This week, we spoke with Kurt Padavano about Advanced Realty Group's new energy conservation program...
Can you give readers some background about Advanced Realty Group and its new energy conservation program?
We've been in business for 30 years. Our portfolio of properties extends from New Jersey down through the Washington D.C. market and includes about 5 million square feet. Most of our properties are suburban office product, with some high rise, urban mixed-use projects, as well as industrial and a little bit of retail.
Where are you headquartered?
Bedminster, New Jersey.
Can you talk a little bit about the energy conservation program?
We've been working on energy and sustainability pieces for probably four years now, during which time we've continuously stepped up the emphasis, training, and education of our staff. We have also been working with our tenants on low- and no-cost energy savings initiatives. These are energy-saving measures that don't require large capital improvements, such as adjustments to operating systems and maintenance.
What's your involvement with GSH Group?
We are under contract with GSH Group. They are a performance-based contractor and they guarantee a certain percentage of consumption savings on our utilities. This includes electric, gas, and water, as well as providing the staffing, expertise, and systems for operating. GSH covers about half of the buildings in our portfolio, which will be expanded further as we move through this year. We've also signed onto the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International 7-Point Challenge. BOMA is headquartered out of Washington D.C., and they have about 17,000 members around the globe. I had the honor of being their international chairman last year. Associations are doing a lot to provide education, information, training materials, and state and federal representation on issues of code development, sustainability, and energy conservation. They are also having an impact on the energy bill at the congressional level. So, associations are playing a big part in moving the agenda forward for the industry. It's very difficult for one company to do those kinds of things, but an association can draw upon the greater industry as a resource.
How did your work with BOMA factor into what you're doing with Advanced Realty Group?
Well, it certainly gave me an international back-drop of what's going on around the world in energy and sustainability. I hosted an international energy summit in London in October of last year. The emphasis was on how the U.S. can learn how to save energy through the example of European countries that have had high energy costs for many more years than we have. They're more progressive and have a longer history of energy savings, sustainability, and recycling initiatives. We pulled everybody together to see what's going on around the world, and that gave us the opportunity to select the best and bring them back to the United States.
We've also worked very closely with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at the national level. They have some benchmarking tools that allow us to compare our energy consumption to similar buildings of construction type, age, and use. We're targeting 30 percent energy savings by 2012 as benchmarked against similar buildings in the United States. The EPA standards allow us to rank our buildings and prioritize where we want to put our efforts or capital investments. It's very difficult to pick a starting point when you have a portfolio of 60 or 70 buildings.
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