Articles

EPA adds first chemicals to toxic release list in more than a decade

April 14, 2010—The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to add 16 chemicals to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) list of reportable chemicals, the first expansion of the program in more than a decade, as part of Administrator Lisa P. Jackson's ongoing efforts to provide communities with more complete information on chemicals. EPA will accept public comments on the proposal for 60 days.  Click to see more.

New Green Building Initiative assessment tool earns ANSI certification

April 14, 2010—The Green Building Initiative (GBI) has earned ANSI certification for its Green Globes online green building and assessment tool. Green Globes is defined by the non-profit GBI as "a user-friendly and cost-effective way to rate a commercial green building."

The standard, officially named ANSI/GBI 01-2010: Green Building Assessment Protocol for Commercial Buildings…  Click to see more.

DOE announces $28 million to support state energy efficiency efforts

April 26, 2010—The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced April 21 that up to $28 million in funding is available to help states lower the cost and increase the availability of energy efficiency retrofits. These programs will reduce energy use and save money for families and businesses across the country, says DOE.

The funding opportunity, administered by DOE's State Energy Program, will also assist states in developing the necessary policy and program frameworks to stimulate investment in cost-effective, long-term energy efficiency deployments, especially in states that do not currently…  Click to see more. 

Proposed changes could reduce elevator energy use

April 21, 2010—Energy use in buildings could drop with a proposed requirement to Standard 90.1 regulating ventilation and cab lighting in elevators.

Proposed addendum to ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2007, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, takes a first step in addressing inefficiency of ventilation fans and cab lighting, both of …  Click to see more.

United Postal Service deploys 200 hybrid-electric vehicles

April 14, 2010—The United Postal Service of America (UPS) announced April 6 that its fleet of 2,000 alternative-fuel vehicles had expanded with the deployment of 200 next-generation hybrid-electric delivery trucks in eight U.S. cities. UPS notes that this technology can yield a 35 percent fuel savings, the equivalent of 100 conventional UPS delivery vehicles.   Click to see more.

ASIS surveys CSOs on enterprise security risk management

April 19, 2010—To demonstrate the level of the security industry's understanding and adoption of enterprise security risk management (ESRM), the CSO Roundtable of ASIS International, a membership group of the senior-most executives from the world's largest organizations, has released the results of a comprehensive ESRM survey of its members and of the ASIS membership.   Click to see more.

EPA Web site launch offers easier access to proposed regulations

February 24, 2010—The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is launching a Web site giving the public additional opportunity to participate in the agency's rulemaking process, in accordance with President Obama's commitment to more transparent government.

The online Rulemaking Gateway serves as a portal to EPA's priority rules, providing citizens with earlier and up-…  Click to see more.

Reprinted with permission from FMLink (www.fmlink.com).  FMLink is a comprehensive, online facilities management publication; it includes over 12,000 pages of news and feature articles, including survey and benchmarking data, events calendars, recent and pending regulations, best practices, sustainability articles, checklists, magazine articles from many FM publications, discussion forums, job mart, vendor directories, and much more to support facilities professionals in their jobs. Free access through http://www.fmlink.com.