Trying to turn a property of any size into one that is environmentally friendly can seem like a vast and never ending undertaking. Don’t let that discourage you. Starting with the office you work in, there are a multitude of simple steps that can be taken to make it greener. Below we cover a few simple things that you might have neglected… things you can do to clean up and green up your office space.
One of a property manager’s biggest concerns can be the monthly water bill and this pertains to both commercial and residential properties. When you add in the charges for sewers, plus the potential costs of water pipe upkeep and repair, backflow inspections and many other things, the total amount of money spent can seem endless.
Unfortunately, just like with electricity, trying to monitor the potential water use of each tenant would be at the very least incredibly difficult, if not impossible. But there are many things you can do, short of shutting the water off, to save water and keep the expense down and do something good for the environment at the same time.
What’s the easiest way to save energy, many property managers ask? Well, truthfully, the easiest way to save is not to use energy in the first place. That being rather impractical, there are many things that can be done to reduce how much energy you use. Here’s a few tips below on reducing how much power your property uses… and how to assess the return.
GreenFtLauderdale.com tells local stories about people and organizations doing good things in the community. Share your best practices, good deeds, and the people who make a difference. We’d love to show your photos too.
Started in 2004, over 75 local authors have talked about their companies and non-profits. Write an about us page, highlighting how you’ve reduced, recycled, and cleaned up your corner of South Florida. We think being green means communities that care about their future. Wasting less, preserving species, like Sea Turtle and dolphins, setting aside land as green space, using local plants and xeriscaping to use less water. And tell us about all the products you use that save electricity, reduce waste, and lessen our impact.
How do you measure and track energy use in your building? Have you ever heard of the Energy Star Portfolio Manger? With this tool, you can manage and see energy and water usage in your building, and rate its performance.
Portfolio Manager is an interactive energy management tool that allows you to track and assess energy and water consumption across your entire portfolio of buildings in a secure online environment. Whether you own, manage, or hold properties for investment, Portfolio Manager can help you set investment priorities, identify under-performing buildings, verify efficiency improvements, and receive EPA recognition for superior energy performance.
The Green Futures Foundation is a non-profit organization that partners with local restaurants to recycle waste vegetable oil into clean burning biodiesel fuel. Proceeds from this fund raising activity are used to fund local green education programs and scholarships for students interested in studying renewable energy, energy efficiency, and sustainable living topics.
A simple idea that turns a waste product into needed fuel, Green Futures has hit upon a novel way to incetivize restaurants into greening up their operations.
An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer of his plans to leave the home building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife, enjoying his extended family. He would miss his paycheck, but needed to retire.
The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time, it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his career.
We invite you to join us on April 7, 2011, from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM, for a Florida 2011 state energy legislation briefing, including an overview of the renewable energy scene and time for open discussion with George Cavros, Esq., and Susan Glickman. Please register today.
The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) invites you to join us for a webinar on April 7, 2011, from 12:00 to 1:00 PM to learn about what’s happening in terms of energy policy for Florida in the current legislative session – and what’s not. The webinar will be hosted by those directly engaged in Tallahassee: SACE’s clean energy consultant George Cavros, Esq. and our lobbyist in Tallahassee, Susan Glickman.
There’s a new trend in big cities–sharing bicycles to get around town. Broward County just announced that bike sharing program is about to begin here in Ft. Lauderdale. As a cycling enthusiast, I love the concept and hope to see more people taking a quick ride from the office for lunch. It’s a great lifestyle changer that will save money, gas and congestion. Tourist or local, I hope this takes off.
On April 19th, Fort Lauderdale’s 93 Rock caught up with Richard Evans, CEO of the Community Greenhouse Foundation, for an Earth Week interview.
Richard spoke to South Florida, highlighting Ways people can be more water, waste and energy efficient in their homes and businesses. Input included how Communities can start to move to be more sustainable and how the Green America Business Challenge was developed. They concluded with turning the foreclosure crisis into opportunity to address our country’s need for energy independence and a plug for the Green Expo 2009 in Fort Lauderdale.
If you like what we're doing, donate to our work. We appreciate it and it helps us to do more locally.
Internet Design by Longbow.net | GreenFtLauderdale™ ©2013 Longbow Strategic Group, Inc. | All Rights Reserved.
GreenFtLauderdale.com content is licensed under Creative Commons. To share our stuff credit the author and this site.
Submit articles, photos and videos to us.