A recent report presented by Better Buildings®, an initiative of the U.S. Department of Energy, and Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB), an association dedicated to assessing and improving the sustainability performance of real estate assets, offered insight into the impact of sustainability certifications on commercial properties’ business performance in Los Angeles. David Hodgins, executive director of Los Angeles Better Buildings Challenge, presented findings showing that Class B buildings in Los Angeles with ENERGY STAR scores of 75+ achieved significantly higher occupancy rates and rent per square foot than non-certified Class A buildings there. Better Buildings’ findings were based on data from 263 ENERGY STAR-certified buildings and 526 LEED Certified buildings that illustrated the impact of ENERGY STAR benchmarking and certification on building occupancy and rental income. Co-presenter Dan Winters, head of Americas at GRESB, indicated the numbers are similar in other cities where studies have been done. Among the other Los Angeles findings: The average occupancy for ENERY STAR-certified buildings is 90%, vs the 84% current overall occupancy rate, which generates substantial gross annual rent increases The gross current asking rent per square foot (PSF) for ENERGY STAR buildings is $2.15, vs the current asking rent of $2 which also generates substantial gross annual rent improvements Los Angeles is benchmarking its most energy-intensive facilities and has pledged to reduce the energy intensity for 30 million square feet of city-owned and private buildings by 20% by 2020. More than 25 owners of large commercial buildings joined the challenge and report their results annually to help others save money and energy. The Los Angeles Existing Buildings Energy and Water Efficiency ordinance (EBEWE) has made energy efficiency a high priority in the city. This focus is paying off in multiple ways. The city ranked No. 1...

A panel of corporate security experts held a recent Realcomm-hosted webinar to discuss strategies for managing cyberattacks to buildings that are increasing in frequency, sophistication and impact. Don Goldstein, senior vice president of IT for CBRE, recounted how the “Not Petya” ransomware attack of June 2017 encrypted hundreds of thousands of computers around the world and shut down whole networks and systems for weeks.  With the damage still being added up, the initial $850 million economic cost estimate could rise. “Not Petya hit all verticals, from nuclear plants and pharmaceutical firms to steel makers, consumer lenders and law firms,” Goldstein said.  Cautioning against disaster fatigue, he added, “We need to get people to think about and prepare for this type of event.” Ryan Allbaugh, business initiatives consultant for Wells Fargo, said that because internet of things (IoT) connected devices don’t have traditional IT operating systems or antivirus and antimalware, cyberattacks are “no longer an IT problem, but an operational problem” for every part of the economy. As we see more IoT connections, everything is vulnerable, from remote lighting control to elevator and video surveillance controls, Allbaugh noted.  “The challenge with IoT is that these systems often lack centralized visibility, and doing something as simple as getting a physical inventory can be a challenge,” especially with widely dispersed properties.  He outlined the National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework, which offers guidance on assessing and improving prevention, detection and response to cyberattacks. Lorie Wigle, general manager for Intel, noting that “one company can’t solve this on its own,” urged collaboration and information sharing among IoT participants.  “We need to have ongoing lifecycle security management services in place to continue to measure and detect compromises to components of end-to-end services,” she said. Given that there’s...