We’ve started with six jurisdictions in the US, including, Boston, Denver, Montgomery County, New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC, where building owners and managers are facing stringent energy deadlines. Meeting these deadlines is not a suggestion; it's a crucial step to avoid heavy penalties imposed by local energy codes.

WHY IS THIS A HELPFUL RESOURCE FOR BUILDING OWNERS AND MANAGERS?

1. Our comprehensive resource is designed to give building owners and managers the knowledge needed to navigate these local energy code deadlines effortlessly. We provide a clear breakdown of the key dates and requirements in each city to ensure building compliance and avoid unnecessary fines.
2. It is also available to be downloaded on the go. By providing a name and email, anyone can access a PDF version of the guide directly on their device. As a result, people can access the information and stay informed, whenever and wherever they need it.
3. The metrics speak for themselves – energy-efficient buildings not only contribute to environmental sustainability but also lead to significant cost savings. According to industry data, buildings account for nearly 40% of total energy consumption, making compliance with energy codes a strategic and responsible choice.

WHERE IS THIS INTERATIVE TOOL?

Dive into our new resource by visiting our decarbonization service page, linked here. We can help your buildings not only meet but exceed energy standards. Start exploring them now and reach out to us for any additional support or clarification by emailing me at tcolumbus@wbengineering.com.

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1095 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS: OUR FIRST PROJECT

After Bell Atlantic and GTE merged in 2000 to create Verizon, they hired our team to reposition it - consolidating six floors that Verizon needed for their operations (we redesigned the rest of the building as a business condo). As part of this repositioning project, our team created a building within a building for these six floors. We had to separate the floors from the base building MEP systems and consolidate the existing telephone infrastructure. We finished this project by overseeing the commissioning process to ensure Verizon's equipment functioned properly, and our work at 1095 Avenue of the America only continued from there.

20 YEARS LATER: FROM CHILLER REPLACEMENT TO ENERGY AUDITS

Over the years, we have completed 60 projects for Verizon in the building, from replacing the generators to the design of new life safety systems as part of NYC’s Local Law 26. Most recently, we supported their efforts to upgrade their chillers. While the project initially focused on chiller replacements, it became a comprehensive energy audit. Through ongoing discussions with our decarbonization team, the scope expanded from just a chiller replacement to replacing all of Verizon's air handlers in the building. In doing so, we helped Verizon meet both its immediate needs of replacing equipment at the end of its useful life and its broader energy and decarbonization goals.

TECHNOLOGY HAS CHANGED, OUR COMMITMENT HAS NOT

Over the past 24 years, technology has changed, and so the way we work has changed. What has stayed the same is our commitment to quality and our focus on communicating technical information in ways that are easy for our clients to understand. For Verizon, that meant asking the right questions to identify their business goals so that we could design the right solution. If this sounds like something you'd like to know more about, please get in touch with me at ccronin@wbengineering.com.

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But first, how do we measure GHG emissions? GHG Emissions are measured in CO₂e, Carbon Dioxide equivalent. This is a measure used to compare the emissions from various GHGs based on their global warming potential (GWP). It converts amounts of other gases (like methane or nitrous oxide) to the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide with the same GWP.

OPERATIONAL CARBON EMISSIONS

Operational carbon represents the carbon emissions from sources that a building controls, such as burning fossil fuels on-site. These are referred to as Scope 1 Emissions.

Scope 2 Emissions represent the carbon emissions from the purchase of energy from utility companies, like electricity, steam, and gas. Operational carbon is typically measured in CO₂e per year.

EMBODIED CARBON EMISSIONS

Embodied carbon represents the carbon emissions during the lifecycle of building materials. It includes emissions from manufacturing, transportation, installation, and eventual demolition or recycling. It also includes energy and raw material emissions. Embodied carbon emissions are referred to as Scope 3 Emissions are measured in CO₂e.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN EMBODIED CARBON & OPERATIONAL CARBON

Operational and embodied carbon differ in measurement, scope, and impact. Embodied carbon considers the entire lifecycle of a product or material, with an upfront and permanent impact. Operational carbon is easier to quantify, but its impact is ongoing and can be managed over time through renewable energy use or more efficient systems. Both embodied and operational carbon significantly contribute to a building’s overall carbon footprint and require attention and mitigation.

WHY IT MATTERS

Understanding operational and embodied carbon is important because of their significant environmental impacts. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, buildings account for nearly 40% of global energy-related CO₂ emissions, with embodied carbon contributing around 9% of these emissions. These high levels of emissions are fueling global warming and resulting climate changes (such as increased frequency of extreme weather events and rising sea levels).

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns that global warming of 1.5°C could result in the displacement of millions due to these environmental effects. Reducing both operational and embodied carbon not only helps mitigate these catastrophic effects but also creates a healthier living environment.

Our team is committed to the MEP 2040 Challenge. By committing to this challenge, we are advocating for and will achieve net zero operational carbon by 2030 and embodied carbon by 2040, in all of our projects. Through collaboration with these initiatives, innovation, and sustainable practices, we aim to both meet the current demands for reduced emissions and shape the future of building design and construction. If you're looking for more information on how you can contribute to a more environmentally responsible future, please contact me, and I'd be happy to help.

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OUR SERVICES

• Energy Audits: Our energy audits provide clients with a clear understanding of energy-saving opportunities in their buildings. Through detailed analysis and surveys, we identify areas for improving energy use and cost. Based on our report and advisory services, we help clients implement measures that reduce their carbon footprint while saving costs.
• ESG Consulting: We assist clients in understanding and enhancing their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ratings through our consulting services. Our offerings include master planning, sustainability reporting, and development of sustainability plans to improve ESG ratings. We help clients achieve sustainability goals and gain a competitive edge in ESG rankings.
• Green Building Certifications: Achieving a green building certification adds to a building's value. We help clients navigate the certification process for programs like LEED, WELL, and Green Globes, promoting sustainable building practices in the process. We ensure that the clients' buildings follow the relevant energy-efficient guidelines that positively impact the environment and community.
• Incentives & Rebate programs: Our team works with clients and utility providers to determine incentives, rebates, and financing opportunities available with energy-efficient investment. We help clients maximize efficiency and financial benefits while meeting their decarbonization targets.
• Performance Benchmarking: Performance benchmarking compares the energy usage of different buildings. We use benchmarking data to identify areas for improvement and develop effective energy reduction, and decarbonization strategies. With our support, clients can make informed, data-driven decisions and meet their energy and sustainability goals.
• Regional Policy Compliance: As climate action plans become more common, complying with regional policies has become more complicated and confusing. We provide audit services to identify preservation measures and take advantage of incentives to avoid penalties and meet regional requirements. Our services include identifying eligible replacements, making recommendations, applying for incentives, and more.
• Strategic Decarbonization Planning: Our strategic decarbonization planning services help identify opportunities to reduce carbon emissions in building operations. We assess the building operations, provide master plan development and implementation support. We also provide incentive and rebate program support.

We understand that building owners and managers make an impact on sustainable practices. Our team is committed to providing our clients with tailored solutions that improve their ESG ratings, reduce carbon emissions, and save on cost. Visit our decarbonization service page to learn more.

Desmond Greene (Managing Director, Decarbonization | Managing Principal) and Todd Columbus (Director of Engineering, Mechanical | Associate Principal) are both on our decarbonization team.

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BETTER AIR QUALITY, BETTER PRODUCTIVITY

One significant insight from Greenbuild 2023 came from Joseph Allen, author of Healthy Buildings: How Indoor Spaces Drive Performance and Productivity, and his team. They found that improving indoor air quality boosts productivity, but the exact reasons remain unclear. Aside from carbon dioxide, experts are still determining which specific elements in the air make people more productive. However, it's clear that having a MERV 13 filtration system paired with a CFM 40 ventilation rate enhances indoor air quality and productivity.

BUILDING RESILIENCE: PREPARING FOR CHALLENGES

The event also highlighted the importance of building resilience, especially in the face of unexpected challenges. Several workshops focused on designing buildings and systems that can withstand unusual stress. An excellent example from a presentation by Heath Melton of Howard Hughes Corporation is water use in Teravalis in Buckeye, AZ. They have reduced water consumption by 52% compared to legal limits, demonstrating preparedness for resource shortages.

SMART BUILDINGS & AI/ML

Another interesting insight is using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) in Smart Buildings. Companies like Google and JLL are experimenting with data management using AI/ML to improve building management. However, they're still grappling with challenges, such as distinguishing real problems from false alarms and setting clear priorities. Our takeaway is that the field is still evolving, providing opportunities for innovation.

Overall, Greenbuild 2023 showed that decarbonization has become well-established in the field of architecture and construction. Various sustainable technologies and practices have become more integrated into the industry, and the associated costs are becoming more reasonable and aligned with standard construction expenses. The industry is at a point where it can focus on reducing carbon emissions and improving indoor air quality without causing significant disruptions or compromising the core functions or structural integrity of buildings.

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WHAT IS THE MEP 20240 CHALLENGE? 

The Carbon Leadership Forum established the MEP 2040 Challenge in the fall of 2021. It states, “All systems engineers shall advocate for and achieve net zero carbon in their projects: operational carbon by 2030 and embodied carbon by 2040.” We are one of over 60 companies to respond to the challenge and sign the commitment. We have pledged to establish a company plan, request low-GWP refrigerants, request EPDs and participate in MEP 2040 forums.  

HOW IS WB WORKING TOWARDS DECARBONIZATION? 

We are leaders in the decarbonization space. Our team strives to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions to minimize environmental impacts and reduce energy costs. We use our technical expertise to provide Strategic Decarbonization Planning, Energy Audits, and Performance Benchmarking. A couple of our decarbonization projects include over 6.8 million sq. ft. of greenhouse gas emission reduction projects for Verizon and 2 million sq. ft. of energy audits for our clients in New York City. For a full list of services and more information about our projects, please visit our decarbonization service page.

We are excited to be a part of the MEP 2040 Challenge and work alongside other great companies to achieve a more sustainable world. To read more about the challenge and the Carbon Leadership Forum, click here.  

Happy Earth Day! 

Our decarbonization team includes Desmond Greene, Todd Columbus, Marcus Hazelwood, and Joytika Bhargo.

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LEAD THE WAY IN SUSTAINABILITY

What does it mean to lead the way in ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance)? These three factors are essential to measuring the sustainability and societal impact of an organization. As an asset manager, how can you accomplish your sustainability goals and measure their impact? One of the ways is through the Green Building Initiative (GBI), and their Green Globes program. On January 26, I attended GBI’s Sustainable Buildings & ESG Seminar in Boston, MA, and gained a deeper understanding of the answers to these questions.

WHAT IS GBI & HOW DO WE WORK WITH THEM?

The Green Building Initiative is a global provider of the Green Globes, a four-level certification system to measure the sustainability of a building, with a mission to "reduce climate impacts by improving the built environment." We are excited to be partnering with them because our team’s purpose is to improve the environment through thoughtful engineering and to leave the world better than we found it. And we get to do just that!

As a partner, we understand the process of these certifications and what is necessary to achieve each green globe rating. That means that with our clients, we can advise them through the certification process. As an engineering firm, we are already focused on designing MEP systems that result in low carbon emissions. So, if our clients want to achieve a Green Globe certification with their project, our MEP designs will help with this. To be specific, Green Globes allocates 26% of 1,000 possible New Construction points to Energy and 31% of the 1,000 points for existing buildings. This is the most significant point allocation out of six sections. Properties achieving 35% or higher receive a Green Globes rating.

If you are an asset manager looking to lead the way in ESG, get started by contacting me at dgreene@wbengineering.com. We are happy to provide our technical expertise and look forward to this continued partnership with GBI. In fact, we will be presenting in New York at their NYC Sustainable Buildings & Decarbonization seminar on April 6, 2023! Join us by registering using this link. In the meantime, we have a service page here with more information about decarbonization and what that means. Check it out to learn more!

Desmond Greene is our Managing Director, Decarbonization. He leads our decarbonization team.

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OUR COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABILITY

• To avoid the worst impacts of climate change, the international community set a goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. As governments, cities, and individual companies plan for the future, it’s clear that transitioning to a sustainable world is a challenge that we must address together.
• Our Energy & Sustainability team has helped clients develop and implement strategies to achieve their goals of reducing energy usage, carbon emissions, and improving their ESG scores. We use our technical expertise and vast experience to make these goals a reality in a cost-effective way utilizing incentives, rebates, and tax deductions.
• We help our clients with local and state policies compliance. Examples of laws/policies that we’ve helped clients meet include Local Law 97, BERDO 2.0, BEPP, BEPS, and Energize Denver.
• We are committed to helping the real estate industry reduce greenhouse gases and carbon emissions as well as achieve the global target of net-zero energy by 2050.

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THE MOST SUSTAINABLE BUILDING? IT'S THE ONE YOU ALREADY HAVE

Our team is looking forward to speaking at I2SL's Annual Conference and Technology Fair this October in Pittsburgh, PA. I2SL is the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories. It will be a great opportunity to share our team's expertise in laboratory design and our interest in conserving energy and natural resources. We help people using labs to improve people's health and productivity. We do so while designing engineering systems with the least energy and environmental impact.

WHAT WILL PEOPLE LEARN?

I, Managing Director, Life Sciences, and Desmond Greene, Managing Director, Energy & Sustainability, will discuss why the most sustainable building is the one someone already has. We'll talk about how new buildings are often in the news promoting their sustainable design. We’re shifting the conversation from the sustainability of new buildings to the sustainability of existing buildings. You do not need a new R&D or manufacturing building to be sustainable. During the conference, our conversation will describe how to reposition existing buildings.

We’ll tell the story of a recent project for a life sciences developer, where a detailed master plan and a phased approach enabled the client to achieve sustainability goals when they converted an existing warehouse to a new R&D space. We’ll talk about how the code impacted this project – from incentives to penalties.

From there, we’ll continue by describing different strategies to reduce energy consumption and carbon impact. A second project story, about a major pharmaceutical company, will follow our team’s process and challenges in transforming one of the client’s existing buildings from one that consumed a lot of energy to one that helps the company achieve their ESG goals. In the process, we were also able to reduce the building’s operating costs. The secret to this success? Retro commissioning.

For both of our stories, and for all of the ones that we don’t have time to tell in our 20 minutes, what led our clients to meet their sustainability goals was making good decisions for the right reasons.

If you'd like to register for the event, please do so by going to our events page.

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A NEW PARTNER

Our team is happy to announce that we have become a GRESB partner. For some context, GRESB is an international organization headquartered in Amsterdam. It provides environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data to the financial markets. Specifically, they collect, validate, score, and benchmark ESG data for financial markets (investors, asset managers, and the wider industry). It may be helpful to note that ESG scores range between 0 and 100. A score of 70 or above is good, which means the company is committed to sustainability.

With a GRESB assessment, companies can benchmark their ESG performance against their peers, identify areas for improvement, and deepen engagement with investors. They can also use their scores to make meaningful and sustainable decisions.

So why is it important that we are now a partner? As a consultant partner, we can help assist clients with their ESG strategy. We can also help them complete their assessment. Ultimately, this allows us to better help our clients understand and meet their environmental and sustainability goals. The partnership also allows aligns with our team’s current goals of helping clients in the real estate industry:

• Reduce greenhouse gases
• Reduce carbon emissions
• Achieve a global target of net-zero energy by 2050

We look forward to a lengthy partnership with GRESB and contributing to its growth and expansion.

For more information about GRESB, please visit their website here.

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