CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. is expanding its commitment to creating safe environmental practices across its North American platform by naming Dave Pogue as its first national director of sustainability, institutional and corporate services.Pogue (pictured) will be responsible for managing the development, introduction and implementation of sustainable practices and policies throughout its 1.1 billion-square-foot portfolio in the Americas. The goal is to create a consistent balance of maximum financial performance and responsible environmental stewardship.\u201cThis is an opportunity for me to combine a passion with a profession,\u201d Pogue, who is based in San Jose, Calif., told CPN today. \u201cI\u2019m grateful for the opportunity and I look forward to it.\u201dPogue has been with CBRE for 11 years, including time spent at Insignia\/ESC, which merged with CBRE in 2003. Most recently, he served as senior managing director of CBRE\u2019s asset services group, western region, which covers service delivery for more than 250 million square feet of office, retail and industrial properties in the western portion of the United States. Pogue has also been leading the firm\u2019s asset services sensible sustainability program for managed properties, which includes aggressive endorsement of the EPA\u2019s Energy Star program. The EPA recently named CBRE as a 2008 Energy Star Partner of the Year. The firm will accept the award April 1 at a Washington, D.C., ceremony. Other commercial real estate companies being honored are Simon Property Group and Transwestern.CBRE has been actively pursuing green initiatives for the past year. The firm announced last May that it was planning to be carbon neutral in its own operations by 2010 and was working with the National Resources Defense Council to introduce new energy saving measures at client-owned and client-occupied properties. It also launched an initiative to help clients at the 1.7 billion square feet of space it manages around the world with their energy efficient programs.Pogue said the firm adopted BEEP, which stands for Building Energy Efficient Program, and was developed by the Building Owners and Managers Association. CBRE created a 12-step program for all managed office assets called Standards of Sustainability. \u201cIt\u2019s a business sensitive approach to making your buildings sustainable with emphasis on low cost or no cost,\u201d he said. Main ways of doing that include working with the facilities managers at buildings, particularly office buildings, to examine how the mechanical systems are being used and see if there are ways to save energy. One example could be changing the settings on the heating and air conditioning systems. Also, some buildings were being operated on Saturdays even if no one was working. By cutting out Saturday operations, or limiting it companies actively using their sites, energy and costs can be saved.Pogue said CBRE has also prepared a guide called \u201c101 Tips to Successful Sustainability\u201d that lists other things building and facilities managers can do at their properties. He will also expand the Green Knights program, a nationwide team of employees who are sustainability advocates to the global corporate services accounts and facilities management accounts this year.In November, CBRE said it planned on enrolling 100 major U.S. office buildings in the U.S. Green Buildings Council\u2019s Portfolio Program to seek Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards for new and existing buildings. Pogue said today the firm is examining a list of about 150 choices and plans to identify the buildings chosen for the pilot program during the second quarter. The firm is focusing on office buildings with at least 100,000 square feet of space, primarily located in central business or downtown districts and containing multiple tenants.\u201cThe reaction has been tremendous,\u201d Pogue said. \u201cWe\u2019re looking at buildings in virtually every market. It\u2019s bigger than we expected. Everybody wants to be in it.\u201dPogue said there are few publicly owned multi-tenant buildings in the United States that have qualified for LEED-EB status, which covers existing buildings.\u00a0 He said a \u201cgrowing sense of social responsibility\u201d is driving the response.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. is expanding its commitment to creating safe environmental practices across its North American platform by naming Dave Pogue as its first national director of sustainability, institutional and corporate services.Pogue (pictured) will be responsible for managing the development, introduction and implementation of sustainable practices and policies throughout its 1.1 billion-square-foot portfolio…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1314,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37301],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1003727101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n