BOMA joins Dept. of Energy and commercial real estate executives to launch Commercial Real Estate Energy Alliance

The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International's chair and chief elected officer Richard Purtell and president and COO Henry Chamberlain met with Department of Energy (DOE) officials and top executives from 18 other commercial real estate companies at 7 World Trade Center in New York City to discuss how to reduce the sector´s energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The meeting launched DOE´s Commercial Real Estate Energy Alliance (CREEA), a collaboration of commercial real estate owners and operators who have volunteered to work directly with each other and with DOE to exact lasting change in the energy consumption of commercial real estate buildings in the U.S. The CREEA launch event featured an executive roundtable on Energy Efficiency and Sustainability in Commercial Real Estate and a press opportunity followed by a reception. The energy alliance links building owners and operators with research and technologies emerging from DOE national laboratories. It serves as a national forum in which best practices in energy efficiency are documented and publicized and in which peers can share practical experiences and insights. It also serves as a collective buying voice to influence suppliers of building materials to create more energy-efficient equipment. CREEA is part of DOE´s Net-Zero Energy Commercial Building Initiative (CBI), which aims to achieve market-ready, zero-energy commercial buildings by 2025. "BOMA has long been a leader in the energy movement, delivering products and programs to the industry that encourage reducing energy consumption while enhancing asset values and tenant satisfaction," said Purtell, portfolio manager, Grubb & Ellis Management Services, Inc. "CREEA´s goals align with our objectives and we look forward to working with DOE and the commercial real estate sector to share strategies and develop new technologies that will make the industry even more efficient." "In these challenging economic times, improving energy efficiency is one of the most effective and expeditious routes to lower operating expenses for building owners and tenants, and to enhance property competitiveness," said Scott Hine, acting program manager for DOE´s Building Technologies Program. "The Commercial Real Estate Energy Alliance will guide research strategies at the Department of Energy aimed at achieving deep reductions in energy consumption of commercial real estate buildings and help to shape a more sustainable future for the nation. " Members of the CREEA Steering committee who have been instrumental in setting the direction and goals of the alliance include executives from BOMA International, CB Richard Ellis, Cushman & Wakefield, Grubb & Ellis, Hilton Hotels Corporation, Jones Lang LaSalle, MGM Mirage, Transwestern, U.S. General Services Administration, USAA Real Estate Co., The Walt Disney Co., Wyndham Hotel and Resorts, American Hotel and Lodging Association, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Illuminating Engineering Society of North America, International Council of Shopping Centers, National Association of Industrial and Office Properties and the Real Estate Roundtable. For more on CREEA and BOMA's energy efficiency initiatives, visit The G.R.E.E.N.—BOMA's Green Resource Energy and Environment Network—under the Resources tab on www.boma.org.