On behalf of a light manufacturing and warehousing facility in New York State, Climate Change & Environmental Services (CCES) is performing an energy modeling study to qualify it for IRS deductions under its Energy Performance or EPAct rule under Section 179D of the IRS Code. This facility recently implemented major upgrades to its buildings, including [...]

There is a profound change going on in business attitudes as seen in several business publications recently. A growing focus for companies is on conservation of energy and other natural resources (i.e., water, raw materials, etc.) they depend on for their product. Lately, there has been relatively great volatility in the global supply and demand [...]

May 8, 2012 First, note that this article is NOT meant to provide any legal advice. It does address the issue of certification responsibilities under LEED or any green building performance. While an owner may desire a new or existing building to meet LEED standards and hire an engineer or architect to prepare design documents [...]

April 30, 2012 While the focus of the environmental controversy concerning hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) has been contamination of aquifers and other water supplies, a recent U. of Colorado study indicates that a much bigger health risk may be air emissions from fracking, such as high levels of air toxic, VOC, and methane emissions. With this [...]

April 24, 2012 The USEPA recently released its 17th annual U.S. GHG emissions inventory, The Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2010 (http://epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/usinventoryreport.html). The report shows overall GHG emissions in 2010 increased by 213 million metric tons or 3.2% from the previous year, despite a recession. About 77% of all GHG emissions derive [...]

On March 27, 2012, the USEPA announced a new draft rule regulating GHG emissions from new electric utility generating units (EGUs) under New Source Performance Standards (NSPS), Section 111 of the Clean Air Act. This is a first, as previous new rules regulating GHG emissions have been issued under the New Source Review and Title [...]

Climate Change & Environmental Services (CCES) announces their involvement in the successful conversion of the boilers at East River Housing (ERH), a 2,600-unit apartment complex located in lower Manhattan from burning heavy No. 6 fuel oil to burning cleaner and significantly less expensive natural gas. CCES served as the chief environmental engineer and the construction [...]

April 10, 2012 We are coming up soon on the 2nd anniversary of the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico. While the oil spill has been capped, the beaches cleaned, and most businesses returned to normal (or so we’re told), it is important to examine the lessons learned. While petroleum engineers [...]

April 3, 2012 Well, the first quarter of 2012 has come to an end, meaning the release of surveys and other studies of sustainability in 2011. The MIT Sloan Management Review Report was recently released (http://sloanreview.mit.edu/feature/sustainability-strategy/). According to their survey, corporate sustainability programs grew markedly in 2011. About 70% of nearly 3,000 executives surveyed said [...]

March 27, 2012 One interesting area that makes sustainability unique is its necessary integration of business concepts as it addresses environmental issues. While in science we look at a wastewater discharge or an air emission by its characteristics, in sustainability we have the opportunity to take a more holistic approach to material and energy usage [...]