There are approximately 1.5 million 501(c)(3) nonprofits in the United States, including diverse organizations such as libraries, worship facilities, community centers, […]

Sydney Opera House Earns Green Building Rating for ‘World Leadership’

The iconic Sydney Opera House has achieved a 6 Star Green Star rating from the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA). Honeywell, a Sydney Opera House Global Goals partner since 2021, said it helped Australia’s most famous building attain the globally recognized sustainability rating through retrofits using the company’s technology. The opera house is now one […]

Survey Finds Mass Adoption of Smart Building Tech, Gap in Data Analytics

A new survey reveals that while many U.S. businesses are embracing smart building technology to increase energy efficiency and lower costs, they may fall short of their goals due to an inability to master the data. Toggled, a building management solutions company and wholly owned subsidiary of Altair, recently surveyed more than 500 U.S. facility decision-makers throughout […]

It’s Time to Tackle Building Efficiency 

We’ve seen emissions rebound after dropping during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Transport has the highest reliance on fossil fuels, accounting for 37% of CO2 emissions from end-use sectors in 2021, while building operations accounted for 27% of total energy sector emissions (8% direct emissions and 19% indirect emissions from electricity production and heat use). […]

energy efficiency

EPA Reveals 2023 Top Cities for ENERGY STAR-Certified Buildings

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced its 2023 “Top Cities” list. The latest annual ranking spotlights the cities with the greatest number of ENERGY STAR-certified commercial and multifamily buildings by the end of 2022. Did your city make the list? Coming in at first place for the fourth year in a row, Los […]

Earth Day 2023: Five Ways to Make Your Facilities More Sustainable

Earth Day 2023, which is being celebrated on Saturday, April 22, has a theme of “Invest in Our Planet.” To participate, facilities management professionals should consider ways to invest in making their facilities more environmentally friendly. Sustainability often benefits not only the planet, but also the bottom line. Here are five ways to make facilities […]

The Surprising Connection Between Cholesterol and Electricity—and What It Means for Facilities

For many people, the term “cholesterol” is associated with serious health issues such as heart problems, clogging of the arteries, and stroke. But doctors will tell you that not all cholesterol is created equal. HDL, high-density lipoprotein, is considered by doctors today to be “good” cholesterol, while LDL, low-density lipoprotein, is “bad.” It took doctors […]

K-12 School Leaders Converge on D.C. for Clean Energy Symposium

More than 50 school leaders from 16 states recently traveled to Washington, D.C., for the first-ever Clean Energy Schools Symposium—a national meeting of school decision-makers who have flipped the switch to clean energy and are actively inspiring and supporting other schools across the country to do the same. National clean energy nonprofit Generation180 hosted the […]