by Brianna Crandall — April 17, 2015—The 48-story, 71 South Wacker building in Chicago now ranks among the handful of properties that have been awarded the prestigious Certified Sustainable Property certification from the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM), an affiliate of the National Association of REALTORS.
An Irvine Company Office Property, 71 South Wacker has reportedly put sustainability initiatives at the forefront of its business by encouraging tenants to reduce energy consumption, implementing a green cleaning policy, and establishing an ongoing forum for tenant sustainability.
According to Property Administrator Nicole Lawler, the facility’s entire team contributed to the make the achievement possible, and the facility will continue to balance community needs with those of the environment.
71 South Wacker is the first property to complete all 24 core certification activities on its path to obtaining the Certified Sustainable Property certification, points out IREM. Its pragmatic path to certification included activities focused on energy and water efficiency, a tenant and construction recycling program, indoor air quality, and staff education.
The IREM Certified Sustainable Property certification is a mark of distinction for high-performing, sustainable buildings recognized by IREM’s international community of over 19,000 real estate professionals who set the standard for best practices in real estate management. The certification is pragmatic, action-oriented and within reach for most building types, says IREM.
The certification is part of a program called IREM Sustainability, designed to help property managers and other practitioners strive for more efficient, value-enhanced buildings. The program, powered by the Green Per Square Foot online platform, consists of three integrated parts: a Web-based sustainability management platform, a challenge competition, and the property-level certification.
IREM Sustainability enables participants to:
- Gain a thorough understanding of the numerous opportunities available to achieve profitable sustainability for a particular property and its interior spaces — including a financial/cost-benefit analysis — find customized ways to save.
- Engage and educate owners and tenants to understand the net present value (NPV)-positive sustainability opportunities available to them.
- Achieve a minimal level of property performance across a variety of categories — e.g. energy, water, and waste — and put plans in place to make incremental improvements over time.
