Jerry Yudelson, founder of Yudelson Associates, a leading international firm in sustainability planning and green building, is widely acknowledged as a leading expert on green building and green development and is the author of eight green building books, including The Green Building Revolution.

According to Yudelson, the focus of green building will begin to switch from new buildings to greening existing buildings. “The fastest growing LEED rating system in 2008 was the LEED for Existing Buildings program, and I expect this trend to continue in 2009.”

Regarding new buildings, in his book, Yudelson famously stated, “If your next project is not a green building, one that’s certified by a national third-party rating system, it will be functionally outdated the day it’s completed and very likely to under-perform the market as time passes.” This sentiment was echoed by Richard Cook, a prominent architect in New York City, who says, “In five years, it will be clear that buildings not reaching the highest standard of sustainability will become obsolete.”

We contend that new buildings will benefit tremendously from the integration of Beyond Green IT^TM at the time of construction because this can save as much as 40% when compared to the cost of installing legacy IT. Additionally, the monthly IT energy savings can be as much as 80%. These same incentives also apply to energy efficiency driven building retrofits. It’s just common green dollars and sense.

The current draft of the American Clean Energy & Security Act of 2009 (ACES) mandates increased efficiency in new buildings and comprehensive retrofits to existing buildings. Both mandates are poised to reduce carbon footprints of the built environment.

Although pending, this legislation furthers the case, as expressed in ROI, for the implementation of immediate energy saving actions, such as Beyond Green IT^TM.

Beyond Green IT^TM is the lowest-hanging fruit on the energy-efficiency tree, and is most likely the only solution that will reduce a major slice of currrent energy costs by 80% - thereby quickly returning the investment and thereafter offering a regular monthly savings that can be plowed into further energy conservation initiatives. When coupled with the consequent offsets earned in a carbon trade program, Beyond Green IT^TM is the obvious first action for most companies impacted by this legislation. 

AMERICAN CLEAN ENERGY & SECURITY ACT of  2009 

 TITLE II - ENERGY EFFICIENCY
 
Subtitle A - Building Energy Efficiency ProgramsSection 201, Greater Energy Efficiency in Building Codes:  Requires the Secretary of Energy to support consensus code-setting organizations to establish building codes achieving 30% and 50% higher energy efficiency targets in 2010 and 2016, respectively, to establish codes directly if such organizations fail to do so, to include cool roofs standards, and to support state and local adoption of such advanced codes by supporting training and funding for energy efficiency code enforcement.

Section 202, Building Retrofit Program:  Establishes a program under which the Secretary of Energy and the Administrator of EPA support development of standards and processes for retrofitting existing commercial and residential buildings. Authorizes the Secretary of Energy to provide funding to states for cost-effective building retrofits, with funding increasing in proportion to efficiency achievement. Also supports improved water efficiency and other environmental goals and provides special levels of support for retrofits of historic buildings.

Section 204, Building Energy Performance Labeling Program:  Establishes an EPA program to develop procedures to label buildings for their energy performance characteristics. Supports state decisions to participate in labeling program through funding to SEED funds.