Beyond LEED – Standards for the Operations and Maintenance of High Performance / Green Buildings – ASHRAE

Proposed Operation and Maintenance Guideline from ASHRAE

Many buildings with great designs fade from green to grey when operation and maintenance isn’t carried out as intended, especially in regard to energy conserving systems.

A proposed guideline from ASHRAE, currently open for public comment, will help improve the performance of all buildings by providing guidance on optimizing operation and maintenance of buildings to achieve the lowest economic and environmental life cycle cost without sacrificing safety or functionality.

ASHRAE Guideline 32P, Sustainable, High Performance Operation and Maintenance, is open for public comment until July 4, 2011.

ASHRAE – 32

“This guideline outlines steps that can be applied to any building to move its operation and maintenance function toward high performance,” Michael Bobker, chair of the guideline 32P committee, said. “Buildings can be designed to be high performance, but if they are not operated well that performance will not be delivered. This guideline is part of ASHRAE’s effort to strengthen its guidance for existing buildings.”

The guideline will apply to the ongoing operational practices for buildings and systems with respect to energy efficiency, occupant comfort, indoor air quality, health and safety. These systems include the building envelope, HVAC&R, plumbing, complementary energy systems, and utilities and electrical systems.

GDL_32_PR_Final_ChairApproved

“Modern air conditioning systems protect the health, comfort and productivity of building occupants,” ASHRAE Presidential Member Bill Harrison, whose presidential theme focused on the need for operation and maintenance, said. “Unfortunately, even very well designed systems waste a great deal of energy when they are not operated and maintained properly. ASHRAE’s Guideline 32 attacks wasted energy by helping people from the executive suite to the powerhouse understand how to efficiently manage the sophisticated systems that produce healthy comfort in today’s buildings. This is a giant step forward as we strive to use only the energy that produces value in our buildings.”

Studies and documented experience have shown that improved operational strategies alone could save 10 to 40 percent in energy.

These savings came about through application of expert knowledge to operation and maintenance practices, not large capital investment, Bobker noted. “We must first upgrade and then maintain the capabilities of the operations staff, which is where Guideline 32 will help play a role,” he said.

The guideline contains recommendations for three levels of building oversight: senior managers, facility managers and technicians. Checklists for tracking that appropriate steps are being taken to move toward high-performance operation and maintenance are included for each.

Among the items on the checklist for facility managers are:
o Develop and implement protocols for good facility/system documentation.
o Investigate, identify and implement appropriate levels of building intelligence.
o Identify and implement appropriate performance metrics.
o Benchmark against other similar facilities.
o Establish performance baselines and targets. Institute a system for regular reporting and evaluation.

Bobker said the guideline will provide the next steps beyond compliance with ANSI/ASHRAE/ACCA Standard 180, Standard Practice for Inspection and Maintenance of Commercial Building HVAC Systems, and provide concepts, methods and details that meet the intent of the “minimum standards of care” under ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES Standard 189.1, Standard for the Design of High Performance Green Buildings.

Sustainability and Federal Government Facilties – A Candid Survey of Federal Executives – GBC and Deloitte – September 2010

Federal agencies and public companies share sustainability challenges, however, JOC / Job Order Contracting provides an efficient Construction Delivery Method to deploy associated renovation, renovation projects for existing buildings.

Unfortunately…

Many respondents believe the level of  effort and resources put towards sustainability by their agency is lacking.  Over half  of  them call the sustainability effort “inadequate.” 

“Many of  the roadblocks to sustainability are strategic or cultural.”

“A majority (54 percent) of  respondents anticipate the level of  effort put towards sustainability will remain constant.”

– www.4clicks.com

 

Executive Summary

 
 Federal executives surveyed have taken significant steps to “go green” in their personal lives.  A strong majority (81percent) say they now turn off  lights when not in use.  Almost as many print less, turn off  electronics, use more energy efficient products, or recycle. 
 Federal executives believe they have a responsibility to promote sustainability in their agency as well.  Nine in ten of  those surveyed agree with the idea that they have such a responsibility.  Nearly as many of  them say that they have personally taken action to promote sustainability. 
 Respondents almost universally agree that it is important that their agency implements sustainable practices.  Over 95 percent call it very or somewhat important.  When presented with a list of  three elements of  sustainability and asked to rank their importance, most viewed all three as critical.
 While a “sense of  obligation” is the top reason for going green on a personal level, it ranks fourth among reasons agencies make changes.  Agencies’ moves towards sustainability tend to result from different motivators including fulfilling a mandate or reducing costs.
 Almost all respondents believe it is important to increase sustainability, but most report their agency has taken few actions
to do so.  In fact, on average, those surveyed know of  less than three things their agency has done
 Many respondents believe the level of  effort and resources put towards sustainability by their agency is lacking.  Over half 
of  them call the sustainability effort “inadequate.”  In contrast, four percent say the effort has been “excessive.”  
 Many of  the roadblocks to sustainability are strategic or cultural.  Over a quarter say that sustainability is not an agency
priority, or that there is a lack of  coordination.  Almost as many claim there is a lack of  involvement, enthusiasm, and engagement in “going green” among agency employees.
 Respondents recognize ways in which their agencies could become more sustainable.  Almost 60 percent say that better
education, training, and engagement can help their agency implement more sustainable practices.
 A majority (54 percent) of  respondents anticipate the level of  effort put towards sustainability will remain constant.  A significant portion (39 percent) anticipate their agency will be more dedicated to sustainability in the future, while almost
none expect that their agency will be less committed to it.   Almost all federal executives (86 percent) say that a primary force driving them to be more sustainable is a sense of 
obligation.  Many also behave more sustainably to save money, while far fewer do so to follow a trend, or because of  social
pressure.

REPORT

Executive Order 13514

Strategic Sustainability Performance Plans

ACCOUNTING STANDARDS FOR SUSTAINABILTY – Strategy, risk, governance, financial performance-

Accounting Group Backs Standards for Sustainabilty Accounting

BY MATTHEW G. LAMOREAUX          Via http://www.4clicks.com

AUGUST 2, 2010

A new international committee formed Monday by the Prince of Wales’ Accounting for Sustainability Project (A4S) and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) will work to integrate the way companies report on strategy, risk, governance, financial performance and sustainability.

The International Integrated Reporting Committee (IIRC), whose high-profile members include the heads of FASB, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), each of the Big Four firms, representatives of some of the world’s largest institutional investors and governance organizations, is the result of a decision made last December at a meeting of more than 20 organizations including the AICPA to form a committee that would oversee development of an integrated reporting model (see Proposal: Connect Sustainable Activities and Financial Reports).

The organizations agreed that part of the problem in reporting on sustainability issues is that numerous organizations are developing standards but no single organization is coordinating the efforts.

“The intention is to help with the development of more comprehensive and comprehensible information about an organization’s total performance, prospective as well as retrospective, to meet the needs of the emerging, more sustainable, global economic model,” the A4S and GRI said in a joint press release.

“The case for globally consistent financial reporting standards is well understood and accepted,” said IASB Chairman Sir David Tweedie in the press release. “It is appropriate to apply the same global approach to other aspects of corporate reporting. This initiative represents an important step on that journey.”

“The goal of the IIRC is not to increase the reporting burden on companies and other entities,” said IFAC CEO Ian Ball. “Rather, it is to help them and all their stakeholders make better resource allocation decisions. All of us have a stake in a sustainable society. While integrated reporting alone cannot ensure sustainability it is a powerful mechanism to help us all make better decisions about the resources we consume and the lives we lead.”

Further information on the IIRC can be found at www.integratedreporting.org.

The A4S project was launched in 2004 by The Prince of Wales to develop decision-making and reporting systems that take into account the longer-term and broader consequences of actions and are capable of responding to the sustainability challenges faced in the 21st century. A4S works with businesses, investors, governments, accounting bodies, the public and academics to build an international consensus around the need for a generally accepted integrated reporting framework and to develop practical guidance and tools to embed sustainability into decision-making processes.

The GRI has developed a widely used sustainability reporting framework and is committed to its continuous improvement and application worldwide. This framework sets out the principles and indicators that organizations can use to measure and report their economic, environmental and social performance.

–Matthew G. Lamoreaux (mlamoreaux@aicpa.org) is a JofA senior editor.