I recently worked for a client that had a large roof that just “sat there”. It had a few rooftop units for heating and cooling and that was it. A lot of space not being used at all. To them a roof was just a covering over the building. I first suggested using it for a viewing location for their local 4^th of July celebration. It had a great view of the fireworks and with some minor adjustments could be a social gathering venue. But the roof can have many other uses, too. The institute has a small school and it could be a good location for a “green” roof, growing plants. It also has minimal shading from nearby trees and, thus, can be ideal for solar panels.

Focusing on the energy issues, the Global Cool Cities Alliance has developed material summarizing the many benefits of “cool” roofs on large commercial facilities, particularly in urban areas. See: https://globalcoolcities.org/discover/unlock/

The first and easiest step to utilizing your roof to save you energy usage and costs is to make a “cool” roof. This is defined as a roof painted white, silver, light blue or similar light color. We are used to black shingles or coverings on roofs as normal. But, of course, black roofing material absorbs all types of radiation, keeping the energy in the material or right below (inside the building and, particularly, on the top floor). This not only damages the roofing material and potentially portions of the building proper, requiring repair and replacement necessary more often, but also raises the temperature inside the building, raising the demand which your air conditioner system must address, causing more electricity to be used in the summer, when the demand rates are highest. Painting a black roof a light color or if it’s time to replace material, replacing with a light color is a low cost way to save energy costs, up to 20%, depending on the building. Black roofs cause a heat “island”, a high intensity area of very high heat, which can damage roofing material and be unhealthy for people nearby.

It takes more time and effort, but one can also make a roof cool and save energy by planting appropriate vegetation. This seems to go against reasoning. Plants with soil, holding water, may put a strain on your roof (and you should have an experienced, qualified mechanical engineer confirm that your roof can hold vegetation). But vegetation is a location for the Sun’s rays to go and not hit and be retained in your roof or building. Plus, you and occupants have something nice to look at and healthy to eat, as well.

Finally, solar panels to generate electricity (photovoltaic or PV) or to generate hot water for bathrooms and kitchens is now mainstream. Panels are more efficient in converting the Sun’s energy into electricity or warmth and have come down in price. As the industry matures, more and more good, experienced firms are out there to ensure the system works at a reasonable cost. If you can displace some of the electricity you use from the grid with electricity you generate on your roof, that’s a great savings. Most areas can have such solar PV systems installed for no upfront cost (Power Purchase Agreement or PPA requires you to pay a set rate for the electricity the panels produce over time, usually lower than the utility’s rates). In addition, a growing number of states and utilities offer rebates and direct tax incentives as utilities around the country are under pressure to produce and deliver electricity and solar is a way to reduce that pressure. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 has further incentives that even allow non-profits to be able to benefit financially from installing solar on your roof.

Yes, the roof of your building, often ignored, can benefit you in terms of what you offer occupants and to save energy. Research and take advantage of new technologies.

CCES has the experts to help you assess whether you may be a candidate for a “green” or solar PV roof, and bring in and manage experienced vendors in these areas. Contact us today at karell@CCESworld.com or at 914-584-6720.

People who study electricity usage have concluded that one major opportunity to save is to have more submetering. It is simple for a building (residential or commercial) to have a single electric meter to give the owner one bill to pay the utility each month. The owner then apportions that bill to the tenants, using some formula to pay back for tenant usage. This is fraught with many problems. First, it is wasteful because if a tenant is not directly billed for its usage, then it is not motivated to conserve electricity and will, thus, be wasteful. The New York State Energy Research & Development Agency (NYSERDA) estimates that submetering – the tenant knows it will pay directly for their specific usage – reduces overall electricity usage by 15 to 30%. Savings in this range have been estimated in other locations in both the residential and commercial market. This is the impetus behind NYC Local Law 88, which requires all buildings 50,000 sf or greater to submeter all tenants of a certain minimum size by January 1, 2025.

In addition to energy savings, submetering is also good for building management, not to mention the stress level and health of the manager. Without submeters, how does one apportion electricity usage among tenants who perform different operations or have different routines or equipment? I was involved in a project years ago involving a mall that rented space to a variety of retail and professional firms. They were serviced by a single electric meter and that landlord apportioned monthly charges for electricity based on square footage size. The more room you took up, the more you paid for electricity. There was no motivation to reduce energy usage. After a dispute with one tenant, a restaurant, the landlord started to question his approach. In response to the dispute, the landlord changed the apportion and requested double the share to this restaurant. The restaurant owner, as you can imagine, was incensed and sued. I was brought in to determine the more likely inequities of charging the same rate per sf for a variety of tenants. It turned out that because of the large amount of refrigeration equipment, lights, and long hours of this restaurant, even doubling their electricity share was still not fair. They used more than three times as much electricity per square foot as the simple accounting or law firm or insurance agency, which operate a moderate number of lights, only one small refrigerator for worker lunches, and generally only from 9 am to 5 pm. Even the landlord himself had been shortchanged, as he operated in common areas just a small number of lights and other trivial electricity sources. The landlord submitted my report to the judge who agreed and ruled against the tenant and that it was fair to apportion more than the others. The landlord eventually submetered his mall, so this kind of dispute (and aggravation) will not come up again. Even the tenants applauded this, no longer having to worry about others taking advantage of the situation and knowing they would be charged for their actual utility consumption rather than a pro-rata share based on the square footage of their leased space.

Be aware that submetering is not just a simple installation and re-wiring job. For long-lasting benefits, this must be done professionally and should have input from IT professionals and electrical engineers.

It is likely worth the investment to tie submeters into building management networks to give landlords and tenants real time visibility into energy usage. Tenants can see where their electric bills are heading and incorporate changes in mid-cycle and not wait for their bill. Building owners and managers can use submetering data to plan for maintenance, upgrades, and future expansions.

CCES has the experts to advise you on potential submetering for your building and bring in experienced vendors to bid and implement such efforts to save you costs and reduce your stress. Contact us today at 914-584-6720 or at karell@CCESworld.com.

You have probably all seen news stories about severe weather, flooding, drought, and extreme heat or cold hitting different parts of the world, including the US. Scientists universally believe that Climate Change has not caused these conditions but have made them more extreme. More energy is in our atmosphere from the greater amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs) trapping more radiation. This clearly is contributing to the severity of effects. You accept that Climate Change is an important issue. But what can you do? Even if you implement your own plan and reduce your own energy usage and contribution of GHGs, how much can that make the Earth better when every new coal- or oil-fired power plant coming online anywhere in the world negates your efforts many times over?

The first thing to remember is that small and medium-sized businesses are more harmed by the physical and economic impacts of Climate Change than large companies because large firms often have backups and diversification to survive a downturn in one or several areas. Also, small businesses do not have the resources to determine Climate Change risks and do proper business planning. A poll by Small Business Majority indicated that one-third of small business owners report having been personally affected by extreme weather. And that poll was conducted 10 years ago!

What should you do? What can make a difference? Despite the news stories, don’t focus on the planet. Focus on your business. Plan and take Climate Change into consideration when making decisions on your business. Weather extremes are expected to occur more often. Think about your business, your markets, your operations and how they may be affected by Climate Change impacts.

Here are just some of the impacts Climate Change may have on your business:

• Rising risk of damage
• Rising insurance premiums
• Power outages
• Access to sufficient and high-quality water
• Damage to roads and critical infrastructure
• Injuries or illness; loss of work hours
• Increased need for energy (due to severe heat or cold), and its higher costs

So, get away from thinking about the global impacts of Climate Change and think about how these items influence your business. Are you located in an area that may be particularly vulnerable to any of these issues? Might your customers, clients, or suppliers be impacted by any of these? Prioritize which of these factors are most important to your business and begin to plan and act.

Then ask yourself whether you are most protected from these issues. For instance, if you live on a coast or in hurricane or tornado zone, are your business assets protected from severe damage as storms are likely to become more severe? If infrastructure is an issue, are there alternative ways for suppliers or for customers to reach you if a key highway or train track is severely damaged? Are your energy systems able to function in extreme heat or cold? Are there things you can do to reduce the risk of a business slowdown or shutdown and – at the same time – limit physical damage and reduce insurance risk? Again, remember to do this exercise not only for your business, but for your key supply chains and customer base.

This planning and implementation is a lot to ask of a small business owner. Take the opportunity to use free services from those around you to address these issues.

• Partner with local authorities. More and more cities and counties are establishing boards to deal with Climate Change impacts and they may offer literature or free advice.
• Seek advice from other business owners. What may happen to you will impact other businesses, too, and together you can plan better.
• Work with your elected officials and appropriate agencies. Make them aware that Climate Change’s impact on your town and business is important and should not be ignored or “kicked down the road” for another year or budget. This is a NOW issue. Resources can be made available. Vote!

Additionally, small businesses can take this opportunity to change its business model by launching new products or services to take advantage of increased consumer demand for products as a result of Climate Change and grow revenue.

CCES has the experts to help you develop and execute a Climate Change plan to benefit your specific business, reduce your critical riak points and potentially grow revenues. Contact us today at 914-584-6720 or at karell@CCESworld.com.

This is the season for spring cleaning and I took the time to find some old articles I had stored, and one came up listing the top 10 hurdles keeping businesses from being more sustainable. The article came out in 2011. How have we progressed? Are these still hurdles? Can we “laugh” at the concerns in 2023?

The top 10 hurdles for business sustainability in 2011:
1. There are too many metrics that claim to measure sustainability— and they’re too confusing.
2. Government policies need to incentivize outcomes and be more clearly connected to sustainability.
3. Consumers do not consistently factor sustainability into their purchase decisions.
4. Companies do not know how best to motivate employees to undertake sustainability initiatives.
5. Sustainability still does not fit neatly into the business case.
6. Companies have difficulty discriminating between important opportunities and threats on the horizon.
7. Organizations have trouble communicating good deeds credibly to avoid the label as greenwashing.
8. Better guidelines are needed for engaging key stakeholders, such as aboriginal communities.
9. There is no common set of rules for sourcing sustainably.
10. Those companies that try leading the sustainability frontier often end up losing.

In general, I think we can say that American society and government has addressed most of these concerns. Nothing is perfect. Nothing is easy. But the concerns holding back businesses that existed 12 years ago have certainly been lessened looking at how we have grown today.

Yes, there are still many sustainability metrics. But at least there are established, recognized programs, such as LEED and Energy Star. If you have either label, then you are accepted as “sustainable”. Also, more and more companies realize that a “plaque” is not necessary to prove one is sustainable. Doing good science and recordkeeping and demonstrating a decline in energy or water usage, in waste generation, and/or in greenhouse gas emissions is sufficient to demonstrate success in sustainability.

While there is inconsistency throughout the US, most states and regions incentivize programs that make companies, buildings, and communities more sustainable, whether it is specific for energy, water, or waste. This is generally based on the needs of the community (water, energy grid). But government or utility programs with direct financial incentives for verified, sustainable projects do exist.

It is probably true that consumers still do not factor sustainability or the environment in their purchasing decisions, although this has risen since 2011. Certainly, the growth in sales of EV cars is an example. However, the market contains too many other factors of importance (price, quality, etc.) for consumers to overwhelmingly base purchases on sustainability. The same is true of staff. Many people just focus on doing their jobs (job security) and do not look at other pictures.

There is a lot more support for companies that wish to be more sustainable than 12 years ago. There is experience in what types of projects will be more successful than others and how to manage them better to both benefit the bottomline and environment. Also, with social media booming the last 12 years, there are many opportunities to communicate success, and also to check that greenwashing has not occurred.

Finally, the last item has been proven to be a myth. Designing and implementing a smart, organized sustainability program is most likely going to benefit a company in many ways, including direct financial. There have been many case studies to show this is true. In addition, over time, more companies are being led by people who have studied this in business school and understand sustainability.

CCES has the experts to help you design and implement a robust sustainability program to help your bottomline and make actual gains in energy, greenhouse gas, water, and waste goals. Contact us today at 914-584-6720 or at karell@CCESworld.com.