The energy consumption of our nation's large buildings is inextricably linked to the talent, training, and hard work of building operators. Teaching our building operators to maintain our large structures is the highest-impact way to address the climate crisis, at the lowest cost.

The Urban Green Council (United States Green Building Council of New York) and SEIU Local 32BJ have released a report detailing the essential role that building workers play in improving energy efficiency and discuss how 32BJ's training initiative will help New York City's building superintendents go green (previously profiled on SEIU's Blog here).

"A Blueprint for Greening New York City's Buildings" addresses how buildings fit into our national effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the importance of operations and maintenance (O&M) in building energy efficiency and the role that building operators have on ensuring that building's receive energy energy efficient O&M. SEIU 32BJ is leading the initiative to train New York City's building superintendents. "By working together, 32BJ and New York's building owners have put into place a smart, practical and effective way to help make the Big Apple green. One Year, One Thousand Green Supers provides a low-cost way to make our buildings more energy and cost efficient, and our environment cleaner, all while saving our city millions of dollars," said New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

It's long been known that O&M plays an important role in building energy use. Studies have shown that simply operating and maintaining an existing building properly can reduce a building's energy use by 10 percent, without any major retrofits such as installing new windows, a new boiler, or any new insulation. Ten percent may not sound like much--so let's put that number into perspective: if all of New York City's buildings received energy efficiency O&M, the savings in energy costs to the city would be $230 million dollars. The reduction in greenhouse gas emissions would equal the equivalent of taking 150,000 cars off the road.

Equally important is the role that a building operator plays in maximizing the benefits of building retrofits. When a building owner makes the decision to retrofit their building, they are looking to save money by investing in technology that reduces energy use. However, without energy-efficient O&M, the expected savings of building retrofits often fail to materialize.

In one example of this, a 34 unit residential building in Brooklyn, NY performed a series of retrofit--including the installation of a new burner for the boiler, insulation, EnergyStar refrigerators, and several other improvements.The entire project was projected to reduce fuel use by 58 percent, but in reality, total fuel use increased by 47 percent! Upon inspection, it was discovered that improper O&M was the culprit responsible for the increase in fuel use. No one working in the building had been trained to use the new technology and consequently, CFL light bulbs had been incorrectly replaced with incandescent bulbs, EnergyStar appliances mistakenly were removed and low-flow water fixtures were missing.

See the full report "1 Year: 1,000 Green Superintendents" here.

Buildings in the United States consume more energy than any other sector of the economy, including transportation or industry. In New York City this problem is especially pronounced, where buildings are responsible for 66 percent of total energy use and 77 percent of city greenhouse gas emissions^[1]. New York City residents also spend $13.4 billion on energy for their buildings, energy that is often wasted on inefficient or improperly maintained equipment.

The benefits of green buildings cannot be overstated--and one of the most cost-effective ways to "green" a building is to ensure that it has a knowledgeable and well-trained workforce. SEIU 32BJ's Training Fund has developed the first-ever Green Buildings Initiative to train building superintendents in the latest, state-of-the-art, best practices in energy efficiency.

To help foster a greener New York City, 32BJ's initiative aims to train 1,000 Green Superintendents in the 2009-2010 school year.

There is no other individual who can contribute more to the long-term greenness of a large multi-family building than the superintendent. Green supers manage the day-to-day operations and maintenance (O&M) of their building, an absolutely critical--though often overlooked--component of an efficient building. Take replacing light bulbs, for example. Did you know swapping out a single old fashioned fluorescent lighting fixture with a similar high-efficiency fixtures can save upwards of $130 per year?^[2] Studies have shown that simply performing optimal O&M can reduce a buildings' energy usage by 10 percent.

Unfortunately, over the last couple of decades the job duties of the superintendent have not changed all that much, despite the rising cost of energy and the solidified scientific consensus surrounding climate change. The 32BJ Training Fund's 1,000 Green Supers program is looking to change that and push an entire industry into the 21st century. The 40-hour training program incorporates standards from the Building Performance Institute and the Urban Green Council (USGBC). Students will cover the full range of topics required to operate their buildings in the most efficient way possible, include air sealing, insulation, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, water conservation, lighting, appliances, and quantifying energy usage. At the end of the course, superintendents will take written and field tests that will certify them as Multifamily Building Operators by the Building Performance Institute.

The investment required to green our buildings is minuscule compared to payoff. Green buildings provide us that always-elusive win-win situation where we can address the climate crisis and our devastated economy. By greening our city's buildings, we can save money, create jobs, and help clean our environment.

To find out more about 32BJ's Green Buildings Initiative, visit www.1000supers.com or email the 32BJ Training Fund at 1000supers@32bjfunds.com.

---

[1] The City of New York, "PlaNYC: Inventory of New York City Greenhouse Gas Emissions", 2008

[2] Calculation based on replacing a 192 Watt F40-T12 (4 lamps, 2 ballasts) fixture with a 112 Watt F32-T8 (4 lamps, 1 ballast) fixture that is on 24 hours per day and costs $0.19/kWh.

Yesterday, SEIU Local 32BJ endorsed Michael Bloomberg for re-election. Why? Because Bloomberg has proven his commitment to working families, raising security industry standards and taking action to make sure out-of-work New Yorkers have the resources necessary to find employment.

32BJ's announcement followed a unanimous decision by the 32BJ executive board late Tuesday, capping a membership-driven, six month endorsement process. As part of this process, Mayor Bloomberg walked a day in the shoes of NYC security officer and 32BJ member Annie Davis - read the Mayor's take on the experience here. The Mayor is a big supporter of 32BJ's efforts to raise industry standards, increase training and improve the working conditions of NYC's security officers.

Making NYC a more sustainable living environment & creating green jobs: Bloomberg has worked closely with 32BJ on green building projects to dramatically reduce the carbon footprint of City government, commercial, and residential buildings. He has introduced four "green" bills that would significantly improve the City's environment through reduced energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions--which are much higher in NYC than any other city. The legislation has the potential to create hundreds of jobs for workers trained in green retrofitting, which falls in line with 32BJ's ambitious new Green training program aimed at providing 1,000 building superintendents with the skills needed to save energy, money and protect our environment.

Bloomberg also plans to open new Workforce 1 Centers and expanding their hours so they can place New Yorkers in over 20,000 jobs this year, on top of the 68,000 New Yorkers that have already been placed in jobs since the program was implemented.

Read 32BJ's endorsement statement here.

Great news for New York City security officers!

From the New York Times:

A labor union representing security guards stationed at dozens of municipal facilities, including the Staten Island Ferry Terminals and the Municipal Building, has reached a deal with the guards' private employers that calls for as much as a 26 percent pay raise over three years and for the first time provides the guards with health insurance.

That "labor union" representing security guards is none other than SEIU Local 32BJ and after months of negotiations with national security contractors Allied Barton and FJC Security Services of Long Island, security officers have won new union contracts that provide significant wage increases, employer-paid family health care and benefits for some 3,000 city-contracted security officers over three years.

This victory is a testament to the security officers that came together to form a union and bargain collectively for not only better wages and benefits, but the promise of raising standards for security officers in NYC.

For six months, the SEIU 32BJ negotiated on behalf of security officers protecting city buildings and facilities in all five boroughs.  The two new agreements raise officers' wages to private-sector wages of over $13 an hour. Officers also gain employer- paid family health coverage, paid days off, 401K and advanced security training.

Allied Barton employs 1,100 security officers who work at more than 100 City facilities throughout the City, including the Municipal Building in Manhattan, Staten Island Ferry Terminals and Brooklyn Boroug Hall. FJC Security Services employs 1,820 security officers who protect sites in the City's Human Resources Administration agency and Department of Homeless Services.

These city-contracted workers now join thousands of other 32BJ members who have won contracts improving security standards in the private sector. 

Please join me in the comments (below) by offering a well deserved congratulations to the security officers of SEIU 32BJ.

Sign up for updates about security officers around the country.

We've just received video from yesterday's New York City's Take Back The Economy event, where SEIU President Andy Stern and event attendees delivered a "Taxpayer's Proxy" card to the Bank of America headquarters.

Watch the video here: