Mission & Values
Programs, Planning & Policies
Sustainable Operations + Maintenance
As the slow economy creates more office vacancies, building owners and property managers are looking for new ways to attract tenants to their buildings. However, sustainable operations aren't just for commercial office spaces; many of the agencies and institutions with which we work are also adding sustainable elements to their operations and maintenance programs.
O'Brien & Company can provide a varied menu of options for creating a more sustainable, healthy and efficient indoor environment to meet the needs of any type of facility.
Learn more about
LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance
LEED-EB: O&M is just one tool businesses and building managers can use to maintain and operate their buildings in ways that improve the health of the building occupants and do so at peak effectiveness. The latest version of the rating system was launched by the US Green Building Council in 2009 and is unique in that any building — regardless of whether it was designed and built green — can apply for certification.
The rating system includes strategies such as integrated pest management, alternative commuting, water-efficient landscaping, minimum energy efficiency performance, sustainable purchasing policies for durable and consumable goods, indoor air quality management program, green cleaning, and credit for innovations in operations.
O'Brien & Company can help evaluate the current level of sustainability of a facility, develop a plan for certification, write or review plans and policies, develop innovation credits for your facility, and/or prepare and submit the LEED documentation to earn the certification. We have worked through the challenges of the rating system with many building types including an office building, event space, retreat center, retirement community and more.
Our LEED-EB: O+M services include
- Gap analysis: how close are you to being certifiable under LEED-EB?
- Complete Certification Project Management
- Calculating Energy Star Portfolio Manager score
- Conducting third-party audits and surveys
- Writing or updating of O+M plans or policies to meet the LEED-EB requirements
- Calculating compliance with other LEED-EB credits
- Tenant/Occupant participation guidelines for involvement in the LEED-EB process
If you're considering LEED-EB certification for your building, contact us to request our free 10 Key Considerations that will help you think through some key issues before you begin.
Building Benchmarking with Energy Star Portfolio Manager
Want to know how your building compares to its peers in terms of energy performance? Need to get ahead of the curve for the Washington State law (SB 5854) requiring energy performance reporting?
Energy Star Portfolio Manager provides tools and resources for building owners and managers to track their energy use and compare it to their peers. The rating is calculated based on actual energy use, compared against building size, location, number of occupants, number of computers, and more. The output is a rating on a scale of 1 to 100 which shows the relative energy efficiency of the buildings operation.
Even for buildings that aren't eligible for a rating, Portfolio Manager can help generate reports related to climate/carbon impacts, cost implications of energy efficiency measures, and more.We can help you set up your account, enter your information correctly so you get an accurate score, and provide you the training you need to maintain your information to maximize the usefulness of the tool.
Sustainability without Certification
For those who want to to take smaller steps towards sustainability, O'Brien & Company can guide your efforts through developing a composting program, instituting green housekeeping, or beginning any other new program to green up your act.
Examples include:
- Green Housekeeping Policy to protect the health of building occupants
- Integrated Pest Management Plan, including both indoor and outdoor concerns
- Sustainable Purchasing Policy / Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Plan
- Sustainable Waste Management Policy or Plan
For more information
about Sustainable Operations & Maintenance projects, contact Kelly Kirkland at 206-621-8626 x 122.
