sustainability – Green Landlady

Tag Archives: sustainability

Raising Green Renters

August 13, 2010 – 6:30 am

Green lifestyles do not appear out of thin air and it is important not just for educators, but property managers to do their part in raising green renters.

By Elizabeth Madrigal | Posted in Residents | Also tagged ADA, Americans with Disabilities, disabled access, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, Green Property Managers, green renters, guest bloggers, making recycling easier, parental role modeling, role modeling sustainability, sustainable lifestyles, sustainable property management | Comments (0)

Rent Control Supresses Sustainability

April 22, 2010 – 7:00 am

Given that we are currently living through the Great Recession, some might think that mandating a 0% increase in rents would be justified, but I’m not so sure. In fact, I am absolutely certain that decreeing a 0% rental increase will ensure a lower tax base, delay necessary retrofitting, decrease a neighborhood’s sustainability and limit the population’s mobility.

By Kimberly Madrigal | Posted in Business | Also tagged affordable housing, desertification, existing building retrofit, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Los Angeles City Council, luxury units, mandates, property taxes, rent control, rent stabilization | Comments (0)

Building A Greener Resume

April 14, 2010 – 6:38 am

Like the industrial and technology booms before it, the green revolution relies on educated, committed people to move it forward. Learning about sustainability can improve your marketability and help you do your job better.

By Elizabeth Madrigal | Posted in Business | Also tagged BOMA International, building staff, CNET News, Community Education, CoStar, Department of Energy, DOE, education, Energy Star, Energy Star for Buildings and Plants, Green Lede, Green Property Managers, Green Resource Council, Green Training, Institute of Real Estate Management, IREM, IREM first, job hunting, LEED Rating Systems, LEED Rating Sytems, Martin LaMonica, NAR, NAR Green DesignationGreen Lede, National Association of Realtors, Non-profit free training, Portfolio Manager, property managers, resume enhancement, SEIU Union, The Green, Training, unions, USGBC, weatherization | Comments (0)

Green Landlady Launches our Adopt-A-Green-Neighbor Campaign

March 10, 2010 – 6:30 am

We choose and invite others to be fellow participants in the quest to replace old habits with better and more sustainable ones. Starting our own adopt-a-green-neighbor campaign may seem gutsy, but most of us respond to the pressure of our peers. We can use this natural instinct to mimic each other in a good way.

By Elizabeth Madrigal | Posted in Energy | Also tagged Adopt-A-Green-Neighbor Campaign, be a green friend, Buy American, buy local, car sharing, city boards, city trees, commingled recycling, community gardens, food corridors, green building, green building maintenance and operations, green education, Green friends, Green Role Models, patio gardens, reducing heat island effects, roof gardens, shade trees, sustainability committee, urban agriculture, waste reduction, workshops | Comments (0)

Green as the New Mantra: What Tenants May Want

February 20, 2010 – 5:38 am

Vacancy rates are up and as managers struggle to lease vacant units, the competition for prospective tenants is ferocious. Here we offer suggestions for green property maintenance, repairs and general practices that will attract and retain the uber-green tenant, a rapidly expanding class.

By Elizabeth Madrigal | Posted in Business | Also tagged apartments, ASHRAE, bike racks, clotheslines, Composting, condominiums, EnergyStar, FSC, green cleaning, green landscaping, Green Maintenance, green managment, green marketing, HVAC systems maintenance, hydrozone irrigation, indigenous plants, light pollution, multifamily, natural lighting, occupancy rate, pervious hardscapes, profitability, renovate, residnet, shared cars, skyglow, water conservation | Comments (0)

ASHRAE’s Standard 189.1 Will Toughen Building Codes

February 18, 2010 – 3:05 am

Green building professionals will not be surprised that American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) newly-released building guidelines have much less flexibility than previous ones. As ASHRAE standards are the basis on which many building departments base local codes, any changes can be expected to become implemented across the United States.

By Elizabeth Madrigal | Posted in Energy | Also tagged American National Standards Institute, American Society of Heating Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers, apartments, ASHRAE, ASHRAE Standard 189.1, Automatic Control Sensors, energy efficiency, EnergyStar, Green Building Standards, green property management, hallway lighting, LEED, National Multi Housing Council, NMHC, ornamental fountains, remodel, renovate, USGBC, water efficient, water features | Comments (0)

Municipally Mandated Composting Coming to a City Near You

February 15, 2010 – 7:40 am

San Francisco currently has the nation’s toughest composting law and hopes to divert 90% of the city’s waste from landfills assuming citizens and businesses support the effort. Seattle charges participants for composting bin rentals. How soon will mandatory composting come to a city near you?

By Elizabeth Madrigal | Posted in Residents | Also tagged apartments, Composting, Composting Laws, Composting Waivers, condominiums, Experiments in Composting, Fines, FreeComposting, Green Politics, How to Compost, Hutchinson, Kitchen Composters, Landfills, Mandatory Composting, MasterComposter, Minnesota, Recyling, Red Worms Composting, S.F. Department of Environment, San Francisco, Science of Composting, Seattle, Vermiculture, Waste Diversion, Waste Management, Wayzata | Comments (0)

Size Does Matter

February 13, 2010 – 8:47 am

In fact, smaller is better when it comes to sustainability as a general principle. Considering your HVAC system in this light can result in substantial savings on your utility bills without sacrificing the comfort of your residents.

By Elizabeth Madrigal | Posted in Energy | Also tagged ACCA, Air Conditioning Contractors of America, apartments, commissioning, conservation, Energy, environmental literacy, Manual J, Manual S, Peak Load, Peak Load Analysis, Proper HVAC Sizing, retrofits, sizing HVAC systems, Small is beautiful, small is more efficient | Comments (0)

How to Market Green

January 9, 2010 – 11:05 pm

Marketing apartments with green features is smart business. Today’s renters appreciate a healthy home environment and are willing to pay a rental premium for green features.

By Elizabeth Madrigal | Posted in Business | Also tagged apartments, bicycle racks, carbon monoxide detectors, CO detectors, compact flurescent lamps (CFLs), Energy, energy efficient appliances, EnergyStar, EPA, flexcar parking, fluorescent lamps, green marketing, grout-sparing tiles, how to market green, insulated pull-down shades, landladies, landlords, marketing, marketing green apartments, natural daylight, non VOC emissions, non VOC paints, non-toxic cleaning products, non-toxic wooden floor sealers, occupancy rates, residential buildings, Residents, shared car services, shared cars, skylights, smart marketing, thermal comfort, thermal windows, vacancies, ventilation, Walk Score, walkability, wooden floors, YouTube | Comments (0)

What is ASHRAE?

January 9, 2010 – 7:33 pm

ASHRAE is the acryonym for the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers. It currently has about 51,000 members around the world.

By Elizabeth Madrigal | Posted in Energy | Also tagged air conditioning, ASHRAE, building, cooling, engineers, heating, HVAC, professional education, venting | Comments (0)