Expert Q&As

The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International has been in existence for over a century- as chief elected officer Richard D. Purtell points out, back when skyscrapers were a newfangled concept. Today, BOMA's 16,500-plus members own or manage more than nine billion square feet of commercial properties in North America; its affiliate member organizations span thirteen other countries.

BOMA has always focused on actively and responsibly representing and promoting the interests of the commercial real estate industry through effective leadership and advocacy, through the collection, analysis and dissemination of information, and through professional development. MGB spoke with Purtell about the greening of commercial real estate and BOMA International’s role.

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What comes to mind when you think about pest control? Chances are it’s toxic chemicals- poison baits and fog bombs.

The very thought is enough to make one decide that it’s better to live with noxious pests…well. Ugh. Fortunately, this is a false choice. You can eliminate pests without destroying your immediate environment or endangering your health. MGB asked Knockout Pest Control President Arthur Katz for more information.

Based in Uniondale, Knockout serves commercial and residential customers throughout the metro New York area.

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It seems like an alarmingly obvious idea, when considered for a moment. It gets light out every day. Why must humans duplicate this effort, using large amounts of energy to light interiors? We could all take our desks and such outdoors. Or…

Abby Vogen Horn of the Energy Center of Wisconsin is the Program Director of the Daylighting Collaborative, and has been advocating energy efficiency and daylighting design for almost 15 years now.

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It’s an evocative name, bringing to mind as it does Kermit and his famous anthem. What could be greener, after all, than a frog? Not much, as it turns out. MGB spoke with Mark Miller of the Flexible Response to Ongoing Growth project to find out more about their cutting-edge building practices.

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Quality of air is just one of several factors that contribute to a healthy home or work environment. Pollutants, carbon emissions, and VOCs (volatile organic compounds) in the air pose a hazard to health and the environment. For the past five years, Peter Mann, CEO of Alen Corporation, a portable air purifier manufacturer based in Austin, TX, has been creating indoor air-quality products that can make us all breath a little easier.

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We spoke to Kate Lowry, product manager for the Lancaster, PA-based company ECORE International, the makers of ECOsurfaces, a sustainable commercial flooring product whose main ingredient is recycled tires. ECOsurfaces not only benefits the environment, but looks stylish and feels great underfoot. ECOsurfaces is manufactured by ECORE International and distributed solely by Gerbert Limited in the United States.

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Clean Air’s motto is “changing the way America mows the lawn.” With a company history web page that starts out “Three guys walk into a bar…,” these folks may be a breath of fresh air in more ways than one.

President Gerry Keane is an avid outdoorsman, family man, and entrepreneur who’s been in business since the dot-com boom, and sounds happy to be right where he belongs- on the cutting edge, so to speak.

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At 180 years old, serving over three million customers, Con Edison is definitely one of the Big Dogs. ConEdison Solutions, a subsidiary, focuses on power supply, energy efficiency, and greener solutions for businesses, residential, and government customers. VP James Dixon is currently Vice Chairman of the National Association of Energy Services Companies (NAESCO) which is the leading energy services industry trade organization that promotes energy efficiency nation-wide with over 70 member companies. He's an electrical engineer, a lawyer, and a retired Army man.

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In 1998, some of the people involved in metal roofing decided to cooperate and educate people about the benefits of their product. They did a really good job, to understate the case- they managed to get that product written into the recently passed stimulus bill without- to the best of MGB's knowledge- even one Congressman objecting in order to get some on-camera time. President Bill Hippard explains why below.

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In conceptual renderings, it looks like a set for a sci-fi movie about a better future. It's been called "the eco-friendly apartment we should all live in," by Fast Company magazine. It requires no heat- that's right, none. MGB spoke with designer Tony Kettle about the "eco-friendly concept apartment" he unveiled at Cannes on March 10.

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As sustainable principles begin to be applied to various human endeavors, we can expect to see changes that go way beyond slapping solar panels on the roof and tucking a recycling bin into the foyer. MGB talked to Chicago dentist Mladen Kralj about green health care and how the principles involved make going to the dentist an entirely different experience. Those of us not in Chicago can only hope this catches on…

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Nabih Tahan has been designing buildings in various corners of the globe for 27 years- in a position, as he notes on his website, to practice, learn, evaluate and compare "how we do things" in different parts of the world. Through this experience, Nabih feels that we can all improve our systems so that we can reach our global goals of protecting our local environment and planet.“ MGB talked with Mr. Tahan about the state of his art and his multinational perspective.

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Textiles are a huge industry, and an even larger polluter, says Patty Grossman, CEO of O Ecotextiles. But it wasn't until Grossman and her sister - O Ecotextile's US General Manager Leigh Anne Van Dusen - started searching for an ecofriendly alternative, that they discovered that one didn't exist. MGB spoke to Grossman about how she and Van Dusen founded a company to make ecofriendly furnishings fabrics.

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Melissa Everett has been a participant-observer in movements to create greener, more livable communities since 1980, working as a journalist, career counselor, researcher on the dynamics of social movements, fundraiser and nonprofit CEO. She is author of three books including the award-winning Making a Living While Making a Difference: Conscious Careers for an Era of Interdependence.. Her PhD is from Erasmus University in the Netherlands with a focus on the dynamics of community change. MGB wanted to know what this lifelong advocate for sustainability had to say about where it’s all going- and how to make sure we end up somewhere we’d like to be.

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You may have noticed of late that rather than remaining mired in the granola-crunching realm of the nerd, green has become downright cool- chic, even. We can all thank the good efforts of folks like California woman Nikolette Orlandou for that. "Green is the new black," proclaims her website. Her high-end gear serves a purpose while making a statement. MGB spoke to Ms. Orlandou about how it's done.

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The Rose Companies, LLC, are dedicated to planning, developing, and investing in ways that will benefit humanity. "Our work is guided by a clear set of principles. Our mission is to repair the fabric of communities," says the website. "Welcome." MGB spoke with Jonathan Rose about how it's done.

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Barbara Piplits-Schneider fell in love with TEAM 7 furniture as a customer, but that was only the beginning of the intercontinental friendship. MGB asked her about the product, and about why it is that green practices seem to be more prevalent among our European cousins.

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On the outskirts of the small city of Kingston, NY, lies a compound that once belonged to IBM. Once, it hummed with activity that fired the economy of an entire region. Then, in the 1990s, IBM and Kingston parted ways and the compound went silent.

It's safe to say Kingston will never be the same. A look at one of the current tenants of what has been rechristened Tech City may suggest that of course it will never be the same.

Ultimately, it’ll be better.

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For years, ordinary people have been urged to reduce, re-use, recycle. Yet we’ve done so with a nagging feeling of futility. What can one little household do, if Big Business won’t get on board? The assumption being, of course, that Big Business would do no such thing.

Is there anything nicer than having a negative assumption proved wrong? Rand Waddoups of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., spoke with MGB to set the record straight and explain how thinking sustainably is actually part and parcel of old Sam Walton’s business ethic.

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One would expect great, green things of a place like the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies. While other seventies-era holistic doings faded into red ink and obscurity, Omega grew and grew, expanding its facilities and course offerings- teaching shamanism and massage, heart-centered relating and herbal medicine.

With the creation of its Sustainable Living Center, Omega once again reaches out- to a world that may finally be beginning to listen. MGB asked executive director Skip Backus if he’d be willing to share.

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