Sustainability Strategies, Eric Duchon explains, âIn 2006, when our client Adobe Systems earned LEED Platinum .... Cus
USGBC CASE STUDY
LEED VOLUME PROGRAM
FOR OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE
CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD, INC. 18 CERTIFIED BUILDINGS AND COUNTING
89 30%
average ENERGY STAR rating
51%
average reduction in water usage over LEED baseline*
average waste diversion of ongoing consumables*
*17 buildings vs. 18 buildings for all other statistics
Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Campus, LEED Certified
USGBC CASE STUDY CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD GLOBAL REAL ESTATE SOLUTIONS
Helping Navigate the World of Sustainable Building Operations Integrating LEED into management practices Exceptional Customer Service: A C&W Tradition Cushman & Wakefield is the world’s largest privately held commercial real estate services firm. Founded in 1917, it has 234 offices in 61 countries and more than 13,000 employees. The firm represents a diverse customer base ranging from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies. It offers a complete range of services within five primary disciplines: • Transaction Services, including tenant and landlord representation in office, industrial and retail real estate • Capital Markets, including property sales, investment management, investment banking, debt and equity financing • Corporate Occupier & Investor Services, including integrated real estate strategies for large corporations and property owners • Consulting Services, including business and real estate consulting • Valuation & Advisory, including appraisals, highest and best use analysis, dispute resolution and litigation support, along with specialized expertise in various industry sectors In recent years, sustainability has become an important consideration for Cushman & Wakefield clients and for the company itself. As Cushman & Wakefield Manager of Sustainability Strategies, Eric Duchon explains, “In 2006, when our client Adobe Systems earned LEED Platinum certification on its headquarters in San Jose - and then saw the subsequent benefits – the writing was on the wall. We moved quickly to add sustainable building to our mix of services.” Under the stewardship of Global Head of Facilities Management, Frank Freda, C&W immersed itself in this important new section of the commercial real estate market. The company’s objective was not merely to assist clients looking to explore sustainable operations, but also to lead those parties to practical and efficient customized sustainable operations solutions through the LEED Volume Program. C&W’s timing was perfect.
“The LEED Volume Program benefitted both our corporate occupier and investor clients by providing a streamlined and cost-effective approach to certification. It also allowed us to educate and empower our management professionals so that they are now able to implement sustainable operations and practices at our properties.” - John Santora, President and CEO Corporate Occupier and Investor Services Cushman & Wakefield
PURSUING A CERTIFIED PATH TO SUSTAINABILITY In early 2008, the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Volume Pilot was in its early stages, and Cushman & Wakefield joined as one of the first participants to pursue Volume certification using the LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance rating system. LEED for Existing Buildings rewards top building performance and emphasizes consistent sustainable practices in a property’s ongoing operations and maintenance. It addresses whole-building cleaning and maintenance issues, recycling programs, exterior maintenance programs and building upgrades. For C&W, the pilot was an opportunity to take multiple buildings through the LEED process as one unit and, therefore, accelerate the spread of green operations and maintenance practices within their managed portfolio. Right from the start, Cushman & Wakefield’s plans were ambitious. Its Sustainability Strategies team sought to develop a viable process that would make sustainable operations and maintenance, including LEED certification, available to its entire managed U.S. portfolio of 360 million square feet. To gauge interest, C&W sent out feelers to its client base. Property managers representing 80 commercial buildings stepped forward. Of those, 19 properties, representing both multi-tenant and corporate clients, ultimately participated in the program.
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USGBC CASE STUDY Key benefits of program participation: • Establishing a competitive edge: C&W became the first commercial real estate service provider to earn LEED Volume certification for buildings within its portfolio, a strong point of differentiation. • Developing a tailored approach to LEED certification: C&W worked closely with USGBC to develop a standardized approach to volume certification for existing buildings that smartly complemented the firm’s already well-established business operations. • Meeting client needs efficiently: Pursuing the volume approach allows C&W clients to earn LEED certification for their buildings while cultivating in-house expertise. • Creating a sustainable building information resource: C&W used its LEED Volume Program experience to develop a manual of green policies that was then shared with all of its clients. • Expanding its range of client services: Through the LEED Volume Program, C&W has been able to expand its range of services into important, new directions. • Gaining valuable O&M expertise: Because the buildings that C&W brought through the program were structurally and operationally varied, the company has gained a wealth of vital expertise that will serve it well in years to come. • Cultivating organizational leadership: Through an innovative educational program (see next section) that included an important ‘networking’ component, C&W was able to help its clients and building management teams gain essential insight on sustainable building practices, including the requirements of the LEED rating system.
A DO-IT-YOURSELF APPROACH TO VOLUME CERTIFICATION There’s an old Chinese proverb that says, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” As a property manager, Cushman & Wakefield subscribed to the “lifetime” line of thinking when they crafted their approach to volume certification. In implementing its sustainable operations and maintenance program, the Sustainability Strategies team sought to leverage the experience of seasoned property managers from the 19 participating buildings. After all, who could be better positioned to ensure a building’s ongoing compliance with LEED requirements than those who were already responsible for its daily operations and management? There was just one important step: those employees would need to be educated about LEED.
TRENDS FIRST EVER VOLUME CERTIFICATION UNDER LEED FOR EXISTING BUILDINGS: O&M
-- 18 commercial buildings across six states -- Buildings spread among many C&W clients -- Over 8 million square feet of commercial real estate
RESULTS
211.36 MtCO2e/year average green house gas emissions reduction
C&W was interested in creating a program that dovetailed with its existing Property/Facilities Operations Manual. To meet this goal, a supplemental sustainability chapter was crafted around the credit structure of the LEED for Existing Buildings rating system. That chapter not only defined and standardized how C&W integrates sustainability into its operational processes and procedures; but it also served as the foundation for C&W’s educational program. The heart of the program: A solid education in LEED Like the procedures manual, the educational program was LEED credit driven. Aside from an introduction to LEED and an overview of the LEED Volume Program, it featured instruction on each relevant credit. Because C&W’s participating buildings were located in six states, the educational curriculum was delivered via a bi-weekly series of webinars. The webinars helped the managers and their teams understand: • The benefits of LEED and the LEED Volume Program • The intent behind each LEED credit • How to conduct a gap analysis for their buildings • How to analyze credit requirements • How to use C&W’s program tools and resources to document each credit • How to implement prescribed credit practices
Photos courtesy of: Wells Fargo (cover), BPG Properties (back - top), MetLife (back - bottom)
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USGBC CASE STUDY Throughout the instructional period, participating Cushman & Wakefield property managers served as the central contact for their buildings, receiving advance copies of the syllabus, and instructional materials and tools. They were also notified of topic areas and presenters, and could invite members of their support team to participate in sessions. Along with instruction, the program offered a valuable networking component that encouraged interaction among individuals representing different buildings and disciplines. “Open mic” webinar sessions allowed participants to compare and contrast problems and solutions related to their respective areas of expertise. At the end of the day, dozens of staff members, whose roles were essential to the properties that they managed and operated, learned the skills that were needed to run their buildings sustainably and efficiently. Those skills, as the old Chinese proverb says, will continue to pay dividends for a lifetime.
Metropoint 600 Building Lobby, LEED Certified BPG Properties, LTD
FINAL THOUGHTS Participation in the LEED Volume Pilot Program reinforced Cushman & Wakefield’s position as a market leader in the commercial real estate services industry. Perhaps most importantly, it demonstrated C&W’s distinct ability to read the commercial real estate marketplace, interpret trends, and anticipate their clients’ needs.
MetLife Bridgewater, LEED Gold
Today, by operating proactively, C&W has differentiated itself as unique among its competitive set, in providing: • Informed LEED for Existing Buildings consulting services • Customized education and training • The implementation and management of large scale sustainability programs Additionally, C&W has positioned itself to provide other LEED-based services, including pre-screenings, gap analyses, and tool development. Since the beginning of 2008, the amount of square footage certified under LEED for Existing Buildings has increased dramatically, from less than 5% of all LEED certified footage to almost 43%. What’s more, the rate of certification of all LEED projects has, itself, risen to more than 1 million square feet per day. Given this rapidly increasing market uptake, Cushman & Wakefield has taken the necessary steps to ensure its ability to usher a large and growing portfolio of clients into an era of more sustainable and efficient building operations and management. Clearly, Cushman & Wakefield has made a timely investment not only in its future, but also in that of its clients. For more information, visit www.cushwake.com
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE LEED FOR VOLUME PROGRAM Visit: www.usgbc.org/leedvolume
ABOUT THE U.S. GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL AND LEED The U.S. Green Building Council is committed to a prosperous and sustainable future for our nation through cost-efficient and energy-saving green buildings. With a community comprising 79 local affiliates, nearly 16,000 member organizations, and more than 166,000 LEED Professional Credential holders, USGBC is the driving force of an industry. The U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED green building certification system is the foremost program for the design, construction and operation of green buildings. Nearly 40,000 projects are currently participating in the commercial and institutional LEED rating systems, comprising nearly 8 billion square feet of construction space in all 50 states and 120 countries.
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