Practical Facilities Tips, News & Advice.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has launched the first season of the Better Climate Challenge Road Show, a video series highlighting the leadership of public and private organizations in decarbonizing buildings and industrial plants. Available to watch anytime on the Better Buildings Solution Center, the series follows DOE and national lab staff as they road […]
Rutgers University has selected DSD Renewables to install 16 solar carport canopies, totaling 14.5 MW, in parking lots across the New Jersey university’s multiple campuses. This is the first major sustainability initiative to roll out since University President Jonathan Holloway announced Rutgers’ commitment to a Climate Action Plan in September 2021. The project, expected to […]
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced plans to use $975 million in Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funding to upgrade federal buildings across the country with emerging and sustainable technologies. These plans are in line with President Joe Biden’s Executive Order 14057, which launched the Federal Sustainability Plan and charged the federal government to “lead by […]
As power generation shifts to clean energy, using electricity more efficiently will be critical for reducing costs, averting blackouts, and cutting pollution, according to a new report from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). The group evaluated five U.S. grid regions (California, Texas, the Pacific Northwest, the Southeast, and the Midwest) and found that […]
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 […]
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). […]
Covering the roofs of America’s warehouses and distribution centers with solar panels could generate enough clean energy to power nearly 20 million homes, according to a new report from the Environment America Research & Policy Center and Frontier Group. “If we want to create a clean energy future, we should look first to the already-built […]
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 […]
The LEGO Group has broken ground on its new carbon-neutral-run factory in Chesterfield County near Richmond, Va. The 340-acre site is the size of 260 American football fields, and the project represents a $1 billion investment. Sustainability When completed in 2025, the factory will include tens of thousands of rooftop and ground solar panels to […]
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI), and the International WELL Building Institute pbc (IWBI) have released a streamlined process for projects pursuing certifications for the LEED green building rating system and the WELL Building Standard. The process streamlines documentation for projects that are pursuing both certifications at the same time […]