9 Green Property Management Initiatives for 2019
Looking for ways to make your property more green in 2019? Want to lower energy consumption and costs? Our list of 9 green property management initiatives for 2019 offers multiple ways to do both. Covering a wide range of green projects including two that are completely free, there is something on our list for every property manager. Keep reading to explore our 9 green property management initiatives for 2019.
1. Green Roofs
Have a large flat roof? Consider installing a green roof. Our top green property management initiative for 2019, green roofs have multiple benefits. First and foremost, they significantly reduce storm water runoff. Second, they cut energy consumption because they naturally keep roofs cool. In addition to these benefits, they can increase roof membrane life and are tax credit eligible in certain areas. Click here to find a contractor who can install a green roof at your property.
2. Utility Bill Processing
While utility bill processing is not a major project, it is a great way to make a property more green. This is because a utility bill audit identifies overspending on old utility bills. Unfortunately, this is a very common problem nationwide. A utility bill processing company can analyze old bills, typically free of charge, in exchange for a percentage of any recovered over payments. This makes a utility bill audit a low risk, high reward opportunity. Any money recovered from the utility bill audit can be applied to a green project. This quick blog explains all the details of working with utility bill processing companies.
3. Car Charging Stations
While an electric car charging station won’t lower your utility bills, it makes a property more green by attracting electric vehicle owners to your property. It also demonstrates that your property is socially conscious about the threat of global warming. At the same time, tax credits are available in certain stats for installing an electric car charging station. This interactive map from ChargePoint shows available rebate programs in each state.
4. Go Paperless
Have’t gone paperless yet at any of your properties? Make 2019 the year you stop wasting paper and start communicating electronically with your tenants. This is most easily done by using of property management software, such as AppFolio, RealPage, or Yardi Voyager. It can also make sense to build a mobile app for your property as part of your paperless initiative. Just how important is going paperless in terms of making a property more green and helping the environment?
- Pulp and paper is the third largest industrial polluter in the United States
- Deforestation is on track to destroy all the rain forests on earth in the next 100 years
- Enough paper is thrown away each year to build a 12 foot wall from New York to California
Even for a small property, going paperless can have a big impact on the environment. Click here for even more stats on the importance of going paperless from DocuPhase.
5. Living Walls
Not only are living walls an attractive feature, they are socially responsible, make office spaces healthier, and a great way to make any space more green in 2019. While they are most common in office spaces, living walls are growing in popularity with malls, apartments, restaurants, and hotels. Click here to read more on the benefits of installing a living wall at your property.
6. Energy Audits
The main benefit of an annual energy audit is identifying areas where a property is wasting energy, because wasting energy is wasting money. While there are many misconceptions about energy audits, they are a great way to identify projects that make properties more green. The ROI value and energy savings for many of the projects on our top 9 green property management initiatives for 2019 list are uncovered by an energy audit.
7. Lighting Retrofits
For properties that have not undergone an LED lighting retrofit, this project should be at the top of their list. They are still one of the biggest energy savings projects available, offer tax credits, and have easily calculated payback periods. Click here for a free LED lighting quote at one of your properties.
8. Roof Coatings
Roof coatings not only make a property more green, they can also extend a roof’s life. This is because they are highly reflective. By reflecting the sun’s heat away from the roof, the coatings reduce the amount of air conditioning required to cool a property. Use the Roof Coatings Manufacturers Association’s searchable database to see tax credits are available in your area for applying a roof coating.
9. Install Solar Panels
Another one of our tax credit eligible green property management initiatives for 2019, solar panels are a proven way to cut utility costs and reduce a property’s carbon footprint. While they are not for everyone, advances in solar panel technology are making them applicable to more properties than ever before. Additionally, commercial solar panel systems are grid-intertied, meaning they are connected to the power grid. As a result, property managers can receive credits from their utility company if their solar panels feed excess electricity back into the grid.
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