WASHINGTON-—The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International the 2010 ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award in recognition of its continued leadership in protecting our environment through energy efficiency. BOMA, first recognized with the Partner of the Year Award in 2007, is the only real estate association to receive this honor for four consecutive years. BOMA’s accomplishments will be recognized at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. on March 18, 2010.
BOMA International, an ENERGY STAR partner since 2005, will be honored for its long-term commitment to helping building owners and managers reduce energy use by promoting energy management practices through its overall Market Transformation Plan and 7-Point Challenge. The 7-Point Challenge aims to reduce energy consumption by 30 percent by 2012 across real estate portfolios, as measured against an average building measuring a 50 on the ENERGY STAR benchmarking tool.
Since its launch in 2007, the 7-Point Challenge has been widely embraced throughout the marketplace, with more than 120 member companies and local associations representing more than two billion square feet of office space endorsing the Challenge. Several cities and a county have also adopted the Challenge, including Albuquerque, Denver, Orlando, Phoenix and Orange County, Fla.
Additionally, BOMA will be recognized for several other programs like 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 for optimizing equipment, people and practices. BOMA built on BEEP’s success with the development of the Sustainable Operations Series, a four-part Webinar series that teaches practical ways to implement sustainable building operations.
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.
The 2010 Sustained Excellence Awards are given to a select group of organizations that have exhibited outstanding leadership year after year. These winners have reduced greenhouse gas emissions by setting and achieving aggressive goals, employing innovative approaches, and showing others what can be achieved through energy efficiency. These awards recognize ongoing leadership across the ENERGY STAR program including energy-efficient products, services, new homes and buildings in the commercial, industrial and public sectors. Award winners are selected from more than 17,000 organizations that participate in the ENERGY STAR program.
Last year alone Americans, with the help of ENERGY STAR, saved $17 billion on their energy bills and reduced greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those of 30 million vehicles.
BOMA International
