JLL Goes Green With ECD Energy Consultants

Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. has acquired ECD Energy, a consultant focusing on the development of the Green Globes for The Green Building Initiative (GBI) and Go Green Interactive Software, for BOMA Canada. The staff at ECD Energy will join with the staff of Jones Lang LaSalle in their Toronto offices.Lauralee Martin, Chief Financial and Operating Officer at Jones Lang LaSalle told CPN, “Acquiring ECD has given us tools that simplify the task of establishing a sustainability baseline in existing buildings and portfolios, and allow us to suggest cost-effective ways to enhance energy and water efficiency and reduce the impact of real estate on the environment. The founder of ECD, Jiri Skopek, now works with our energy and sustainability services team to continue to develop and refine similar tools for additional property types and for tenants to use effectively in leased space.” Jones Lang LaSalle has recently stepped up its initiatives towards environmental sustainability. In October 2007, Jones Lang LaSalle acquired Upstream, the United Kingdom’s leading environmental consulting practice. Jones Lang LaSalle has also formalized a sustainability commitment, and the goal is now to have 500 sustainability-accredited professionals by the end of 2009. This will mean adopting LEED standards in the U.S., LEED in India, BREEAM in the U.K. and ABGR and Green Star in Australia. BREEAM Canada, written by ECD Energy, is a performance assessment method for existing office buildings published by Canadian Standards Association. “Owners increasingly need to know where their buildings stand in terms of energy and sustainability, and the system developed by ECD for the Green Building Initiative’s Green Globes rating system is by far the best method for determining not only a building’s current status, but also ways to improve,” said Dan Probst, chairman of energy and sustainability services at Jones Lang LaSalle. “Whether or not the end goal is certification such as LEED, Energy Star, a baseline assessment can be extremely valuable to a corporate occupier trying to measure its carbon footprint, or to a multi-tenant owner responding to tenant questions about sustainability.” Jones Lang LaSalle has also begun a training school, the Sustainability University to train employees in standards and practices that will lead more efficiently and quickly towards a green and clean environment. Training employees will help owners and managers as well. ECD Energy and Environment Canada, established in 1966, specializes in the assessment of buildings in terms of energy and environmental impact as well as indoor health for people. The company also develops on-line technology assessment and audit tools, and works with research and development to provide advice to architects and builders about design specifications and a building’s post occupancy solutions.