Building Owners and Managers Conserve Energy in Support of 2011 Earth Hour
WASHINGTON, DC – March 24, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International announced today that it will encourage its members to participate in the World Wildlife Fund (WWF)’s 2011 Earth Hour. WWF’s global initiative asks that individuals, businesses, organizations and governments turn off all non-essential lighting for one hour, from 8:30-9:30 pm local time on Saturday, March 26, 2011. The aim of Earth Hour is to visibly demonstrate global concern about climate change and a commitment to find solutions that minimize negative human impact on the Earth.
“BOMA International has a long-term commitment to helping building owners and managers reduce energy use by promoting energy management practices through a variety of platforms,” said BOMA International Chair Ray H. Mackey, Jr., RPA, CPM, CCIM, partner and chief operating officer, Stream Realty Partners, L.P. “Participating in Earth Hour is one more opportunity for our industry to demonstrate our commitment to green operations and management practices in America’s buildings.”
BOMA International has been a leader in energy efficiency for years, launching the 7-Point Challenge in 2007 which asked members to reduce energy consumption by 30 percent by 2012. To date, organizations representing three billion square feet of office space have signed onto the Challenge and are transforming the marketplace. BOMA also developed the BOMA Energy Efficiency Program (BEEP), 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.
BOMA published the industry’s first green lease guide, which includes enforceable lease language to ensure tenants comply with a building’s green priorities. BOMA also partnered with the Clinton Climate Initiative to release the groundbreaking BOMA Energy Performance Contract (BEPC) model, which allows building owners to perform major energy retrofits to existing buildings by removing key barriers. In 2011, BOMA International launched BOMA STARS, a new campaign to encourage its members to benchmark their portfolio’s energy management data using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager.
Earth Hour started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia when 2.2 million individuals and more than 2,000 businesses turned their lights off for one hour to take a stand against climate change. A year later, Earth Hour became a global sustainability movement with more than 50 million people across 35 countries and territories participating. Global landmarks such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge, CN Tower in Toronto, Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and Rome’s Colosseum all stood in darkness. Earth Hour 2010 was the biggest Earth Hour ever, with a record 128 countries and territories joining the global display of climate action.
For more information, visit www.earthhour.org.
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About BOMA International
The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International is an international federation of more than 100 local associations and affiliated organizations. Founded in 1907, its 16,500-plus members own or manage more than nine billion square feet of commercial properties. BOMA International’s mission is to enhance the human, intellectual and physical assets of the commercial real estate industry through advocacy, education, research, standards and information. On the Web at www.boma.org.
Contact
Lindsay Tiffany
Manager of Media Relations
(202) 326-6365
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