Transwestern is taking action to reduce its environmental footprint by educating our team members, and providing our clients with sustainable, energy efficient solutions for their real estate. For more information e-mail greeninfo@transwestern.net.

As seen in Milwaukee Business Journal:
Transwestern management team at Milwaukee Center Office Tower, in the process of pursuing LEED-EB certification, has discovered that the benefits to sustainability have surpassed expectations.

Existing Buildings: It’s Easier Than You Think to Green the Triple Bottom Line
Published in Cornell University's Real Estate Review, This paper addresses the application of green practices in existing buildings from a triple bottom line perspective. Co-written by Cornell first year Master of Professional Studies at Cornell's Program for Real Estate, Jessica Pitts, and Transwestern's Mychele Lord, the paper describes the most widely used benchmark for assessing green practices and provides a “road map” for pursuing LEED certification.

TRANSWESTERN MANAGED WELLINGTON E. WEBB BUILDING IN DENVER AWARDED LEED®-EB GOLD CERTIFICATION
We are very pleased to announce the Transwestern managed Wellington E. Webb building in Denver, Colorado has been certified by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) as LEED®-EB Gold Certified. As an active member of the USGBC, we are pursuing the LEED certification on over 15 million square feet of new and existing commercial space. Transwestern has now achieved gold certification for two buildings and has over 50 buildings registered in a LEED-EB portfolio pilot across its managed portfolio. The firm plans to submit nearly 20 buildings for certification by the end 2007.

GREEN INITIATIVES UPDATE:
Transwestern furthers role as industry thought leader by co-chairing BOMA International’s Energy & Environment Committee
In addition to help lead Transwestern’s green initiatives, Mychele Lord and Al Skodowski will co-chair the BOMA International Energy and Environment Committee. This prominent committee focuses on energy and climate change issues that are facing the commercial real estate industry. The committee consists of 35 voting members responsible for establishing BOMA’s policy and position statements on these issues. The committee also forms task forces to carry out the committee’s strategic plans and initiatives. Lord and Skodowski begin their two-year term this summer following BOMA International’s 100th Year Conference in New York.

Leading Transwestern’s commitment to make sustainable building practices standard business practices, Lord effects change in the industry through membership in The Real Estate Roundtable’s Environment and Energy Policy Advisory Committee, Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) Sustainable Development Council, BOMA’s National Advisory Council and Environmental Initiative Task Force, and Pension Real Estate Association (PREA).

Skodowski is a LEED Accredited Professional and has been responsible for the first LEED Gold certification of an existing building in the state of Illinois—the Chicago Transit Authority Headquarters Building, the LEED Commercial Interiors (CI) certification for the Transwestern Chicago Headquarters at 200 West Madison and the Gold certification of the Webb Building for the City and County of Denver. Skodowski has developed and oversees all of Transwestern’s internal LEED training.

Experts Make a Solid Business Case for Green
(as published April 24, 2007)
From Globest.com. Holdouts passing off the sustainability issue as a tree-hugger’s passion with no place in a for-profit business plan would get an education if they were in Pittsburgh this week. Speakers at Developing Green: Integrating Sustainability With Success, a two-day conference being sponsored here by the Urban Land Institute, are making a strong business case for going green.

CoStar Report: Transwestern Sees Industry at a Tipping Point
(as published by CoStar, written by Randyl Drummer, May 23, 2007)
Transwestern’s energy benchmarking standards and practices allow it to quickly evaluate and improve the energy performance of buildings. The company estimates its practices have slashed the energy costs of the buildings it manages by 20 to 30 percent and increased asset values by at least $340 million over the last five years.