Practical Facilities Tips, News & Advice.
Is money going down the drain at your facilities? The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its WaterSense program has made it easier for businesses and consumers to save trillions of gallons of water. In 2023 alone, WaterSense-labeled products helped save 1.2 trillion gallons of water. Since the conception of the WaterSense label, the EPA […]
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) revealed its annual “Top Cities” list, spotlighting the cities with the greatest number of ENERGY STAR-certified commercial and multifamily buildings in 2023. Los Angeles leads the pack, with 876 ENERGY STAR-certified buildings. In second place is Washington, D.C., with 631 buildings, followed by New York in third place (390 […]
The cicadas are coming! The cicadas are coming! Some facilities professionals will indeed experience a “cicada-geddon,” a term coined by John Cooley, a University of Connecticut cicada expert. According to The Associated Press, two broods of cicadas—13-year and 17-year varieties—will be coming together for the first time since 1803, meaning trillions of them will come […]
Unless Elon Musk stops messing around with Twitter and gets us to Mars, Earth is our only home for the foreseeable future. That means we’ve got to take good care of the planet and conserve its finite natural resources. It’s also why sustainability is a hot topic all year long and why facilities managers are […]
On April 12, the Biden administration finalized congressionally mandated energy efficiency standards for the most common residential and commercial lightbulbs. The standards will go into effect in July 2028 for newly produced bulbs. Over 30 years, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) projects the standards will save Americans more than $27 billion on their utility bills […]
In a move aimed at better protecting the health of custodial staff, federal employees, and the environment, the Biden administration is directing government contractors to purchase cleaning products for federal buildings that are free of toxic “forever chemicals.” This change is the result of a collaboration between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the […]
Back to Basics is an article series that highlights important, but possibly overlooked, information facilities management professionals should know. Now that spring is here, most of us are looking forward to warmer weather. But first, it’s time for facility spring cleaning! Every facility has its own unique needs based on its type, whether it’s educational, […]
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recognized 103 U.S. manufacturing plants that earned the agency’s ENERGY STAR certification in 2023, a designation reserved for manufacturing plants in the top 25% of energy efficiency in their sector. Together, these facilities prevented more than 8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, equivalent to the emissions from […]
Green roofs, also known as rooftop gardens, are planted over a waterproofing membrane and cover a facility’s roof with vegetation. Facilities managers should consider green roofs for stormwater management and energy savings, as well as to provide rooftop gardens, educational spaces, and urban food production. Facilities managers should also consider incorporating green roofs into new […]
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has launched the $3 billion Clean Ports Program to fund zero-emission equipment, infrastructure, and climate planning at U.S. ports. According to the EPA, the program is designed to help ports across the country transition to fully zero-emissions operations—serving as a catalyst for transformational change across the freight sector. The funding opportunities were […]