GE is expanding its successful Treasure Hunt program outside of its facilities in order to find energy efficiency opportunities in include hospitals, universities, city buildings and private sites through a new collaboration with the Environmental Defense Fund. The sites will learn how to conduct treasure hunts, while GE and EDF will work to verify the energy savings and identify and disseminate industry best practices.

Just as engine tune-ups help cars run more efficiently, retrocommissioning helps property owners tune up the energy efficiency of their buildings so they perform as designed -- or better. The process is considered the most cost-effective strategy for reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

This 86-page toolkit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is designed to assist local governments in identifying and removing permitting barriers to sustainable design and green building practices.

Owners of commercial buildings in the U.S. could save more than $41 billion a year in energy costs, if all currently existing commercial space were placed in a decade-long energy efficiency retrofit program requiring an annual investment of about $22.5 billion, according to a new report by Pike Research.

Office Depot has opened its first store registered as a green building project under LEED standards for commercial interiors -- the latest move in the company's program to make its sites more environmentally friendly.

Marriott International has introduced a design prototype for a LEED-certified hotel, an industry first, and has already scheduled a new Courtyard Hotel in South Carolina to be constructed according to the green building plan.

BofA, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan Chase, Jones Lang LaSalle's investment arm and Whirlpool Corporation are among the leading building owners, investment advisory firms and corporate tenants who are now allies in a campaign to make commercial office space more sustainable through green leasing.

What is the best way to drive energy efficiency without sacrificing functionality or aesthetics? These three rules can help navigate this dilemma and formulate structured plans to get the most out of efficiency projects.

An industrial design student in Leicester, England, has developed a way for tall buildings to harness the power of wastewater to generate energy.

Local government looking for guidance on green building measures have two new resources: a toolkit from the Environmental Protection Agency that helps municipalities evaluate how regulations help or hinder a sustainable built environment, and a draft of a model municipal green building ordinance, which was issued for comment by the Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School.
 

In the understandable haste to get life back to normal after floods, earthquakes and other natural disasters, opportunities to rebuild more sustainably can be lost -- unless a green rebuilding plan is already in place for such emergencies.

GE, four VC firms, the GSA, Wales and the city of Las Vegas might not seem to have a lot in common, but all are involved in efforts to advance green building and green building operations.

Green roofs, green buildings and an energy management system have put the United States Postal Service on the fast track to achieve its 2015 energy reduction goal and have helped the agency reap $400 million in savings in the past three years.

States are facing significant budget gaps, and the gaps are going to affect the green building industry. States looking to shore up budgets will cut new construction and maintenance of existing buildings in the coming years. But there is a solution: public-private partnerships.

Many of today's buildings suffer from a "leak-guzzle-hide" phenomenon: leaking billions of dollars due poor moisture, temperature and air pressure controls, guzzling energy and hiding actual energy performance information because of faulty or outdated metering and building management systems. But there's a way to address this and it starts with a few snapshots.

The Pixel building by Australian development and construction firm Grocon is not only the country's first carbon neutral office building, it is also the greenest.

The U.S. Department of Energy has launched a cool roof initiative, and Energy Secretary Steven Chu is urging other government agencies to follow his department's lead.

The devastating flooding in Tennessee last spring  wreaked havoc on the energy infrastructure of Opryland, Gaylord Entertainment's flagship resort and convention center. The neccessity of replacing these systems, however, provided a strong business case for exploring more efficient systems, such as combined heat and power.

3M, Cleveland Clinic, Dow Chemical, Grubb & Ellis, Marriott International, Nissan, Target Corporation and Walmart will take part in the the Global Superior Energy Performance Partnership to speed efficiency improvements in commercial buildings and industrial facilities.