Sustainability: Page 3


  • 2026 conferences for facilities managers
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    Facilities management conferences of note in 2026

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

    By Updated Jan. 29, 2026
  • 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
  • Trendline

    Leveraging energy efficiency to create asset value

    By optimizing building and systems efficiency, facilities managers can move beyond saving money to become value creators.  

    By Facilities Dive staff
  • 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
  • A solar panel wall on a building
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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
  • Mahesh Ramanujam, US Green Building Council, economic downturn
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    Opinion

    The often-overlooked shelter from the storm: green buildings

    In the 2008-09 economic downturn, green buildings were a bright spot. They could be again as remote work, tariffs and inflation hang over the economy.

    By Mahesh Ramanujam • July 8, 2025
  • Sec. 179D commercial building energy efficiency deduction, Foreclosurepedia
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    Loss of 179D deduction could derail office conversions

    Although the deduction is about making commercial buildings energy efficient, it’s been key to owners’ willingness to invest in obsolete and financially distressed properties, supporters say.

    By July 7, 2025
  • technology background
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    ID 128111495 | 5g Connectivity ©  Yingyai Pumiwatana | Dreamstime.com

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    Sponsored by Simpl Global, Inc

    Why peak power management is important

    Must be an integral part of building automation systems.

    By Farid Dibachi • July 7, 2025
  • Section 179D Energy Efficient Commercial Building Deduction
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    Groups decry Senate’s elimination of building efficiency deduction

    The Section 179D Energy Efficient Commercial Building Deduction has grown into a major incentive for owners to retrofit their properties, supporters say.  

    By July 2, 2025
  • Energy Star NextGen Certified Building Logo
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    (2025). "ENERGY STAR NextGen Certification for Commercial Buildings" [Photograph]. Retrieved from Energy Star.
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    Column

    The Energy Star program has grown into an industry standard-setter

    The program’s Portfolio Manager software is used to track the energy use of almost 25% of commercial buildings. Its end could put owners, cities and states in a bind — at least for the short term.

    By July 2, 2025
  • A ventilation unit moves air in an office building.
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    ASHRAE focusing on indoor environmental quality, sustainability

    President Bill McQuade’s theme for 2025-26 is healthy buildings. That goal doesn’t have to come at the expense of energy efficiency, a standards committee member says.

    By July 1, 2025
  • Hennepin County, energy, decarbonization
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    Minnesota county faces challenge in decarbonizing well-maintained district energy system

    Hennepin County “has done too good of a job” maintaining its 15-building steam and chilled water loops, leaving little room for incremental improvements, the project’s engineering consultant said at an industry conference.

    By Brian Martucci • June 30, 2025
  • New York offering up to $750K for facility decarbonization projects

    The Large-Scale Thermal program is accepting applications through July 31 for heating, cooling and hot water systems in single buildings of at least 100,000 square feet or campuses of 250,000 square feet and up.

    By Brian Martucci • June 26, 2025