We are excited to announce that funding for the Green Supers program has been extended an additional six months beyond the original January deadline! Through a no cost extension provided by the Federal Government, as well as additional funding from the Local 32BJ Thomas Shortman Training Fund, the program will continue to run until the end of June 2012.

To date, almost 2,000 32BJ members have enrolled in the Green Supers training program. This extension allows us to continue training and certifying members as Multifamily Building Operators throughout the New York City area. With our recent move to our new location at 25 West 18th Street, members will have access to our new facilities equipped with the latest technology (like our new interactive smartboards) to help enhance their learning experience.

Now is the time to sign up your 32BJ building staff for training - your building will thank you. Call (212) 388-3220 or email 1000supers@32bjfunds.com and get with the program!

Once buildings get beyond greening their basic operations and maintenance, they may want to pursue more capital intensive green improvements, like cogeneration, solar panels or green roofs. But your building may run into zoning code restrictions around where and how they can place these improvements on your building. This shouldn't be a surprise since the last major overhaul of the zoning codes was from another era - the early 1960's.

To address this, the NYC Planning Commission has proposed "Zone Green", a series of zoning code changes to make the codes more green friendly. Here are a few of the proposed changes:
- Allow rooftop green infrastructure improvements with limited visibility from the street. For example, solar panels could be placed on flat roofs anywhere below the parapet, regardless of building height. Portions of taller solar installations that are higher than 4 feet would be subject to limits on roof coverage and height. On sloping roofs, panels would be allowed to be flat-mounted (less than 18" high). This impacts other roof improvements, such as green roofs, installing cogeneration systems and boilers on the roof, small wind turbines, blue roofs for retaining stormwater, skylights and rooftop greenhouses.
- Allow existing buildings to add external insulation within the property line, while exempting it from floor area calculations and yard and open space regulations. This is an exciting approach to improving the building envelope without disturbing the interior structure. Installing external insulation typically adds about four inches of wall thickness, but up to eight inches would be allowed to encourage highly efficient retrofits.
- Allow sun control devices and awnings to project 2'-6" over required open areas. Back in the day, prior to air conditioning, shading on windows were common place. Now they are being rediscovered as a green building strategy that reduces heat in the summer.

There are also proposed changes for other cutting edge green improvements, including solar panel canopies over parking lots, electric vehicle charging and battery swapping and the use of permeable pavement near schools. Read more about these proposed zoning code changes at www.nyc.gov/zonegreen . The Zone Green proposals were made public on December 12th. They are now being reviewed by community boards and borough presidents. There will be public hearings and review by the Planning Commission sometime in February, followed in the spring by a review and vote by the City Council.

Are you managing a building that has a City Steam heating system? Then you will want to read the following Cold Weather Alert from for Con Edison Steam Customers:

Winter has arrived and we would like to remind you about some steam management practices and energy saving tips that will help you make the most efficient use of your steam and keep your system operating safely. Here's what you can do:
- Consider preheating your building during the night to better maintain comfortable conditions the next morning.
- Reduce building heat loss by closing all windows and loading dock doors not in use.
- Reduce temperatures in non-occupied or overheated spaces to reduce steam demand.
- Clean heat exchanger surfaces on air handling equipment and hot water heat exchangers to improve heat transferring capabilities.
- Check for proper operation and maintenance of steam traps to reduce steam loss and minimize the possibility of condensate back up.
- Identify and repair any steam leaks.
- Perform calibrations of control devices to enable optimal energy usage.
- Reduce wasted energy by replacing missing or damaged insulation on steam piping.
- Eliminate costly building air leaks that steal comfort and waste energy.
- Have regular inspections by a qualified operator or maintenance person.

If you are a demand-billed customer, consider modifying your operations to minimize the on-peak demand charge. The on-peak demand charge is in place from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. weekdays for the December through March billing periods. You can:
- Start your fans earlier to avoid the startup spike during the on-peak period.
- Reduce the space air temperature set-points by a few degrees during the on-peak period.
- Raise the secondary hot water temperatures before 6 a.m., instead of after.
- Implement an automated control system, such as STEEMs (Storage of Thermal Energy in Existing Mechanical systems). Information on this system can be found on our Web site at www.coned.com/steam.

For more energy saving tips and to read our "Best Practices" report, visit our Web site. You can read more about Con Ed's steam program at this website: www.coned.com/steam or call 1-212-460-2011

Congratulations Big Apple! New York City has received the inaugural World Green Building Council Government Leadership Award in "Industry Transformation" for its "Greener, Greater Buildings Plan" on building energy efficiency. For more information, read the rest of the article here.

Did you know? When it's completed, One World Trade Center will be the most environmentally sustainable building of its size in the world. This is a great article all about it here.

Global One Real Estate Fund, in conjunction with the New York Affordable Housing Preservation Fund, a joint venture between L+M Development Partners and Citibank, bought Lafayette Boynton (Bronx, NY) from AREA Property Partners for $51.5 million. The community includes four buildings, with 972 rent-stabilized units. Its new owners will invest $14 million to improve the buildings' common areas, as well as to add green elements. For more information on this purchase and the green elements the residents can expect, read the entire article here.

Over the past year, New York City's groundbreaking benchmarking legislation has been a tremendous success and the City is now looking for your feedback on the first year of Local Law 84 implementation. They would like to hear your opinions and experience about the execution of the policy (the actual law and rule), the use of Portfolio Manager, as well as supplemental resources (Con Ed data, training, Benchmarking Help Center, etc.).

There's only a few days left, but please complete this anonymous survey by Friday, January 6th.

Buildings dominate New York City's carbon footprint. Approximately 75 percent of New York City's carbon emissions stem from energy used in buildings, and today's existing buildings will make up 85 percent of all real estate in 2030. If you'd like more information on the Energy Benchmarking Program, visit here.

Happy New Year! The start of a new year is a great time to write down new goals and resolutions that you can accomplish in 2012.

1. Resolve to make a new list of green changes you can make. Perhaps you've already changed light bulbs, put dimmer switches in or created an effective recycling center. What new things can you do? Can you change to environmentally friendly cleaners? Provide green tips to your residents? Start an electronic recycling center?

2. Resolve to practice what you preach. Vow to make some green changes in your personal life as well. You are responsible for making green changes in your building, so you don't want to be seen with plastic bags or water bottles or seen throwing away a newspaper.

3. Resolve to stop the catalogs! Do you have a lot of product catalogs sent to your office? Each year, 19 billion catalogs are mailed to American consumers and they require more than 53 million trees and 56 billion gallons of wastewater to produce. Visit CatalogChoice.org to put a stop to unwanted catalogs within 10 weeks.

4. Resolve to check for leaks. Even if you've done it before, check for leaks in your building again.

5. Resolve to keep on top of what's new. Perhaps there's a new incentive for installing a heater, window, door, etc. How will you know? Keep an eye out on green websites such as NYSERDA to keep on top of financial incentives that can help to make your building greener and more energy efficient.

6. Resolve to turn it down. And have the residents do it too. For every degree you lower the thermostat, you'll save between 1 and 3% of your heating bill. Do the same thing in reverse with air conditioning.

7. Resolve to be 'out with the old.' If you haven't done it already, start the new year off by making sure old filters changed, old parts are replaced and old ways are changed. Start the new year off with everything new.

8. Resolve to reduce, reuse, recycle or even rent. Maybe you only need that tool once, why not rent it? Hardware stores often have rental programs for power equipment so you can save money on home projects.

9. Resolve to start a roof garden. Can your roof hold a roof garden? It's a unique way to create beauty in an unused space while also cooling the building. Look into whether or not your roof would be suitable.

10. Resolve to continue your green education. Continue to take green courses through 32BJ and stay educated on what's new and what you need to know.

Why is green building necessary?

Have you often wondered, "Why am I doing this?" You've been told that being green is the way to go but perhaps you've wondered why? What difference does it make? Well, it makes a world of difference. According to the Green Building and LEED Core Concepts Guide, buildings account for 14% of potable water consumption, 30% of waste output, 40% of raw materials use, 38% of carbon dioxide emissions, 24% to 50% of energy use; 72% of electricity consumption.

Then of course the building industry clears land for development and that often destroys wildlife habitats. They extract, manufacture and transport materials which may pollute the air, release toxic chemicals and emit greenhouse gases. Building also requires large inputs of energy and water.

When you build green or make your buildings greener, you reduce your building's environmental impact. It's not using as much water, uses fewer raw materials, emits less carbon dioxide emissions, and reduces energy and electricity consumption. A study by the New Buildings Institute found that in green buildings average energy use was 24% lower than in typical buildings. Even a study involving the federal government's green buildings found that they outperform national averages in all the areas--energy, operating costs, water use, occupant satisfaction and carbon emissions.

So instead of wondering "Why am I doing this?" the real question should be "Why not?"

It's a fancy phrase, but integrated process is really simple to understand. It means the coming together of different aspects of green building to work as a team. For example, traditionally when a building is constructed, the individual contractors--the roofer, drywaller, plumber, etc.,--would come in and build their respective parts of the home without really talking to the other person. The idea of integrated process means that the roofer, drywaller, plumber, etc., all come together as a team before the job even begins.

Integrated process has been described on www.greenbuildingadvisor.com like this: "For example, framers thinking ahead to energy efficiency might be more open to advanced framing techniques that eliminate unnecessary structural members and leave more room for insulation. More insulation and a tighter building envelope may allow the HVAC installer to put in smaller equipment."

When an integrated approach is used, the solution to one problem might lead to a solution for many problems. For example, a process of planning a project's water use might lead to a system design that captures rainwater and greywater to meet water supply and irrigation needs. By bringing in a landscape architect at the beginning of this project, you may find that designing landscapes that use native species can also reduce water consumption.

This is a new way of thinking and requires the planning and cooperation of many parties, but done properly and the goals of the project can be met.