LEED as a Credential
With the continuing push toward green buildings, it becomes more important to stay in tune with the definitions and methods that will help you in bringing your customers' or your own buildings in to the "green" world. Indeed, your customers and your superiors will be, if not already, judging you on your ability to address the topic of "green buildings.' My suggestion to you is to work toward the LEED certifications offered by the U.S. Green Buildings Council (www.usgbc.org). Their site is full of information on the courses they offer and the types of certifications that are available through them. The courses will help you to, at very least, be conversant about green buildings and at best help you to understand and manage the necessary processes and characteristics to achieve green building status. Click here for more information

Energy Auditing Tools
Energy audits can come in as many flavors as ice cream at your local Baskin & Robbins store. As the dog with the wooden leg said when he was leaving the forest, "There are more trees in there than you can shake a stick at!" For information on the various tools available, the best place to start is with the Department of Energy's Energy Star Program. Energy Star has put together an portfolio of assessment tools that can help, whether you are trying to benchmark one building or several buildings in various geographic areas. In addition to their own assessment tools, through the Energy Star site you can link to a library of other on-line assessment tools. By exploring this buffet of options, you may find exactly what you're looking for. Start your search here.

The Pot O' Gold…
I haven't found any more poignant information than what can be found at the link at the end of this paragraph. No matter where in the U.S your business may be, just click on the map to gain information on grants and rebates available for renewables and efficiency. Click here for the map.

ROI Increases For Sustainable Buildings
The movement towards "sustainable" commercial property investment has gathered momentum in recent years, as the issues have captured greater attention from governments, owners, occupiers, and the media. Investors want to see a return for the risk they take in greening their assets, for improving sustainability, and in achieving particular levels of accreditation on the environmental performance of their buildings. Read more.