AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Austin-based affiliate of the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) announces its endorsement of a program to reduce greenhouse emissions released by its members’ 35 million square feet of commercial office space. At its recent board of directors meeting, BOMA Austin passed a resolution to begin benchmarking energy usage of its members’ 35 million square feet of commercial space in Greater Austin. The goal is to quantify local commercial building energy consumption through the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Energy Star Program and to implement measures to reduce greenhouse emissions. “Austin is striving to be a leader in reducing greenhouse emissions. Mayor Will Wynn has a progressive plan for shrinking the City of Austin’s carbon footprint. One of the biggest concerns is the emissions from existing buildings,” said John Sutton, Committee Chair, BOMA Austin. “Commercial buildings consume some 70 percent of the energy in the U.S. and are responsible for 38 percent of the greenhouse emissions. BOMA is striving to be a leader on emission reduction. Our benchmarking initiative will create a framework for reaching key goals.” BOMA Austin will leverage the BOMA Energy Efficiency Program (BEEP), a collaborative effort with the EPA’s Energy Star Program, to reduce energy usage through no- and low-cost strategies. Members will be able to track their progress in collaboration with local utilities. BEEP’s best-practices strive to create a 30 percent in reduction energy usage in commercial buildings. BOMA Austin’s goal is to achieve this reduction in 90 percent of its member buildings over the next three years. “BOMA Austin’s benchmarking program is a critical first step toward achieving the energy efficiency goals outlined in the Austin Climate Protection Plan,” said Mayor Wynn. “I applaud the move and hope other business associations and community organizations will follow BOMA’s lead.” BOMA Austin’s move endorses and supports the BOMA International Environmental Task Force recommendation to create an energy conservation business plan that focuses on a strategy to transform the industry to reduce real estate’s greenhouse emissions and dependence on non-renewable sources of energy through voluntary measures. The commercial office building industry spends approximately $24 billion annually nationally on energy costs, the single largest controllable operating expense for office buildings. The BEEP program estimates a 30 percent reduction in energy consumption, or $7.2 billion, is readily achievable by improving building operating standards.
