Upcoming Events
In continuing our mission to support the citywide effort to reduce the carbon footprint of our buildings, the Building Performance and The Newman Real Estate Institute, in partnership with the Sallan Foundation, is presenting; Legally Green: What You Need To Know about Your Property and the GREENER, Greater Buildings Plan. The seminar will be held on Thursday, Dec. 3rd, 8:30 am – 11:30 am, at the William and Anita Newman Conference Center (151 East 25th St., Room 750). We’ve assembled a team of knowledgeable speakers, including Lab Director Michael Bobker and many valued members of our Stakeholder Consortium.
The conference is free. Find a link to more information and a registration form on the Newman Real Estate Institute homepage,
www.zicklin.baruch.cuny.edu/newman.
News
November 2009
This year has and still is a successful and arduous one for us at the Building Performance Lab. Our Continuing Education Program and the Intern Energy Program has grown by leaps and bounds since we first opened our doors in 2007. To read more about our recent activities please downloads copies of our quarterly issues of Lab notes.
Current Lab Note: Fall 2009
Past Lab Notes: Summer 2009
Winter 2008
"Fall 2009"
Among our many projects this fall was a research paper "The Evolving Picture of Energy Efficiency Financing for New York City Commercial Buildings" prepared on behalf of our Finance Working Group. The group was formed this spring to look into stimulus funding for retrofit projects in commercial spaces. Not finding many, the group’s scope expanded to existing and emerging funding mechanisms, including those funded publicly, through tax incentives and utility-based incentive programs, and private models. Ellen Sinreich President and CEO of Green Edge LLC and a Consortium member, and Lab interns Daniella Liefer and Ryan North, took on the task of researching and preparing the paper. They were assisted in their research by Mayur Subbarao, Executive Vice-President of the Sustainability Profit Group, who has put together financing for energy efficient retrofits in New York City and the surrounding area.
A draft of the report was presented during the November 12th 2009 Stakeholder Consortium meeting to a large audience, and was well received. The final draft of the report will be released soon.
Please follow this link “Finance Working Group” to read more about their work and to download a copy of the draft report.
April 2009
In April, Nora Sherman, Deputy Director of the Lab, participated in the Regional Energy Efficiency Workforce Forum. The conference, which was co-sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM), was convened to “enhance efforts to advance energy efficiency in the Northeast, and […] help transform our economy through environmental solutions,” as Ira W. Leighton, acting regional administrator of EPA’s New England office, explained. Nora was a panelist on the “Visions for Pathways Forward” panel, which highlighted programs that are poised to lead workforce development efforts as greater public and private funding is directed to energy efficiency projects.
March 2009
The Lab's Continuing Education program, in cooperation with the NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services and the CUNY School of Professional Studies, will begin offering a class for operating engineers of municipal buildings. Students will have the opportunity to work toward the nationally recognized Building Operator Certification. The course was developed in coordination with the Energy Services and Technology degree program at Bronx Community College. The pilot program includes 25 students; we hope to expand the offerings in the future.
The Continuing Education program is also partnering with the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 94 to offer a class for union members at its Training Center. The curriculum introduces the concepts of energy management and green building practices at the facilities level; students will have the option of pursuing the Building Operator Certification. The program has the strong support of Vornado Realty Trust and NYSERDA, a major local supporter of certification programs.
February 2009
Nora Sherman, Director of the Intern Energy Program, represented the Lab at the Good Jobs, Green Jobs National Conference in Washington, DC. She exchanged ideas about creative approaches to workforce development for high-performance building operations with people from across the country, and was pleased to find enthusiasm for our model of cooperation between higher education, business, and community-based organizations.
January 2009
The Lab is proud to announce a partnership with Sustainable South Bronx (SSBx), a leading environmental justice organization. Lab intern Danielle Leifer will be working with SSBx to help them develop and implement a workforce training program for building retrofitting. She'll also be working on a business plan for a self-sustaining retrofitting business, and working with Nora Sherman, Director of the Intern Energy Program, and SSBx's development staff to raise support for a permanent SSBx-CUNY internship.