Sustainability


  • JLLs office space with casual spaces for lounging.
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    Joe Burns/Facilities Dive
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    Deep Dive

    Inside the Aon Center: How JLL manages its home

    The integrated property management giant has people working below ground and above the clouds to ensure the building — and the people inside — can work as efficiently as possible.

    By Oct. 17, 2025
  • A view from the front of Amazon's mass timber delivery facility in Elkhart, Indiana
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    Courtesy of Amazon's Mass Timber Delivery Station Media Kit
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    Amazon to use mass timber-built delivery facility as sustainability lab

    The e-commerce and tech giant aims to use the Elkhart, Indiana, delivery facility as a lab for construction and facilities practices that generate a lower carbon footprint.

    By Lamar Johnson • Oct. 15, 2025
  • Trendline

    Top 5 stories from Facilities Dive

    Top 5 stories from Facilities Dive

    By Facilities Dive staff
  • Two engineers look at a data center server rack.
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    Honeywell to supply new power solutions for data centers

    Working with industrial automation firm LS Electric, Honeywell will offer AI-driven power management solutions, including battery energy storage systems, to help meet the sector’s energy demand.

    By Oct. 10, 2025
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    As California’s new energy code nears, training is available to help FMs meet it

    Software company IES and the U.S. Green Building Council California are offering advanced modeling and performance analysis training so building operators don’t have to fly blind.

    By Oct. 9, 2025
  • pipe leaks, Wint, Alon Geva, AI leak detection
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    CBRE, Ecolab partner to improve water efficiency, reporting

    The goal is to help clients measure, manage and reduce their water use to improve operating performance, the companies say.

    By Oct. 8, 2025
  • A 'Whirlpool' refrigerator on display at a Lowe's Home Improvement store
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    Brandon Bell via Getty Images
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    Energy efficiency is reducing Northeast peak demand, electricity bills: Acadia

    New England states are projected to avoid 368 TBtu of lifetime energy use, and this projected total rises to 703 TBtu with the inclusion of New York State, the clean energy nonprofit says. 

    By Robert Walton • Oct. 8, 2025
  • An air purifier in an office.
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    Sustainable, healthy design choices should be visible: JLL

    Occupants value tangible initiatives, so facility managers should consider features that building occupants can interact with, survey responses show.  

    By Oct. 7, 2025
  • circular economy, IFMA, Tucker, furniture reuse, corporate recycling
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    Facilities managers discover how the ‘circular economy’ offers them money-saving opportunities

    ‘Cooling-as-a-service’ and ‘workplace-as-a-service’ are among the models building operators are using to let their organizations hold onto their capital while polishing their sustainability credentials, specialists said at IFMA World Workplace 2025.

    By Brian Martucci • Oct. 2, 2025
  • 2026 conferences for facilities managers
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    Facilities management conferences of note in 2026

    Next year’s facilities management conferences will cover best practices for managing building systems, leveraging technology, recruiting and retaining talent and navigating market conditions. 

    By Sept. 30, 2025
  • The exterior of OEM Controls' facility with a driveway and trees in the foreground.
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    Retrieved from Budderfly on September 30, 2025
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    With deal, Budderfly looks for EaaS growth in manufacturing sector

    The energy-as-a-service model can help manufacturers improve their resiliency while lowering their costs and reducing their emissions, CEO Al Subbloie says. 

    By Sept. 30, 2025
  • A building with vegetation growing along the sides.
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    Owner-tenant green retrofit investment boosts value: JLL

    Tenants want prime space that meets their sustainability targets. That’s driving deals that include energy-focused lease clauses, the firm says.

    By Sept. 25, 2025
  • Ewing, Installnet, ESG, lifecycle assessments
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    Opinion

    How FMs can more accurately report ESG-friendly furniture decommissions

    EPA’s waste reduction model understates emissions reductions from furniture reuse. To show a more meaningful value, facility managers should request lifecycle assessments from suppliers.

    By Dale Ewing • Sept. 18, 2025
  • Technicians install heat pump systems at a training facility.
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    Leon Neal via Getty Images
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    Plan for lower water temperatures when replacing traditional HVAC systems with heat pumps

    Fossil fuel-based systems supply water at higher temperatures than heat pumps. Operators that want to electrify their systems must look at coil sizes, piping and other elements, specialists say.

    By Sept. 16, 2025
  • An engineer and business owner look at tables and computers to help with work.
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    AI can aid building energy retrofit decisions, but faces limitations: study

    Large language models can deliver results in technical optimization tasks but struggle with payback optimization, researchers at Michigan State University say.

    By Sept. 15, 2025
  • Sustainable buildings,
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    Opinion

    Energy prices are soaring. Better buildings can help.

    Cutting off clean energy sources while demand for AI skyrockets will spike energy prices. Energy efficiency is a solution for reducing grid loads while reducing the need for expensive infrastructure investment.

    By Alex Dews • Sept. 12, 2025
  • New smart control systems at the UIC Behavioral Sciences Building.
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    Permission granted by Joe Burns
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    University of Illinois Chicago tackles deferred maintenance at no upfront cost

    An energy performance contract with Ameresco showed the institution how it can capture energy savings from mechanical system upgrades to cover costs over time. The savings make it possible to do upgrades faster, a facility engineer says.

    By Sept. 10, 2025
  • Energy Storing and Efficient Air Conditioner system by Blue Frontier Inc. attached to a dedicated outdoor air system.
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    Retrieved from National Renewable Energy Laboratory on September 08, 2025
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    Desiccant-based storage system nearly halves cooling bills in trials

    A technology developed and tested by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory could reduce peak air conditioning power demand by 90%.

    By Sept. 8, 2025
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    Energy savings contracts, backed by data, enable smarter facility upgrades

    As electricity costs rise and federal incentives drop, building operators are tapping the contracts to improve efficiency and boost resilience.

    By Sept. 2, 2025
  • HVAC upgrade, building sustainability, LEED
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    How facilities managers can lead on sustainability

    Most FMs want to make the efficient use of resources part of their operations, but building owners aren’t always aligned with them, surveys show.

    By Ramona Dzinkowski • Aug. 27, 2025
  • An engineer checks the installation of  heat pump on a model house.
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    Heat pump adoption expected to grow despite federal shift

    The One Big Beautiful Bill Act accelerates a move toward affordability, ease of installation and retrofit readiness, according to one manufacturer.

    By Aug. 14, 2025
  • Energy Star, FY 2026 federal budget, USGBC
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    Congressional appropriators move to maintain Energy Star funding

    The likelihood of the program going away eases as lawmakers on the House and Senate committees that allocate funds direct the administration to fund it.

    By Aug. 6, 2025
  • Frozen section in a grocery store.
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    Axiom Cloud earns patent for AI leak-detection technology

    The software can help retail grocery and cold storage operators meet federal and state requirements without the need for sensors or additional hardware, the company says.

    By July 22, 2025
  • A facade of a sustainable glass office building with a tree for reducing carbon dioxide.
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    Building operators rapidly adopt streamlined green, health building pathways

    The payoff is substantial, especially when stakeholders align on building sustainability, health and operational goals, supporters say.

    By July 15, 2025
  • Tina Kotek, wearing a yellow rain jacket, speaks with press.
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    Mathieu Lewis-Rolland via Getty Images
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    Oregon legislature passes first-in-nation microgrid framework

    Gov. Tina Kotek, D, is expected to sign the bills that advocates say would protect buildings and other critical infrastructure against increasingly frequent power disruptions.

    By Brian Martucci • July 10, 2025
  • geothermal hvac system, Trane Technologies, North Shore school district
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    Courtesy of Trane Technologies
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    Chicago-area school district deploys geothermal system that’s a US first

    The dynamic closed-loop system uses groundwater to reject and absorb heat to provide year-round space conditioning for a 130-year-old elementary school, Trane Technologies says.

    By Brian Martucci • July 9, 2025