TRIRIGA Software Permits Improved Building Energy Monitoring

Las-Vegas-based TRIRIGA, a provider of software solutions for the real estate industry, has announced the availability of its new system called TREES (TRIRIGA Real Estate Environmental Sustainability). TREES measures, manages and reduces energy consumption of buildings. TRIRIGA’s client base include one third of the Fortune 100 companies, including Nokia, GE, AIG, Capital One, Wells Fargo, Starbucks, The Gap, and The Opus Construction Co. All of these clients served on an advisory board to help design and develop TREES. The new system, two years in development, is already installed and in use by Nokia. TREES provides operational processes, procedures, 24 metrics, analysis and assessment tools as well as reports. This gives companies a faster route towards meeting critical certification goals such as LEED and Energy Star requirements.According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, studies have proved that buildings make up for 48 percent of energy consumption nationwide. A company that can identify and change and retrofit maintenance projects can simultaneously create a track record to prove productivity, and organize their buildings differently so as to cut down the dependency on nonrenewable resources that have escalating energy prices. Said George Ahn, President of TRIRIGA, “If you take a look at the energy platforms for both presidential candidates you’ll see that nationwide carbon emissions legislation is imminent: Obama vows to establish a goal of making all new buildings carbon neutral by 2030 and McCain proposes a cap-and-trade system that would set limits on greenhouse gas emissions and force companies to pay for excess carbon emissions.”Rather than waiting for the specific details around “how much” and “how strict” the legislation will be, he advised that organizations need to be asking themselves, “How do I start measuring my carbon footprint so I’m prepared when the legislation is passed?” To answer such questions, corporate executives need to start with a factual representation of their carbon footprint today, he noted, adding, “they cannot possibly benchmark for the future and stand up to government scrutiny and audits. As legislation moves forward, all companies will be held accountable for their carbon footprints, and TREES provides the tools companies need to start measuring now before the demands are in place.”Companies that invest in sustainable workplaces now yield lifecycle saving of more than ten times their initial investment- according to a report to California’s Sustainable Building Task Force by Greg Katz. Nokia, for example, has already seen significant returns using TREES to reduce energy consumption of electricity globally in their facilities by 15 percent. It went from using 639 Gwh (Gigawatt hours) in 2005 to using 541 GWh in 2007, and also reported a 15 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, which equates to a total of 351,000 GJs (gigajoules). General Electric, an existing customer that has been using TRIRIGA’s Integrated Workplace Management System, has already saved $195 million in real estate costs over three years by reducing real estate portfolio expenses.This system provides the following key benefits: 1) identifies and consolidates under-utilized and high-cost space; 2) automates and centralizes real estate services, processes and procedures; 3) increases operational efficiency in real estate assets and operations to reduce overall cost of operations and real estate expense. Ahn explained to CPN “On the road to environmental sustainability, we need to rethink the ‘carbon neutrality’ mantra – which is rooted in offsetting carbon emissions – and move towards what I like to call ‘carbon healthy.’ Carbon neutrality gets companies thinking about their impact on the environment because they are offsetting carbon emissions by doing things like planting trees and purchasing carbon credits, but the fundamental issue is that we need to stop depleting our resources in the first place. TREES is the first solution of its kind to set companies on a path towards being ‘carbon healthy,’ meaning rather than offsetting their carbon footprint, they measure and manage what they have to reduce their overall carbon emissions. It’s our mission to make ‘carbon healthy’ a reality by starting with organizations’ real estate portfolios.”