Walraven Testifies Before Congress on Energy Efficiency in Federal Buildings

Business Wire, July 19, 2007

BOMA International Chairman-Elect Advises on Strategies to Improve Energy Efficiency and Recommends Benchmarking Energy Performance

WASHINGTON -- Brenna Walraven, RPA, CPM, Chairman-Elect of the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International, and Executive Managing Director, National Property Management, USAA Real Estate Company, testified today before Congress on energy conservation in federal buildings.

Walraven issued a statement before a hearing of the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management, House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on proven strategies for reducing energy consumption and the importance of benchmarking energy performance.

Walraven briefed Chairman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D.C. Delegate to Congress) and the Subcommittee members on the success of the BOMA Energy Efficiency Program (BEEP), developed in conjunction with EPA's ENERGY STAR[R] program. "The BEEP curriculum is focused on no- and low-cost ways to reduce energy consumption in office buildings," Walraven told subcommittee members. "We estimate that if only 2,000 buildings adopt BEEP's no- and low-cost best practices over the next three years, energy consumption and carbon emissions will be reduced by 10 percent, which will result in $400 million in energy savings and 6.6 billion pounds less carbon dioxide released in to the atmosphere."

She also recommended that all property managers benchmark their buildings to get a baseline ENERGY STAR Energy Performance Rating and make an action plan to improve the rating by identifying areas for improvements, setting realistic and achievable performance goals, and focusing on operational strategy and no- and low-cost improvements.

When setting priorities for energy efficiency, Walraven recommended looking first at the "low hanging fruit," beginning with operations and management; occupant behavior; lighting; controls; and finally other equipment and retrofit opportunities. "There are many no- and low-cost energy reduction measures that operators of public and private sector buildings can take that improve the performance of the building, improve energy efficiency, and save money - without sacrificing tenant comfort," said Walraven. "BOMA believes that building owners and managers should continuously assess their energy usage and strive to be responsible environmental stewards."

To read Walraven's entire statement, visit www.boma.org.

The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International is an international federation of more than 90 local associations and affiliated organizations. BOMA's 16,500-plus members own or manage more than 9 billion square feet of commercial properties in North America and throughout the world. The mission of BOMA International is to enhance the human, intellectual and physical assets of the commercial real estate industry through advocacy, education, research, standards and information. Founded in 1907, BOMA International celebrates 100 years of commercial real estate in 2007. Learn more at www.boma.org.