Compliance « Askthefm’s Weblog

Posts filed under 'Compliance'

Housing First – The best option for the homeless

There has been a movement in the low income housing segment called Housing First for some time now, but it is finally getting noticed and even better implemented on a nationwide scale.

Previously the homeless had to “earn” housing by in some manner getting ready, such as getting sober. This represented a very large barrier to the homeless population in general.

Since it was determined that housing in and of itself is theraputic and that folks who are housed have better and quicker roads to recovery, Housing First was born. Housing First means exactly what it implies which is you allow these folks access to housing even though they may not be “ready”.

I would like to direct you to the NPR.org site(http://www.npr.org/news/specials/housingfirst/?sc=emaf) and their yearlong special reporting on this and other topics revolving around homelessness.

Below are other links on the topic for you to explore.

Beyond Shelter: http://www.beyondshelter.org/aaa_initiatives/ending_homelessness.shtml

A sudy released by HUD on the subject: http://www.huduser.org/publications/homeless/hsgfirst.html

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Housing_first

As always I thank you for your time and interest. Please take the time to Digg, Stumble Upon or add to the other social network of your choice to help me spread the word about these issues. Please forward any questions or suggestions to: askthefm@gmail.com

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Add comment April 3, 2009

Asking your Landlord to “Green” your space

It is an interesting problem that a landlord faces when a tenant asks about green upgrades for the commercial or residential they would like to rent. This is the first of several articles where I plan to discuss this problem from both ends.

Tonight we will pretend we are the landlord. The process of providing green upgrades to the space and general energy efficiency improvements can usually only be justified on a return on investment basis (ROI). As such to the landlord it is critically important that there be some cost savings to the building and maybe a premium to the rent that can be charges. The later is less likely in the current environment.

One way to help the ROI calculation is with the help of government incentives. Here is a handy and well thought out page that summarizes the current crop of these programs by location (http://www.dsireusa.org/index.cfm?&CurrentPageID=7&EE=1&RE=1). Also there are any number of fairly simple projects that have a ROI of less than 2 years, a winning number in most accountant’s books.

The other side of this problem is that the tenant either wants or must have in the case of government agencies some guarantee of a certain level of efficiency or compliance to another standard like LEED. There is a significant risk for the landlord in this case. In an ongoing series on the Green Real Estate Law Journal (http://www.greenrealestatelaw.com/2009/02/legal-risks-of-green-leases/) there is a fairly thorough explanation and assessment of these risk and issues. I would encourage all landlords contemplating the world of green leases to read this series and understand it. It would also be helpful for all potential tenants to read it as well to better understand the landlord’s concerns as well as being prepared in what you can negotiate away to get the deal done.

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2 comments February 19, 2009

Green Building Standard Approved

Well it appears that progress is being made on building codes and standards that will support greening the construction and the use of buildings.

ANSI (American National Standards Institute) has completed its standards set for green building for all residential construction. The story on Environmental Leader (http://www.environmentalleader.com/2009/02/04/national-green-building-standard-approved-by-ansi/) goes into some detail.

Excerpt: “Key provisions of the standard include, construction of smaller homes to conserve resources; energy performance starting at 15 percent above the baseline requirements of the 2006 International Energy Conservation Code, use of low VOC materials and homeowner education on proper maintenance and operation to maintain a building’s green status throughout its life cycle.“

Also today via Green Building Law (http://www.greenbuildinglawblog.com/2009/02/articles/resources/resourcedepartment-of-energy-code-map/) the US Department of Energy has given us a map of the US giving the electrical building code standards by state. This could be very useful for advocacy and for those builders who work in multiple jurisdictions. The map can be found here: http://www.energycodes.gov/implement/state_codes/index.stm

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Add comment February 5, 2009

Follow up to Compact Fluorescents – Making the right choice

It seems that sometimes the information on a particular subject comes in streams over several days instead all at once and it is certainly the case about CFL’s.

Ecogeek.org has a great article (http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/2509/) on how to convince your friends to take the plunge into the world of more efficient lighting choices.

Excerpt: “In the fourth quarter of 2008, one out of every four bulbs sold in the U.S. were compact fluorescents. For the last five years, one out of every one bulbs I’ve bought have been compact fluorescents. What is up?

How have incandescent lights managed to hold on for so long? I’m going to do a little bit of guessing here, but this article, I hope, will help explain the resistance.“

Also on Ecogeek.org another report is brought forward giving the good, the bad and the ugly about CFL’s. (http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/2507/) The report mentioned in the article is also found here: http://www.ewg.org/node/27399 It’s a great shopper’s guide to help us all get the best product and value when making greener lighting choices!

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Add comment January 26, 2009

Paint your Roof to fight global warming?

Scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory suggest that painting your roof white could be a good part of helping to fight global warming.

This is all about reducing urban heat islands and it local and now supposedly global effects. The article can be found here: (http://newscenter.lbl.gov/feature-stories/2008/12/11/cool-world/).

Excerpt: “Most existing flat roofs reflect only 10 to 20 percent of sunlight. These roofs absorb much of the remaining solar radiation and heat up the buildings they cover. Buildings with air conditioners expend energy to cool down – energy that’s mostly generated from burning fossil fuels.

On a larger scale, cities heat up more than their rural surroundings because of their dark roofs, dark pavements, and the absence of vegetation – an urban “heat-island” effect that raises the average air temperature of cities and their suburbs.“

Now this has been a requirement here in California under our Title 24 section of the building code for some time and to me makes good sense as it is a economic way to make any building more efficient. I am just glad that the science continues to come in to support these requirements and helps us in the building construction and maintenance industry justify the costs for doing the right thing!

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Add comment January 21, 2009

Another web database for Green Products

These are becoming more and more common. I hope someone comes out with a rating on overall effectiveness soon.

This is really an update to yesterday’s post and features the site put forward by the folks at National Geographic (http://www.thegreenguide.com/).

The folks at Sustainablog (http://sustainablog.org/2009/01/13/shopping-for-the-green-and-local-online/) have reviewed the site and seem to give it good marks.

Excerpt: “ GenGreen’s local green directories already have an impressive collection of 35,000 green business listings, 800 green events and 400 green collar jobs listed in over 5000 cities and all fifty states.“

It looks to me that going green is going to keep getting easier!

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Add comment January 13, 2009

New Web Tools to help you green up your building!

Tonight we have a couple of shiny new toys for those of you looking to green your buildings and companies.

The first is a site called GreenFormat.com (http://greenformat.com/). It is a mateials database that should be a great help to architects and contracotrs everywhere. I came across it in a story on Real Life Leed (http://www.reallifeleed.com/2009/01/csi-greenformat.html).

Excerpt: ” CSI made a wise choice in deciding not to try to define “green” in any way. Instead, they opted for an approach where they just provide information in an agnostic manner and leave you to your own conclusions. The reporting for each product is extensive… VERY extensive… perhaps even TOO extensive, which is saying something. You’ll find info about third party certifications, manufacturing and extraction locations, background info on the manufacturing process, shipping materials, product lifespans, buyback/recycling programs, and a host of other non-environmentally related testing info.“

The next is brought to you by the folks at the Environment Defense Fund and their tool is call the Innovation Exchange (http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagid=31186). The link takes you to the getting started section.

Excerpt: “If your company is just starting to address its environmental impact, welcome. You can make satisfying progress through near-term changes, and we encourage you to do that.

But you’ll see the biggest environmental and financial gains in the long term by incorporating environmental opportunities into your overall business strategy.

Regardless of the type, size or location of your company, here are five fundamental steps you can take to understand your company’s biggest environmental opportunities, then set ambitious yet achievable goals across your entire organization.“

Enjoy and I hope that this trend continues as it is often the hardest part of greening a poject is to choose the materials that are to go into it.

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Add comment January 12, 2009

Water Sense – A National Rating System for Water Effeciency

I probably heard about this somewhere and ignored it, but water efficiency has it own government rating system, Water Sense. It is to water efficiency what and Energy Star Rating is to energy efficiency.

So what is Water Sense and why should you care?

It is important because it gives a defined standard that allows the consumer to purchase with confidence items and products to make the home or building more water efficient. It has been mentioned in the news recently that potable water may be the next “oil” in terms of scarce commodities and that we should all do what we can to use less and to use what we must more efficiently.

Water Sense is a partnership program between the US Environmental Protection Agency and manufacturers to produce products that are compliant to the published standard. At the Water Sense website (http://www.epa.gov/watersense/) you can find all about the standard, read about improvements to offered tools on water efficiency, and most importantly find rated products. There is even a specific page for locating those items you are looking for to make your house more water efficient (http://www.epa.gov/watersense/pp/index.htm).

This program even has some recent news brought to us by Treehugger.com (http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/12/vanguard_builds.php) where Vanguard Homes is going to build the first water sense complaint homes in North Carolina.

Excerpt: “WaterSense labeled new homes by Vanguard will be designed to be at least 20 percent more water efficient than homes currently being built under traditional standards, saving homeowners more than 10,000 gallons of water per year. These homes are designed to use significantly less water inside and out, through efficient plumbing fixtures, hot water delivery, appliances, landscape design, and irrigation systems. Via:Vanguard news release (pdf file)“

I consider this very hopeful news and a giant step toward getting truly efficient buildings rather than just ones that concentrate on the current item that might be in fashion.

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Add comment December 3, 2008

Invest in yourself with certifications!

The other day I heard a very wise piece of advice for the down economic times we are in and probably will be facing for some time. It was “Investing in yourself will pay larger dividends in the long term that any other investment you might make”.

To that end I have a few of suggestions for those in the real estate and building management fields. The first was created and is supported by the International Facility Management Association and is the Certified Facility Manger (CFM) designation. This pretty much the gold standard for this type of certification and details can be found here: http://www.ifma.org/learning/fm_credentials/cfm_index.cfm

Another one that is sponsored by the International Real Estate Management (IREM) Association is the Certified Property Manager (CPM) and the dtails for this one can be found here: http://www.irem.org/pdfs/joinirem/PrepGuideCPM.pdf

The last one I will mention here today is through the National Association of Home Builders ( NAHB) and is one for a growing market, catering to the older demographic. It is called Certified Active Adult Specialist in Housing (CAASH). Of the three mentioned here this one is probably the the one with the lowest barrier to entry. There are three days of instruction along with a test for each day to acquire the certification. The details are here: http://www.nahb.org/meeting_search.aspx?list=1&sectionID=1048#

Of course all of these require a commitment to continuing education to maintain the the certification. Good luck to all of you in your future endeavors!

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Add comment November 13, 2008

Green Building Code Stalled!

It was reported this week that ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers http://www.ashrae.org/) has pulled the plug on standard 189 committee. Apparently this is in response to several trade associations applying pressure to halt the work. There are 2 different posts on Buildinggreen.com (http://www.buildinggreen.com/live/index.cfm/2008/10/17/Green-building-code-standard-committee-disbanded):

Excerpt: “From the article: “Speaking off the record, multiple sources reported signs that ASHRAE had been influenced by various trade associations, which were either unsupportive of ASHRAE’s involvement in a green building standard as an engineering association, or had objections to basic premises of the standard, such as its approach to various building materials.”“

The original post and full story can be found here: http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/2008/10/17/Uncertain-Future-for-ASHRAE-Standard-189/

Even though there has been a comment posted on the first post stating that the committee is being reconstituted with additional members I am leery of the direction this is taking. I would assume that there would be significant disagreements in any such process, but I feel that this is a direction that may ultimately weaken the overall standard, making it far less effective.

This standard is especially needed in the face of growing desire by local and state regulatory agencies to place green building codes in force. On the site Greenbuildinglawupdate.com (http://www.greenbuildinglawupdate.com/) there is ongoing discussion about the various local pressures being placed on the construction of new buildings and how this patchwork of regulation is making it much more difficult to get green buildings permitted and built.

Lets hope that this is all straightened out soon and the committee is back on track before Christmas!

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Add comment October 19, 2008

Askthefm’s Weblog

Posts filed under 'Compliance'

Housing First – The best option for the homeless

Asking your Landlord to “Green” your space

Green Building Standard Approved

Follow up to Compact Fluorescents – Making the right choice

Paint your Roof to fight global warming?

Another web database for Green Products

New Web Tools to help you green up your building!

Water Sense – A National Rating System for Water Effeciency

Invest in yourself with certifications!

Green Building Code Stalled!

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