To Hartz Mountain Industries, "going green" and "sustainable" are more than just "buzz" words

"Going green" and "sustainable design" have always been more than just industry buzzwords for Hartz Mountain Industries. I first began contemplating ways that Hartz could reduce its carbon footprint in 2006, after attending the Clinton Global Initiative Conference on Climate Change. Affecting this change was of course was no small endeavor. Headquartered in Secaucus, N.J., Hartz owns and manages one of the largest privately-held commercial real estate portfolios in the U.S., comprised of approximately 200 properties and totaling more than 38 million s/f in the northern New Jersey/New York area. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that buildings account for 39% of energy use, 12% of total water consumption, 68% of total electricity consumption and 38% of carbon dioxide emissions. We see these numbers as a call to action. In 2007, we implemented our Green Building and Sustainability Initiative, one of the most extensive and ambitious green building and sustainable design programs in New Jersey. Our goal is to significantly reduce our carbon footprint by addressing every aspect of our business, from architecture to office waste. Hartz has since amended all of its leases by imposing sustainability regulations on its tenants, which, among other things, require the tenants to renovate their spaces in accordance with Hartz's "Design Guidelines for Sustainability." These guidelines include requirements such as: * The use of waterless urinals, each of which save 40,000 gallons of water per year. * The use of high-efficiency lighting such as fluorescent lighting. * The installation of high-efficiency HVAC systems, which help reduce energy consumption. * The use of building construction materials that improve indoor air quality. Hartz has committed itself to function as a leader in this realm, with the hope that other commercial real estate firms would follow our example. To help show other companies exactly how Hartz has embraced sustainable design, we recently launched a new website, www.hartzmountain.com/green-site, to capture the performance of our sustainability initiative. On the website's front page, a graphic shows in real time the power output of the solar panels atop the Meadowlands Expo Center in Secaucus, N.J. This array now produces approximately 40% of the electrical needs of MEC. The 412-kilowatt SunPower solar array is the first of many solar installations that Hartz plans to install on the roofs of buildings, predominantly warehouses, and on brownfield sites. I am proud to note that it was also the first completed solar installation in New Jersey to be partially funded by PSE&G's Solar Loan Program. Our new website's Conservation and Energy Reduction Center section walks people through the six key facets of our sustainability initiative: our hospitality program, solar energy, sustainable development, water conservation, lighting and HVAC, and office waste conservation. Our 2008 recycling efforts are estimated to have saved: * 43,500 mature trees * 8,900 cubic yards of landfill space * 1.2 million gallons of gasoline * 17.9 million gallons of water Hartz Mountain has shown that sustainable design can be embraced in a manner that is both cost effective and far-reaching. It's a path that should no longer be debated by commercial real estate companies, and with the wealth of information we are now putting at everyone's fingertips, we hope that many other companies embark on their own sustainable initiatives. Emanuel Stern is president and COO of Hartz Mountain Industries Inc, Secaucus, N.J.