Sustainability: Page 2


  • smart HVAC, cybersecurity, R&K Solutions
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    Aree Sarak via Getty Images
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    Smart building controls are key to addressing aging infrastructure, workforce: Trane

    As the U.S. building stock ages and experienced technicians exit the workforce, facility managers must embrace building modernization, according to a report.

    By May 27, 2025
  • An engineer checking a maintenance pipe system for ventilation and air conditioning on the rooftop of a building.
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    Amorn Suriyan via Getty Images
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    Energy savings start with benchmarking, team-led audits, expert says

    By educating staff on how small changes and regular maintenance to systems can impact energy, facility teams can improve efficiency without costly upgrades, according to a sustainability director at ESFM.

    By Updated May 22, 2025
  • People working in a modern office building Explore the Trendline
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    shironosov via Getty Images
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    Trendline

    Top 5 stories from Facilities Dive

    Top 5 stories from Facilities Dive

    By Facilities Dive staff
  • Energy Star, FY 2026 federal budget
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    IFMA adds its name to Energy Star fight

    Facility managers rely on the program for making informed decisions about commercial appliances and building systems, the group says.

    By May 14, 2025
  • The LEED certification logo on the outside of the Hillsboro Civic Center in Hillsboro, Oregon.
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    The image by M.O. Stevens is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
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    LEED v5 – now released – increases focus on indoor environment, worker safety

    The new version streamlines decarbonization targets and accounts for indoor air quality, continuous monitoring and maintenance staff safety, USGBC’s director of existing buildings says.

    By May 13, 2025
  • digital twin, IES
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    Courtesy of IES
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    Opinion

    To save money, building owners should treat energy standards as a floor, not a ceiling

    Projects to make their facilities more efficient are an opportunity for owners to use sustainability goals to drive long-term business value.

    By Christy Martell • May 9, 2025
  • DOE, federal buildings, energy sustainability, Biden-era rule pause
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    Anna Moneymaker / Staff via Getty Images
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    DOE pauses energy standards for federal buildings

    The one-year stay gives the agency a chance to see if the Biden-era rule aligns with the priority the Trump administration is putting on fossil fuels, officials said.

    By May 8, 2025
  • Johnson Controls,  International District Energy Association
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    Jillian Cain via Getty Images
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    How campus investments in digital buildings can fund future sustainability projects

    Smart building and campus energy management systems helped the University of Wyoming move past its “spreadsheet from hell” and Georgia Institute of Technology qualify for a $214,000 utility rebate.

    By Brian Martucci • May 7, 2025
  • A food waste bin is poured into Ohio University's in-vessel composting vessel.
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    Retrieved from Ohio University on May 06, 2025
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    Composting program turns cafeteria scraps to brown gold

    Ohio University processes more than five tons of food waste every day into soil amendments it uses on campus. But it’s had to rethink parts of the program, the school’s sustainability director says.

    By May 6, 2025
  • Extra Space Storage
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    Courtesy of Extra Space Storage
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    How Extra Space Storage is using solar to make money from its rooftops

    The company’s solar project manager walks through what factors determine if a roof is suited to solar panels, whether for the building’s own energy or for a leasing opportunity.

    By May 5, 2025
  • An HVAC worker is seen to perform heat pump maintenance
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    welcomia via Getty Images
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    Energy-as-a-service agreements and energy savings performance contracts: What’s the difference?

    Both models can provide energy efficiency upgrades with no upfront costs, but asset ownership is one point on which they diverge.

    By May 1, 2025
  • energy services companies, NAESC, Unruh, Griffin Hamilton
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    DDurrich via Getty Images
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    How to get HVAC replacement to pay for itself

    A champion of energy service companies offers a reminder of their role in making large-scale retrofits cost-effective.

    By April 29, 2025
  • Connecticut Green Bank, TotalEnergies, Lamont
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    Robert Nickelsberg via Getty Images
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    Connecticut prisons complete solar project, $11M in energy savings projected

    The 8.3-MW system is privately owned, so the state prison agency had to put up no money and is taking none of the financial risk, the Connecticut Green Bank says.

    By April 28, 2025
  • The new Nissan Stadium rendering by Manica.
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    Retrieved from Nissan Stadium on April 23, 2025
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    New Titans stadium brings electrical, mechanical systems into a single command center

    By pulling electrical and mechanical systems data into a centralized control center and seeing power consumption in real-time, operators will be able to improve energy efficiency before the stadium opens, Schneider Electric says.   

    By April 23, 2025
  • A building rooftop covered in solar panels.
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    Permission granted by LeFrak
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    Q&A

    How LeFrak used a rooftop solar array to reduce CO2

    Community relations head Charles Burton explains how 450 solar panels at a property in Jersey City, New Jersey, offset the property’s common area emissions by 13%

    By Mary Salmonsen • April 15, 2025
  • A modern office with glass windows looking over a green outdoor courtyard.
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    Fahroni via Getty Images
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    Organizations prioritize sustainability, but they’re slowed by manual data processes

    A slowdown in federal sustainability mandates is pushing building operators to focus on reduction initiatives, Atrius says.

    By April 14, 2025
  • The exterior of Brockton, Massachusetts, City Hall.
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    "City Hall" [Photograph]. Retrieved from City of Brockton, Massachusetts.
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    Brockton, Mass., leverages energy savings contract to preserve, improve two historic buildings

    New window, lighting and HVAC systems aim to reduce energy and improve air quality, including in one building that has been unusable in extreme weather. 

    By April 11, 2025
  • Aerial shot of urban downtown
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    RoschetzkyIstockPhoto via Getty Images
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    Denver adds flexibility to building performance guidelines

    Following public input, including some backlash from building owners, the new rules will push back compliance deadlines, remove electrification report requirements and reduce penalty rates, the city says. 

    By April 9, 2025
  • The indoor unit of an air conditioner featuring a cassette split system on a grey ceiling
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    N-sky via Getty Images
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    Daikin, Poppy partner to accelerate building ventilation rate testing

    Adding Poppy’s real-time air-tracing and ventilation solutions to Daikin products and services can help buildings reduce energy costs and meet IAQ standards, the companies say. 

    By March 27, 2025
  • The Colorado Capitol building.
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    4nadia via Getty Images
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    ACEEE scorecard shows nationwide improvement in state energy efficiency programs

    Looking at emissions reduction goals far in advance can help align building capital planning budgets and deep energy retrofits, experts say.  

    By March 26, 2025
  • An empty hallway in a school shows lockers and a door to a classroom or cafeteria
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    urfinguss via Getty Images
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    Schools earn a ‘D+’ for infrastructure

    Many public school buildings are hitting their 50-year design life, requiring “comprehensive” upgrades and replacements to key facility systems.

    By Naaz Modan • March 26, 2025
  • Building performance standards set to proliferate, evolve in 2025

    State and local governments continue to develop building standards that draw on existing frameworks and implement new metrics for measuring performance. 

    By March 25, 2025
  • UAlbany decarbonization project to cut fossil fuel consumption 16%

    With geothermal wells, heat recovery and chiller replacements, the university will be able to shut off its gas-fired boilers during the summer, it says.

    By March 24, 2025
  • A technician uses air to clean an HVAC system.
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    LSOphoto via Getty Images
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    Routine HVAC cleaning can lower energy use and help meet ventilation standards, study says

    Cleaning can be a cost-effective tool for increasing occupant comfort and health and building energy efficiency, researchers from two universities found.

    By March 20, 2025
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    Denis Tangney Jr. via Getty Images
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    New York state offers $5M for existing building energy innovations

    Providers that have already received federal, state, local or other incentive funds can receive up to $1 million to accelerate development of their energy efficiency solutions, the state energy research authority says.

    By March 17, 2025
  • An aerial view of Madison, Wisconsin.
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    AlenaMozhjer via Getty Images
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    Madison, Wis., benchmarking program to phase in smaller buildings

    Continuous benchmarking and system tune-ups can help owners and operators reduce annual energy use and provide cities with necessary information for setting performance targets, experts say.

    By March 14, 2025