Shorenstein Properties Completes BOMA’s 7-Point Challenge

San Francisco, CA– In an effort to further its green and sustainability practices, Shorenstein Properties LLC has been recognized as having completed the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International’s 7-Point Challenge. BOMA recently concluded the five-year challenge, which encouraged commercial real estate companies to reduce their use of natural resources, non-renewable energy sources and waste production. Benchmarks in the 7-Point Challenge included: decreasing energy consumption by 30 percent across portfolios by 2012; employing the ENERGY STAR® metrics to benchmark energy performance and water usage; providing education to engineers, owners and operators; performing energy audits to implement low-risk and low-cost strategies; and improving operations and building maintenance systems. Finally, as part of the plan, BOMA asked members to work to position themselves as leaders and solution providers to owners, tenants and the greater community.

At the Challenge’s conclusion, an evaluation of Shorenstein’s performance demonstrated a 32 percent decrease in energy consumption across the company’s national portfolio of office properties. To achieve the energy and environmental objectives of the 7-Point Challenge, Shorenstein’s property and asset management teams:

• Conducted an “Energy Savings Tour” — an energy efficiency evaluation of all properties that resulted in a 5.1% decrease in energy use in 2011, the equivalent of taking more than 1,000 homes off the electric grid or 940 cars off the road.
• Designed and completed a “Flip the Switch” sustainability education program, targeting all tenants in all markets;
• Established eleven “G.R.E.E.N.” Initiatives specifically focused on improving building energy performance – these were in addition to the other twenty-eight initiatives related to non-energy related areas of sustainability;

Additional steps taken by the company in the last twelve months include:

• Hiring a full-time Sustainability Program Manager;
• Developing ongoing tenant engagement programs to provide information, tools, and incentives to enhance the sustainability of our tenants’ office places;
• Expansion of companywide benchmarking to include water, and waste;
• And, committing to reduce energy consumption by an additional 20 percent by 2020 as part of the Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Challenge.

Shorenstein is a partner in EPA’s ENERGY STAR® program and 80 percent of the company’s portfolio has either qualified for the ENERGY STAR® label or is pending approval. For the past several years, the company has also been a participant in the Environmental Defense Fund’s Climate Corps Initiative.

“BOMA’s 7-Point Challenge was designed to encourage our industry to voluntarily address energy and environmental issues. Shorenstein Properties was excited to participate as this challenge fit well with our overall operating strategy and platform,” said Stan Roualdes, Executive Vice President for Property Management and Construction. “We worked diligently to meet the commitment we made and, five years later, we are very proud to be recognized for our efforts and the effect we have had, and will continue to have, on our environment, buildings and tenants.”

“Shorenstein is now a proven leader on energy efficiency and environmental issues and we look forward to working with them to tell their 7-Point Challenge sustainability story for the whole industry to learn from,” said BOMA International Chair and Chief Elected Officer Joseph W. Markling, managing director of Strategic Accounts with CBRE. “Market transformation is achievable when organizations like Shorenstein step up to the challenge.”

About Shorenstein Properties LLC:
San Francisco-based Shorenstein Properties LLC (www.shorenstein.com) is one of the oldest and most successful private real estate investment companies active throughout the United States in the acquisition, development, ownership and management of office and mixed-use properties. Since it’s beginning in 1924, the company has evolved from a regional real estate operating company to an active national investor and manager of commingled institutional capital. Shorenstein provides asset management, leasing, property management and construction services to the properties in its portfolio through its wholly owned property services affiliate, Shorenstein Realty Services.

Tagged BOMA, San Francisco, Shorenstein Properties